«As Leaders We Need to Talk Facts»

Sebastian hails from Singapore and has been working for Belimo for more than 22 years. In 2018, he became the Managing Director of Belimo in Malaysia and he is responsible for the entire Southeast Asian market. «In the past, we only had an office in Singapore, but when we noticed that the market started to grow, I started the setup of our Malaysian office. Today we also have branches in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.»

Linking European and Asian Business Culture

Sebastian was thinking about an MBA programme for many years and hearing about the Swiss-Asian MBA, immediately sparked his interest. «The programme links the Asian with the European or Swiss business culture, which indeed is unique. Furthermore, 70% of the programme are conducted online», Sebastian describes some of the advantages of the programme. Due to his frequent business trips, he could only consider an MBA programme with online-modules: «After talking to Prof. Dr. Rolf-Dieter Reineke, I felt confident that I would be able to do it, despite my busy travelling schedule.»

International Network

The students of the Swiss-Asian MBA are mostly Europeans, Southeast Asians or Chinese. «It is a good mix and the students are actively participating in the online classes; after classes they connect via WhatsApp, WeChat or conference calls», Sebastian emphasizes. Especially during the pandemic, the online classes were a great advantage. The international network is also being nurtured during the residential weeks which can finally take place after the pandemic – in Thailand and Malaysia in 2022. The residential weeks offer an opportunity to the students to meet for four to five days in Switzerland or at one of the selected universities in China or Southeast Asia.

Relevant and Up-To-Date

Sebastian thinks that what he learned during the Swiss-Asian MBA programme by far exceeds his personal interests in leadership and culture: «The programme is very up-to-date and all the modules are relevant. The entire programme is a great benefit in my position as a Managing Director. As leaders we need to talk facts.» The additional academic knowledge provides a strong basis for the exchange with colleagues and business partners. In this context, Sebastian also mentions that he has learned a lot from his lecturers and that some of them became his role models.