The First Cohort Is Launched - McGill - HEC Montréal EMBA Students Ready to
Take on the World

MONTREAL, March 16 /CNW Telbec/ - Diploma in hand, the 32 senior executives who completed the very first EMBA program offered jointly by HEC Montréal and McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management are ready to put their new knowledge and skills into practice. After spending fifteen months combining full-time work with learning modules, the 12 women and 20 men will be returning to their jobs with new tools allowing them to approach their duties in a very different way.

The new graduates are all coming out of the program with the conviction that they took part in an exceptional adventure that pushed them to excel both individually and as a group. The participants' varied backgrounds contributed in many ways to the high-quality exchanges among them. They also say that the bilingual nature of the program, offered in alternating sessions at HEC Montréal and McGill University, opened new windows on the Francophone and Anglophone business cultures for them.

"The strength of the McGill - HEC Montréal EMBA lies in the approach used. It provides a direct and constant link between the subjects studied, with an emphasis on sharing expertise among colleagues and immediate application in our daily lives," explains Richard Labelle, Director of Marketing with sanofi-aventis. "It's a winning formula, and a very rewarding one."

"The program's unique formula really helped me juggle my studies with a very busy full-time job," adds Michèle Meier, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Groupe Aeroplan. "From an academic perspective, this innovative new EMBA helped me develop both professional and personal skills, something I think is essential in training leaders for today and tomorrow."

The second cohort, which started the program in September 2009, will finish in December this year. Everything is going very well, and the two Montréal business schools are currently recruiting students for the third cohort.

About the EMBA

McGill - HEC Montréal EMBA participants are experienced managers with a minimum of ten years' work experience, including at least five in management. They are action-oriented, thoughtful people interested in creative, responsible, motivational management and committed to playing an active role in their own development and that of their co-participants.

Further information is available at http://www.embamcgillhec.ca

Testimonials by graduates from the first cohort:

http://www.embamcgillhec.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/HEC_EMBA_grad_ang.pdf

For further information: Céline Poissant, Media Relations, HEC Montréal, [phone]