Alumni Hiring Alumni: Why Recruiting in the MBA Network Works so Well

Daniel, you are a partner at Bezan and Ortner Management Consulting GmbH, one of the top management consulting companies in Austria. Which companies rely on your services?

Our clients are medium-sized companies as well as corporations that are constantly working on the further development of their business models, organizational design and professional know-how.

What advantages do you offer your customers?

I think that can be summarized in three points:

1. We bring specialist know-how and additional resources to the company. Our focus is on sales excellence including pricing issues, cost management (purchasing optimization and productivity increase) and management and organizational development.

2. All our projects have the goal of sustainably increasing operating cash flow. That means, depending on the project goal, either more sales or higher cost efficiency for the company.

3. We accompany our clients during the implementation. We work together with the responsible managers until the measures are implemented, the success is achieved and the change of behavior in the organization has taken place.

Daniel, you and Tobias have both completed an MBA program at the WU Executive Academy. What changed professionally after you graduated? How did the MBA help you to achieve your career goals?

That was a very exciting time for me. On the one hand, there was the challenging MBA and on the other, I was further developing further developing our company, Bezan and Ortner Management Consulting GmbH. Above all, I can say that the studies have broadened my perspective. Three main aspects were responsible for this: the professional, very practice-oriented curriculum, the intensive exchange with colleagues and the cooperation on an international level - across different time zones, cultural differences and functional specializations.

How would you describe your leadership philosophy? Did you have a "role model"?

Well, professionally, I'm a management consultant first and foremost. That means I love transparency and that works very well with figures (KPIs). As far as leadership is concerned, I have a technocratic management style combined with a great deal of empathy towards my employees, but above all towards our clients. I don't have a particular role model, there are a few and I have picked out the most important characteristics for myself.

Why did you choose an MBA colleague to support your team?

Ha ha ha, that's a good question! I've known Tobias for a long time. Years ago, we were colleagues in an international management consultancy. Tobias was of course much higher in the hierarchy at that time. But we already got along very well back then, both privately and professionally. So we have always kept in touch. At a joint dinner, I was able to win him over to Bezan and Ortner Management Consulting GmbH. As for Tobias, I knew him from previous projects, but if I was looking for employees for my company, I would always turn to the WU Executive Club first, because one thing has always stayed on my mind: my great fellow students. The combination of internationality, cultural diversity and functional multiplicity was a normal part of everyday life in class. Only later did I realize how much this almost inexhaustible wealth of experience enriched me, and how much I still benefit from it. And, by the way, this is also true for Tobias, which - among his other benefits - makes him the ideal candidate. I am very happy to have him on the team.

Tobias, you also completed the Global Executive MBA at the WU Executive Academy. How did you end up at Bezan and Ortner Management Consulting GmbH? Do you think that the MBA played an important role in their decision to hire you? If so, why?

I've known Daniel for a long time. After completing my MBA, the world of a traditional line function became too narrow for me and I then switched to an international management consultant position. Thanks to my previous experience, I immediately joined the team as a senior consultant. On my first project, I met Daniel, a junior consultant at the time. Our professional paths have separated after that, but the personal contact has remained and last summer Daniel asked me if I wanted to join his team.

What is it like to have another WU Executive Academy graduate as a colleague and boss? Is that an advantage in your opinion?

The same education helps, as we build on the same foundation, but the diversity of our experience is certainly part of the success. Apart from our technical expertise, I think it is the personal trust that makes us a real dream team.  

What was your greatest professional success?

I have had a very exciting career with a global focus (projects in 28 countries on 4 continents), different industries but also in a general management position of larger or smaller units. Nevertheless, I define success by the joy of the job and the results achieved.

Why would you recommend an MBA from the WU Executive Academy? What did you like best?

I warmly recommended the MBA from the WU Executive Academy to Daniel and I seemed to be very convincing. It's the content structure, the internationality, the quality of the lecturers and of course the compatibility with a full-time job. I would also like to emphasize that during this time I have benefited a great deal from the diverse professional and personal experiences of my colleagues. Each one of us shared these experiences with the crowd and so we were able to challenge the professors during the modules - to our own advantage.

Read more interesting career stories of our students and graduates here.