Phil CHEN (MBA 2007, DBA2015): A Business Scholar-Leader

Phil CHEN
Alumnus of KEDGE-SJTU Global MBA 2007 intake
Participant of KEDGE EA-DBA 2015 intake

Before the interview, Phil prepared adetailed agenda, including company introduction and visit. He also arranged a lunch meeting to gather KEDGE alumni working in the same company so as to promote a better understanding between KEDGE and its alumni. During the interview, Phil has impressed us with his rigorous and detail-oriented working style as well as his gentleness and humility as a contemporary business scholar-leader.

"Safety, Quality, Environment"

Phil's career path is closely related to three key words: safety, quality and environment. Before joining Volvo, he was a Lead Auditor at SGS, one of the three leading certification companies in the world. Over 5 year’s work at SGS, Phil has trained a number of internal auditors for his future employer - Volvo Construction Equipment Investment (China) Co., Ltd. In 2006, Phil started to work at Volvo Construction Equipment Investment (China) Co., Ltd. and successively served as TQM Manager and QES Manager. In 2010, he was promoted as Director of Operational Quality and Safety Environment Management in China, and 3 years later he became VP CoreValue Management SDLG. So far, Phil Chen has worked at Volvo for 11 years.

Phil introduced to us the development history of the company: the company established its first Representative Officein Beijing in 1994, and a second one in Shanghai in 1999. In 2002, factories were built in Shanghai. The group now has more than 100,000 employees all over the world, of which 13,000 are from Volvo Construction Equipment Investment (China) Co., Ltd. Its main products include excavators, loaders, and articulated trucks,etc.

Experienced in jobs of high standard quality management over the years, Phil has formed a rigorous and careful style of work. Owing to a friend’s recommendation and the easy transportation to KEDGE Shanghai Campus (which is located in Xuhui District), Phil decided to pursue his study by attending the two-year KEDGE-SJTU Global MBA programme from 2007 to 2009. In Phil's view, the time spent in MBA study was really worthwhile. And it is exactly thanks to the MBA experience that he has been able to have a deeper understanding of team management and leadership, so as to better adapt himself to professional transition and promotion. Furthermore, the career plan set at the beginning of the study has assisted him in specifying the career development path.

Unlike in the early period in Volvo, Phil’s direct contact with the factory has dwindled at the present day. As VP Core Value Management SDLG, he is now more focused on strategic planning. Through the MBA study, Phil has not only deepened the recognition of his own professional areas but also has acquired a better understanding of all the other functional departments in the company, which allows him to think from a multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional perspective.

"When you make up your mind, you must be psychologically prepared ."

Grounded on his working experience in Volvo, Phil's has chosen “training” as orientation of his thesis with a theme of "ROI on Training". His work obtained a perfect score. In class, Phil liked to discuss academic theories with professors. In recognition of the KEDGE Business School's teaching and research capabilities and his interest in theoretical learning, he decided to further his study in KEDGE and to pursue a Doctorate degree by attending the EA-DBA programme.

From MBA to DBA, one has to spend more time in research. "It is generally believed that life will get particularly busy when you have to deal with the heavy school work of MBA and DBA together with your professional work." said Phil, "I think it's important to think clearly before attending an MBA/DBA programme or doing something else. Once you have made up your mind, you should be fully prepared psychologically and try your best to coordinate the family and the work in all respects so as to better squeeze the time.” It is through this methodical schedule that Phil manages to balance career, family and his academic research.

According to Phil, the experience of attending MBA and DBA programmes can also be instructive for his life. From the study, he has learned how to balance work and life, to expand his horizons, to live happily with the family and to be responsible and helpful in terms of the education of the child. Combining the work with practical life experience, he is now more willing to hear voices of all kinds from outside.

"Figure out the causality by means of modeling."

During the interview, it was quite easy to find that Phil is a man of strong logic. Phil attributes this to the modeling way of thinking that he cultivates progressively in DBA study and gives credits to his classmates for the multidimensional way of thinking developed in discussions with them. Having got the hang of the skills of "strategic planning", Phil is able to draw up the 2013-2018 SDLG core value global plan with an overall perspective.

For those who plan to pursue a doctorate degree after MBA, Phil advises them to make good time arrangements and learn to well split and reorganize the time. Different from MBA courses, which are based on case studies and group discussions, DBA puts emphasis on theoretical research and documents reading. If one plans to engage in academic research, it is necessary to be well prepared for the uphill "research study". It is important to know that attending a DBA programme could have a certain impact on one's mood, marriage and creativity. One should be clear about his or her own expectations before making the decision and take the DBA learning as an interest instead of a task.

"BeforeI went to KEDGE Business School, I paid more attention to the social values of a matter (training, environmental protection, etc.). But now, it's more about interest-oriented choices. Choosing to attend the DBA programme is exactly out of my own interest. "said Phil.

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