Rene Felber has extensive experience in both leadership and management consulting. Over the years, much of Felber’s work has dealt with digitalization and digital trust.
Felber has enhanced his business acumen in the Aalto EMBA program.
“Before the EMBA, I had quite a long career in Risk Advisory, and I felt that my strengths primarily lay in technical areas,” Felber explains.
“I wanted to be strong across different fields, especially in strategy and transformation. Personal development was also high on my agenda. With Aalto EE, I found the perfect environment to reach these goals.”
Felber opted for the Aalto EMBA after extensive research.
“People who know me well know just how meticulous I was about finding a program that was a perfect fit. I left no leaf unturned,” Felber reminisces.
“I drew up a list of the key criteria that would bring me most value, and also outlined subcategories of less important things that would nevertheless bring me important added value. Then I combed through plausible EMBA options both in Finland and abroad.”
Aalto EE met all Felber’s criteria. As an added bonus, choosing Aalto EE meant that he did not have to travel too much.
“I’m originally from Switzerland, but for the past 17 years, Finland has been the center of my life. Over 20 years ago, I met a wonderful Finnish woman while we were both exchange students in the US, and the rest is history. My wife and I have built our family here, and we are here to stay,” he says with a grin.
The Aalto EMBA lived up to expectations
Felber confirms that the Aalto EMBA was everything he hoped for.
“The teaching faculty were every bit as good as I had hoped. The academic standards were consistently high, many of the instructors had strong business networks of their own, and their teaching styles were excellent.”
While participants shared a similar level of experience, they hailed from a wide array of industries. This facilitated lively exchanges."
“The guest speakers were extremely good as well. Many of them focused strongly on strategy and execution – areas in which I was particularly keen to strengthen my expertise – and they always had ample time for Q&As as well, which enriched the learning experiences,” Felber mentions.
Most importantly, the entire EMBA emphasized interactive, collaborative learning.
“We had a wonderful, international group. While participants shared a similar level of experience, they hailed from a wide array of industries. This facilitated lively exchanges where everyone actively contributed their own experiences.”
Exclusively useful information
Aalto EMBA’s wide-ranging curriculum also receives praise from Felber.
“First, I want to point out that not a single module stood out negatively. I found everything useful. It might of course have something to do with my personality – I am very open to new knowledge – but I think the credit primarily goes to Aalto EE for assembling an outstanding program,” Felber emphasizes.
This said, Felber did have favorite subjects. He states that all his studies related to transformative strategies were particularly rewarding. He also especially enjoyed the elective modules he took in organizational and digital transformation.
“It was fascinating to hear real-life examples of transformation journeys: how teams have been organized, and how they have adopted new ways of working to build capabilities and deliver value,” he remarks.
“The people and communication modules also left a lasting impression. It was exciting to learn how human resource topics can be linked to strategy, and how communication should be aligned with evolving human needs – Gen Z wants to be seen, connected, and supported.”
Felber points out that the curriculum provided during the Yale Study Tour merits mentioning as well.
“I took a fantastic module called Leading Transformational Change. It had top-tier professors who captivated the audience like rock stars. I also gained valuable decision-making and negotiation skills at Yale.”
The EMBA changed me as a person
Many of Felber’s most impactful learning experiences centered on self-leadership and self-development.
“I thoroughly enjoyed diving into personal growth. It allowed me to actively question my own ways of thinking and ultimately changed me as a person. I now pay more attention to the people who are important to me and the moments that matter.”
I thoroughly enjoyed diving into personal growth.
“The Self-development Process was another game-changer. It helped me genuinely understand what is going on in my brain and how I deal with emotions. This, in turn, helped me identify personal performance blockers and systematically address underlying issues.”
The insights that emerged during the Self-development Process were enhanced with peer-coaching.
“The EMBA provided a safe environment where we could all help each other. The peer coaching was very impactful.”
“After the first couple of months of working on my self-awareness, I added meditation to my routines, which made me pretty much non-distractable throughout the rest of the studies. It helped me finish all the EMBA assignments efficiently to the desired standard – without it having much negative impact on my personal priorities: family and friends,” Felber mentions.
A transformative experience
Felber emphasizes that the EMBA provided the right mix of theory, tools, and exercises to help adapt the lessons learned to both his professional and personal life.
Felber graduated from the Aalto Executive MBA program with honors. Soon after, he commenced a new chapter in his career by establishing his own company: Transform & Trust Advisory Oy.
“I help organizations unlock their full value generation skills, build future-proof capabilities, and achieve sustainable growth. My new work is deeply fulfilling,” Felber remarks.
Felber says that he is happy to endorse the Aalto EMBA program.
“I embarked on the EMBA journey to transition into more strategic roles, and to grow as a person. The Aalto EMBA was a transformative experience that aligned perfectly with my goals.”
Felber has some words of advice for people considering studies in the Aalto EMBA program.
“You will be pressed for time. I strongly recommend embracing digital tools to store and share information. It helps you efficiently retrieve, structure, and combine notes from all the different modules,” he says.
“I also recommend using digital reading methods. I read over 95% of all the EMBA material as audio recordings, mainly while commuting. It sharpened my listening and imagination skills and made me a more efficient learner.”