CEMS Magazine | JUNE 2010
Student & Alumni focus
Student & Alumni focus
AZ GRADUATE INTERVIEW
Interview with Melinda Strebely Q. Tell us about where you studied
and your MIM specIALisation?
A. I joined the CEMS community in 2006 and I studied two Master’s
Melinda Strebely
CEMS 2009, Global Transactional Finance AstraZeneca Plc
programmes (M.Sc. in Finance and M.Sc. in International Management) at the same time. Besides having MIM courses at my university in Budapest, spending my autumn semester abroad in Louvain-la-Neuve at the Belgian Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) gave me the possibility to further develop my French language skills. Courses, which I chose during this semester, included International Law, Project Management and Supply Chain Management.
Q. Post MIM qualification,
what was next for you?
A. I had actually already agreed to join the AstraZeneca Finance Graduate
Programme before completing my CEMS qualification, so moving to the UK and starting in employment were the next steps for me.
Q. Did you ever attend the CEMS
annual Career Forum? If so, how was your experience there?
A.
I attended the Paris event in November 2008 and I considered this event as a great opportunity to get to know the CEMS Corporate Partners, listen to advice and discover career opportunities. It was there in Paris where I first heard about the Finance Graduate Programme.
Q. What interested you in a career
with your current employer?
A.
Obtaining work experience in several fields during my studies as an intern gave me the chance to have a precise idea about what I wanted in my future career. One of my aims was to get involved in an industry that truly works on the challenges that I consider essential. I wanted to work in a fast changing, dynamic environment with lots of new opportunities. My strong interest in pharmaceuticals actually has early origins as both of my parents are doctors in Hungary. In addition to this AstraZeneca has a very good reputation in my country of origin. This career opportunity for me is a great chance as I can work in an industry I like and in the domain I have studied, which is finance, and gain a further management accounting qualification through studying for CIMA.
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Q. Tell us about your current role A.
My current role is in Global Transactional Finance within the department Record to Report. We are operating as a shared service centre receiving financial data from the local marketing company in various European markets and reporting this data to the group level. My team is responsible for the French market, which is the largest in Europe for AstraZeneca. I truly enjoy working in a multicultural environment with people from all around Europe and beyond. This environment is much like that of the CEMS programme and I like it! In addition, it is great to use and practice my French language skills as I work in both French and English.
Q. How do you feel your MIM qualification
has influenced your start in corporate life and continued studies for the CIMA qualification?
A. Having studied CEMS you know you have been to the best business
school in the country (as there is only one member per country). So as a member of CEMS, you have a very good base for the CIMA qualification. I find studying for CIMA very interesting and even more business focused than my previous education. And my role within AstraZeneca is exactly the type of role I expected to get after the MIM. CEMS prepares you for this type of graduate programme in every aspect. My studying abroad in English has also been very useful, both in work and studying for the CIMA qualification.
Q. In your time at CEMS what did you learn
about Corporate Social Responsibility?
A.
Even though I was offered to choose courses about CSR, I opted for other options. However even in the modules I did - which were not directly linked to CSR - CEMS raised awareness and helped me to understand the importance and the meaning of CSR.
Q. Did CSR considerations impact on your
choice of employer?
A.
Yes it did. I wanted to work for an ethically conscious company. Generally AstraZeneca had a good reputation in Hungary not just for good medicines but being a company that cares.
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CEMS Magazine | JUNE 2010