The benefits of following a PhD with an MBA

‘I’m a free electron,’ is how Valerie Cladera describes herself. With a colourful career in strategic consulting, she credits both her PhD and MBA for attaining her dream job.

During the second year of her PhD in photochemistry at Sorbonne University, France, she realised she didn’t want to spend her career in research and development. ‘I am passionate about many things, and I wanted to be close to business and understand the business world,’ she explains. Alongside her PhD she was able to attend training on business-related skills, and after hearing about the MBA programme at ESCP Business School, she instantly knew that this was the field she wanted to go into.