News

• In conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers, EADA has launched the Executive Development Programme, a programme adapted to the needs of executives of energy companies, focused on financial analysis, administration and leadership
• The first participants to take this programme were 52 upper management posts of leading energy companies from Kazakhstan, who completed four of five training modules in their country and  the last one in Barcelona

After identifying the professional opportunities that exist in the energy sector, especially following the growing demand for energy from the emerging economies such as China and India, EADA together with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) set up the Executive Development Programme, the only master of its kind on the market targeted at executives in this field.

According to Dr. Ramon Noguera, EADA’s director of studies, “the main challenge is to train executives of energy companies with functional and team management posts, many of whom sit on management boards”. And, he went on to add: “Like in all EADA’s programmes, in addition to the specialised knowledge we provide, we focus on developing the person as well as their management competencies. In this case we use the financial analysis of the company as the springboard for developing all these capabilities. And all this in the form of flexible training adapted to the real needs of the company”.

Over 50 executives from Central Asia

The first participants on the programme we 52 executives from energy companies from Kazakhstan, a country with abundant natural resources, especially fossil fuels, which borders with Russia and China. The course was comprised of five three-day modules, four of which were taught in Kazakhstan whereas the last was given in Barcelona between May and June.

Los participantes del programa en Barcelona, el pasado mes de junio, donde realizaron el último módulo de la formación.

This course was coordinated by Gavin Kretzschmar, professor of the EADA Finance and Management Control Department, with longstanding expertise as a professor in this field in countries of the former Soviet Union. More specifically, Kretzschmar provided them with the keys to improving their companies’ financial situation and promoting their management and leadership skills. Thus, after having acquired a body of knowledge and with their companies’ real figures at their disposal the executives had to present a specific improvement proposal.

This was no easy challenge. As Ramon Noguera explains, “on this programme we were able to combine academic knowledge with the company’s primary needs”. In his opinion, “there are few business schools in the world that can carry out this challenge in such a technical and complex sector as the petrol industry”.

Synergies with other programmes

Another added value of the Executive Development Programme is that EADA takes advantage of the contacts established with executives from Kazakhstan to seek out synergies with participants taking masters or MBA programmes in Barcelona related to the field of commodities or energy. The idea is to exchange information on this sector’s new challenges but also to provide contacts with professionals in state of the art energy companies that can further their future careers.
EADA