Paola Valinotti arrived from Argentina to work at Roche in 1998. She has now risen to a global strategic position in the pharmaceutical division, and attributes her success in part to her Rochester-Bern Executive MBA. “It gave me the confidence to take the next step,” she says.
Paola’s career at Roche led to increasing responsibilities in the areas of strategy and finance. “I was looking for new perspectives as I had been working at Roche for many years, and I wanted to broaden my network beyond Roche and gain managerial insights.” She chose the Rochester-Bern EMBA because of its excellent reputation in general management with a focus on finance and economics, but also because it was in English and allowed her to combine work and study.
“The highlights for me were the intensive time in Rochester and the project in China, which was my first visit there,” she says. “These allowed me to leave the daily work routine and immerse myself in both the academic programme and real-life exchanges in the Chinese market.”
Career Springboard
Since she completed the programme, Paola has been promoted to a Global Access Planning Leader at Roche, a role that requires her to lead cross-functional teams across multiple geographies and interact with partner organisations to improve access to medicines in emerging markets. “The Rochester-Bern EMBA is very helpful for people seeking to transition from a more technical level to a managerial level,” she says. “It is a springboard that opens a new world.”
The Rochester-Bern EMBA supports women in their careers by:
• Offering coaching and mentoring in leadership. Female experts advise women in planning their next career steps and help them open doors.
• Finance. Thanks to membership of the “Forte Foundation,” Rochester University can offer scholarships aimed at increasing the number of women in the programme.
• Time. Rochester-Bern offers qualified childcare on study days.
Open Days: Visit us on a regular class day!
www.rochester-bern.ch
