BUSINESS SCHOOL INTERVIEW
The spirit of education
T
he Wine & Spirits Business MBA at Burgundy School of Business (BSB) is certainly a unique degree – how did it initially come about? “Burgundy School of Business was created in 1900. It originally trained salespeople for local arms manufacturers, as well as the Burgundy wine industry. The first ever postgraduate degree-level programme in international wine
Can you elaborate on how the programme is organised and the specific courses it involves? “The programme is very intense. It covers both the regular MBA core courses with a focus on the wine industry – so finance, marketing, innovation, digitalisation, entrepreneurship, leadership, management and so on – as well as product-specific courses that are key to becoming credible executives in this industry. These feature subjects such as wines and spirits of the world, oenology, viticulture and sensorial analysis.” How does the recruiting process for faculty who teach in this programme differ from other MBAs? “I believe that the balance between pure academics and practitioners is key for our MBA in an ever-changing industry facing constant challenges and disruptions. BSB’s School of Wine & Spirits Business MBA programme is very fortunate to have dedicated staff, including Professor Steve Charters, who is a member of the exclusive group of 416 Masters of Wine from all around the world, as well as some 100 international speakers hailing from various parts of the industry, who bring our students the most up-to-date perspectives on the sector.” The programme recently received AMBA accreditation; how important is this in terms of the prestige of both the MBA programme and more broadly for BSB? “AMBA accreditation is highly regarded in the business education industry and brings numerous benefits for BSB. These include reputation, as AMBA accreditation underscores the quality of the programme and is well
business, called the MS CIVS, was taught in French and created in 1988. “In 2009, our first master’s programme taught in English was launched, the MSc in Wine Business, which immediately started to draw students from around the world who possessed prior work experience. Given my international career in marketing and consulting for the food and beverage industry, I was brought on board in 2017 to prepare for the launch of the MBA in September 2018. At the same time, BSB unveiled its building specially dedicated to the School of Wine & Spirits Business.” What kind of students are drawn to such a degree? “Our strong reputation typically attracts students from all over the world to join the MBA – we have 15 nationalities this year – with an average of 10 years’ work experience. About half of the cohort comes from the wine, spirits and hospitality industry and they generally join the programme to boost their career. The other half is made up of students who are making a career change from the worlds of consulting, banking, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) marketing and professional sports, among other sectors.”
Ambition | MAY 2023 | 19
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