MBA Alumni Profile: Sylvie Morel, IAE Aix-en-Provence

Sylvie Morel tells us how her EMBA from IAE Aix-en-Provence helped her hone her skills and how she now uses her degree like a large toolbox.

Morel started working at Areva in February 2009 as head of the Commissioning Department for AREVA NP SAS. Almost two years later she was transferred from Paris to Finland, to lead and coordinate the end of construction works and the commissioning of a new generation nuclear reactor. Yet contrary to popular belief, as a woman in the nuclear industry, Morel isn’t outnumbered.

“I’ve been working in this industry since 1998 and I’ve had the honour to meet many of the women, in France and abroad, working at a managerial level,” she says. To that extent, I’ve never asked myself about ‘the glass ceiling’.”

Morel has invested 100% of herself into her career and that includes embarking on an Executive MBA at IAE Aix Graduate School of Management in 2006. “It [EMBA] was the perfect complement to my engineering degree coupled with my professional experience in the nuclear industry,” she explains. “It was also an important factor for AREVA in sending me abroad for my first international position. I believe my [E]MBA helped me obtain my first management position in the AREVA group.”

When asked what she learned in the business school classroom that she could apply in the workplace, Morel says she’s had several opportunities to review her course since arriving in Finland. “AREVA EPR Finland currently has 55 different nationalities working on this project, so it is crucial to “navigate” internationally between clients, suppliers, and teams,” Morel explains. “My intercultural management courses have helped me better understand certain behaviours and reactions during major decision-making processes, instructing the team, and sharing information during a technical or contractual meeting.

“I also keep in mind classes on managing emotions to work in the most effective way with my teams on site and I remember the concept and principles of my leadership courses. The list is endless! I use my MBA as a large toolbox.”