EXECUTIVE MBA DRAWS EXPERIENCE TOGETHER

Challenging himself to complete an Executive MBA at Melbourne Business School gave Dr Patricio Sepulveda the skills he needed to develop an innovative health program.

It was self-identified gaps in his business experience that led Dr Patricio Sepulveda to pursue an Executive MBA at Melbourne Business School.

A scientist by training, Dr Sepulveda (above right with program director Christopher Kommatas) was born and raised in Chile and graduated in 2016. He is now the director of business development and innovation at Melbourne Health, one of Australia’s leading public healthcare providers.

After more than six years’ working on the business side of health and research, Dr Sepulveda knew he needed to pursue a formal business qualification. The Executive MBA equipped him with the necessary skills to co-found the Melbourne Health STARTUP61 HealthTech Accelerator, a unique co-working space based at The Royal Melbourne Hospital that is designed for clinical and commercial collaboration. It aims to activate the entrepreneurial culture of researchers and clinicians, as well as help validate external companies in a hospital setting.

“I’d been working in business for a number of years but before I went to Melbourne Business School, I didn’t feel completely confident with my knowledge of finance and management,” says Dr Sepulveda.

He says the calibre of the faculty and the delivery mode of the Executive MBA sealed his decision to study at Melbourne Business School. “I was looking at schools not just for the program but also for the experience,” he explains. “I’m not from Melbourne so I wanted to access and create a network in a city where I wanted to live.”

Completed over 18 months, Melbourne Business School’s Executive MBA consists of 17 four-day weekend residential modules and one week-long overseas module in Asia.

“I was really attracted to being able to spend time with my classmates away from the distractions of life and work and I thought an Executive MBA was the best option,” he says.

“I am constantly reaching out to test ideas, to test traction. For example, if I’m evaluating a connectivity platform for hospital, home or aged care facilities, I can pick up the phone and call on my MBA friends there. If I have a technology that needs funding, I also have people in the network I can talk to and work with.”

To extend that even further, adds Dr Sepulveda, “If I don’t know someone directly then someone will know someone. It’s a really powerful alumni network.”