With a degree in Mining & Petroleum Engineering from Delft University, Daniël Post started his career at Schlumberger in a remote jungle location in Papua New Guinea. After seven years and postings in Europe, the Middle East and Africa later, he realized he needed to expand his skill set to take his career to the next level. While Delft had provided an excellent technical education, it had not exposed him to essential business topics such as finance and marketing. With a small class and international students with broad work experience, IMD’s one-year MBA was the answer.

He looks back at his MBA with fondness: “The year in Lausanne was intense, but fantastic. I certainly got what I came for. I learnt most from working in groups; how groups can be more or less effective, my own role in a group, as well as my stronger and weaker sides. You can buy a book and study finance at home - no need to go to business school for that. However, working so intensely for a year with such a rich variety of people in a ‘fish bowl’ setting is a different story. I cherish the experience and will never forget it.”

After finishing the MBA in 2005, Daniël joined General Electric in their Corporate Initiatives Group. “I worked closely with individual business units and senior leaders on tough problems they face across healthcare, energy, technology, media and financial services. For me this was the perfect extension of my year at IMD; I got to touch all facets of business in a variety of industries.” Three years down the line, he is now Regions Manager for GE Oil & Gas. Daniël is building a global organization of approximately 100 application engineers and commercial managers to support the GE sales force out of five regional hubs in China, Malaysia, India, Qatar and USA. “The regionalization effort is based on the desire to be closer to our customers, speak the local languages, and build tighter relationships. In some parts of the world, it has proven quite a challenge to find solid engineering or commercial skills, but I am confident we will succeed.”

“Looking back, I realize that the MBA really enhanced my ability to work with people, processes, and tools, but also to deal with the constant pressure of delivering sales. In good old IMD style, there are too many balls to juggle, so it comes down to prioritizing, a skill I learnt so well in Lausanne.”

Published: 2008