University of Chicago, Booth School of Business: Alumni Interview

Francois Brown de Colstoun learnt “tonnes of new stuff” while studying for his EMBA. He tells Dawn Bournand about the career change he made upon graduation.

“I would encourage anyone who is wondering about an EMBA to pursue the dream as far as she/he can.”

Dr Francois Brown de Colstoun decided to pursue an Executive MBA for three reasons: personal development, specific skills taught in class and the network of alumni. “The best part of going through the program was the elating feeling of learning  tonnes of new stuff, month after month after month. I cannot help mentioning the joy on Friday afternoon knowing that next week would be so totally different (I was then based in Tokyo and studying in Singapore), and the incredible level of camaraderie with the other students.”

Career impact

A French national, Dr Brown de Colstoun holds a PhD in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona and now an Executive MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Since graduating from the Singapore campus in spring 2003, he has reaped the benefits of his decision to pursue this prestigious graduate degree. “The first impact of the EMBA on my career was immediate; it was the confidence to go ahead, and six months after graduation I decided to invest some of my money in a start-up created by a friend.”

That start-up is Lingua et Machina, an eight year old software editor specializing in linguistic tools for professionals. The company’s main product is an authoring tool which allows users to write with more confidence in a language that is not their native one. Two years ago, Dr Brown de Colstoun took up the chairmanship of the company, a position he believes is another direct result of his EMBA experience. “The skills I had acquired during the [EMBA] program allowed me to give educated opinions on the conduct of the start up,” he says. “I would have gotten the opportunity to have the job, but I don’t think I would have been able to keep the company alive, much less develop it to its current level.”

Alongside his role at Lingua et Machina, Dr Brown de Colstoun is also the ‘official Chicago Booth networker for France’. “As I am President of the French chapter of the Chicago Booth Alumni Association, I have the advantage – but also the duty – of knowing almost every former Chicago Booth student living in France,” he says.

Pursue the dream

“I would encourage anyone who is wondering about an EMBA to pursue the dream as far as she/he can,” says Dr Brown de Colstoun. “Everyone knows an MBA will return professional and line management skills, few know an EMBA will return top management skills, and virtually no one realizes that stepping forward to engage in a top-level international program sends a clear signal to the rest of the world. I am a volunteer. Yet this last point is crucial: once you have the skills and the selfconfidence, it is important to make a credible claim that you want to step forward.”

For Dr Brown de Colstoun, the greatest advantage of his Executive MBA degree is the self confidence he’s acquired as a  result of his two years of study. “Self confidence,” he says, “it is the prime ingredient for achievement.”