How do you identify the need for change in a company that has been successful for decades? Four years ago, Hager Group – a manufacturer of electrical installations – realised that transformation was a must. Using a combined path of online learning and face-to-face coaching, the company decided to start the journey together with Vlerick.
It seems like just yesterday I arrived in Brussels, nervous and thrilled by the new adventure I was about to embark on. At first I was worried that I didn’t speak French or Dutch. But I soon started to pick these languages up – even on my way to class when I listened to “the voice on the train”. But more on this later.
Sara Villaverde is a born entrepreneur. While she was studying in her native Peru, she and her sister set up their first business tutoring schoolchildren. And they established a translation and interpretation business while Sara was building an accountancy career with companies like EY and Geodis.
Earlier this year, my Full-Time MBA colleagues and I headed to Germany to visit Trivago – the online hotel booking company. It was an inspiring day packed with new insights and opportunities to see this exciting company in action. Here’s what we experienced…
Aleksandra Orlova enjoyed her role as a project manager in construction, but she felt there was something missing. She had a deep, narrow understanding of her area of the business – but says she lacked wider business knowledge, which made it difficult for her to contribute to company-wide initiatives. So when she moved from Moscow to Belgium, it seemed like the right time to make a change.
Family-owned electrical installations company Hager Group employs around 12,000 people across the globe. Its ambition is to lead its sector into tomorrow’s electrical world – and it wants to enter new markets outside Europe. Critical to achieving the company’s goals is its learning partnership with Vlerick.
