Carlos Andrade, Director of Procurement and Supply Chain, Letenda

Poets & Quants for Executives released their list of the Best & Brightest EMBA for 2022. Among some of the most impressive Executive MBA students of the year, from the best schools around the globe, were two McGill-HEC Montréal Executive MBA 2022 graduates:

CARLOS ANDRADE, DIRECTOR FOR PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY CHAIN, LETENDA

JEAN-PIERRE MICHAEL, EXECUTIVE VP, SUBLIME DESSERTS

“The Best & Brightest are the standouts: the go-to student leaders who are admired – if not adored – by classmates and faculty alike. That’s because they are invested: they pour their hearts into everything – be it work, learning, or family.”

Read the full features on Carlos Andrade  and take a look at the complete list Best & Brightest 2022 EMBA de Poets & Quants.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? 

My final paper delivered to my EMBA program is something I’m very proud of for its potential impact for small and medium-size businesses. Through my research, I was able to leverage practices from Medicine and Aviation to create an “emergency protocol” for SMEs in financial distress, which may help business owners to avoid unnecessary bankruptcies

Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program?

It was because this program brought together a wealth of knowledge and real-word experience from virtually every industry, in a bilingual environment completely in tune with the entrepreneurial community in Canada, and in particular in Quebec

What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? 

Surprisingly enough, it was the importance of taking a moment to reflect and isolate your mind from the daily noise before taking important decisions; it helps me every day in particular to engage the senior leadership level from the right perspective

Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family, and education? 

I believe the lines between work; life and education got quite blurred during the COVID pandemic, due to the new normal of remote work & classes. As most of us transitioned from work-meetings to remote classes from home, family members ended up being known by colleagues and classmates through the cameras, what made them “participate” on our journeys and alleviate a bit all the workload and the pressure of trying to be present.

What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program?

Make sure you really know the “why” you are doing it, but prepare to be surprised.

What is the biggest myth about going back to school? 

It’s a myth to imagine that what you are getting as value is the knowledge you cannot get anywhere else. In fact, you can learn even finance or accounting from YouTube. What the program really brings that you cannot find anywhere else is all the combined layers of knowledge and experience and nuance a high-performing executive needs to stand out.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? 

Anne Favre, for being such a humble and caring human being, mother of 3, dedicated spouse, and at the same time a top-notch hard-working executive with a great talent for managing difficult situations with a touch of class that is second to none

What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? 

For me, an executive program is intended to develop leadership skills for the senior level had to be a full-fledged experience with as much peer-to-peer iteration and engagement as possible – only a full time in-person program could deliver the experience I was looking for.

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? 

To help small and medium-size businesses participating on the Electric Mobility revolution to develop to its maximum potential.

Une promotion en cours de programme

Carlos Andrade a commencé le programme en septembre 2020. À ce moment-là, il était chef de projet pour Alstom Bombardier. Au cours du programme, il est devenu directeur des achats et de la chaîne d’approvisionnement chez Letenda, un fabricant d’autobus urbains sans émissions.

Cet important changement professionnel est liée à son expérience EMBA, et à un module, en particulier :

“The Sustainability Mindset Module had a profound impact on me. For most of my career, I had been focused on profit-maximizing and cost-cutting initiatives, and the ESG topics had always been an afterthought. However, right in the middle of the pandemic, the Sustainability Mindset shed light on so many different perspectives and global trends, and added very practical frameworks to integrate compassion, respect, community focus and respect to our environment as key decision-making elements – whether in business or personal life.

Ever since I completed the module I made the decision to leave « Large-Corporate INC » where I had spent the last 22 years. I joined Letenda, a very young and ambitious company, founded on the vision of reinventing public transportation by manufacturing a brand-new electric bus. The company is based on sound values of collaboration, innovation and sustainability which are palpable in everything we do. I could not be prouder to have joined this mission, which gives me a sense of purpose I had been missing.”