Why Loris chose our SPARK Program after his MBA

Can you tell us about life before Admiral?

I studied both my bachelor and masters degree in Chemical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano in Italy, very close to where I was born. During the fourth year of my studies, I went abroad to Sweden for an honours exchange programme, attending management engineering classes at Chalmers University of Technology, in Gothenburg. After graduating, I joined Hexion, a specialty chemicals company, on a two-year rotational graduate scheme. I was then offered a permanent position as a Production Engineer for Projects at a company in Barbastro, Spain, which involved leading improvement projects, being the primary point of contact for the global engineering team and helping to implement lean manufacturing principles.

After 13 months in the role, I joined Essity, one of the world’s leading tissue paper producers, as the Quality Manager of the Collodi mill, in Tuscany, Italy. I was responsible for the quality management system, the products certification processes and the relationships with both suppliers and customers. I worked at Essity for almost two years and during the last six months, in the middle of covid-19 pandemic, I was appointed as the mill’s Energy Manager on top of my Quality Manager’s duties. I left Essity in August 2020 to pursue an MBA at ESADE Business School in Barcelona. During my MBA journey, I interned at an Amazon sortation centre, as part of the MBA Pathways Leadership Programme, and I studied abroad for a term at Kellogg School of Management, near Chicago, USA.

Why did you decide to join Admiral after your MBA?

I’d be totally lying, like those footballers who kiss the logo on their jersey of a new team they just moved to, if I was saying that insurance was one of the sectors I considered working in after my MBA. What drew me in was being part of a structured MBA programme, which is how I first became aware of the MBA programmes at Admiral, and more specifically the SPARK programme which I joined. A previous experience made me realise how important work environment and culture was for me, and so I was actively looking for a company where work-life balance and wellbeing of people were seen as key priorities. I was so pleased when I heard that one of the core beliefs at Admiral is that “people who like what they do, do it better!”, and that fun is one of its four culture pillars. Admiral genuinely seemed like a great place to work, and the multiple employer awards confirmed this for me. My subsequent interactions with Admiral colleagues during networking chats and the recruitment process just reinforced my first impression and made me even more willing to work for the company. While researching and preparing for the interviews, I realised that the insurance sector was not as boring as I first imagined, it’s instead currently undergoing radical transformations which makes it very dynamic, challenging and appealing.

I guess the rest is history.

What sort of development training have you had on the SPARK Leadership Programme so far?

As part of the SPARK Leadership Programme, I’m currently undergoing rigorous technical pricing training which is designed for the first four to six months of the career of an International Pricing Manager. It provides so much value as I can better understand all the nuances of the insurance business, its regulations and constraints, the differences between international businesses, consumer behaviours and tendencies, plus Admiral advantages and strategy, not only in pricing. I was surprised to learn how in-depth analysis could be carried out on the smallest of details, and the amount of information and insights that can be retrieved from a single pricing model is extraordinary. I’m now almost at the finish line of my training and I’m feeling very confident to have acquired a solid base to successfully complete my future projects and assignments.

What are the skills that a candidate should have to join Admiral?

An MBA candidate should possess strong quantitative and numerical skills, especially if applying for the SPARK Leadership Program. However, those alone aren’t enough in my opinion. Since culture, fun, and work environment are all key parts of the success of Admiral, a cultural fit is considered just as important as the hard skills. A successful applicant would therefore be an energetic person with the right mix of hard and soft skills, who’s at ease with both numbers and communicating with people from different background and cultures. People who have a strategic mindset to develop a business plan and the emotional intelligence to influence different stakeholders will do well here. Lastly, people who not only proactively and ambitiously look for new challenges for themselves, but also enthusiastically and genuinely contribute to keeping a positive work environment around them, are the type of people who will succeed here.

What’s your advice to someone thinking about applying to the program?

Do your research. Choosing the right first job after your MBA is very possibly one of your most important career decisions. Therefore, the more information you have about a job, the more sound your choice will be. My advice to future applicants would be to learn about Admiral and the insurance business through different sources; company website, articles about the company and its c-suite, blogs, networking with current and former programme participants, interactions with Admiral colleagues, company presentations at the business school career fairs, sector reports from consulting firms, portals like Statista, etc, the more the better. If you’re keen to join after doing all your research, go full throttle with the application process!

Applications for the 2023 SPARK Leadership Programme are open now.

Learn more about the MBA experience at Admiral as Tavish Srivastava shares his story.