The Excitement of the Marketing Management Reunion

THE MASTER OF SCIENCE HAS GRADUATED OVER 3,000 STUDENTS SINCE ITS INCEPTION. NOW ALUMNI REMINISCE ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR THEIR MARKETING CAREERS

The excitement and emotions experienced by attendees of the first Marketing Management reunion on 23 May were clearly visible. They were also felt by those who designed and implemented the Master of Science more than a decade ago, and today can appraise the results of their strenuous work: 3,175 graduates since the very first graduation class of the MSc in Marketing Management in 2006, an employment rate one year after graduation reaching 95% according to the latest surveys, and no more than a 27-day delay to enter the job market after graduation.

"I remember the first day in class as if it were yesterday," says Antonella Carù, Dean of the Bocconi Graduate School and first Program Director of fledgling Master of Science. "It was a major bet and a great adventure, which challenged traditional models of teaching business. It is with great emotion that I look back to the challenge and see that we raised to it.”

Stefania Borghini, Program Director since 2013, echoes her words: "From the beginning," she explains, "the program was designed to keep pace with the needs of companies. In the last few years, we have developed teaching methods that have a strong quantitative focus and refine those soft skills that are very much in demand by companies." In a nutshell, the Master of Science has placed great emphasis on students working together in teams to simulate actual marketing projects.

Daniele Capozucca, 27, graduated in 2015 and is now Junior Marketing and Communication Manager at FCA. He recalls: “Most of the MSc classes were based on teamwork monitored by major companies. It was crucial for the development of transversal skills that I find useful in my daily work." In his personal case, his Master thesis on FCA allowed him to join the company, first as an intern, than as a permanent employee.

"Marketing management allowed my career to take off," says Maria Clara Paradies (class of 2009), talking about her professional experience. At 33, she is Global Head of Marketing for Luxottica's fast fashion portfolio. "It is a program that allows you to understand right away what you are going to do, and then pushes you to build your own career path by teaching you the power of the collective over the individual. Coming from an undergraduate degree at another university, I noticed the difference between the very theoretical approach of my undegraduate studies, and the eminently hands-on approach of the MSc program. The day after I graduated I was already at work in London."

Marketing & Communication is usually the function where Marketing Management grads land (66% do, followed by 14% in Sales). This is also where Giulia Trombi, class of 2017, who also completed a Double Degree in Barcelona, is working as Junior Brand Manager for Reckitt Benckiser Commercial. "If I were to give some advice to students about to start the program," she explains, "it would be to live each course as something very concrete that can be applied to one's future work. And also not to underestimate the importance of internships, which should be done as early as possible." She also considers the idea of a marketers' get-together valuable in its own right: "A community like this allows you to exchange experiences and have a broader look on things."

But a reunion is first and foremost about meeting again those who were in the same boat during those crucial years of graduate training. Pietro Baistrocchi, after years spent among mobile phone giants, has been part of the SDA Bocconi School of Management's marketing team for a few weeks now. "It was exciting to meet again," says Pietro, "especially for those who, like me, have wonderful memories of the years spent at Bocconi, so much so that I decided to return. The MSc in Marketing Management was the best investment for my future."

Making many friends is also what the program gave Federico Bertulessi, 34 years old (class of 2009 with a Double Degree earned in France): "I regularly hear from at least a dozen people who were my classmates," says the alumnus. "During our studies, we had created our little marketing community and over the years we have remained very close."

Being back at Bocconi, meeting each other, reliving moments spent together and sharing emotions was a powerful experience. "And for us faculty," Carù and Borghini jointly conclude, "there is the satisfaction of seeing how many of our graduates have taken on important roles in their professional lives."

by Andrea Celauro
Translated by Alex Foti