Fabien Dumont
CEIBS (Global EMBA programme)
Age: 48
“Highly adaptable leader with strong reasoning, communication skills, and a deep understanding of Chinese culture.”
Hometown: Paris, France
Family Members: Wife and three children
Fun fact about yourself: I’m an extremely sociable person; I’m always at my happiest when I’m surrounded by my family and friends. After the special people in my life, my other two passions are football and cars.
Undergraduate School and Degree: Associate Degree, Electro-Technique
Where are you currently working? Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Autoliv (Shanghai)
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:
- Regularly organised Autoliv company visits and knowledge sharing sessions for fellow CEIBS students and alumni.
- Participated in panel discussions for GEMBA events.
- Helped to encourage new applicants to GEMBA through advisory meetings and informal chats.
- Involved in annual Autoliv event working with disabled children to educate them on the importance of vehicular and road safety.
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I’m proud of my academic results (Top 3 in the class in terms of GPA), but my Capstone Project was one of the most meaningful and satisfying elements of my Global EMBA experience. I’m extremely proud of how it turned out, as I collaborated with my team of classmates (all of whom are extremely talented leaders) to solve a real-world business challenge faced by an actual company. I firmly believe that knowledge should be applicable, not just theoretical, so this process fully encapsulated my idea of what self-improvement through academia should look like. It’s not easy to “lead among leaders” but their skill and passion brought out the best in me.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I led a highly complex implementation project in 2012 to transfer sensitive, explosive material from my company’s Utah (US) site to the Jiangsu site in China. It was extremely demanding – I had to sleep on site for about six months to ensure it all happened safely and efficiently – but we achieved it in record time without incident. I’m very proud of the work we did to achieve that.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Viktar Fedaseyeu, without a doubt. He loves what he does, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He is also extremely good at making complex business concepts and scenarios seem easy to understand. He has a lot of empathy for his students and that makes everyone want to participate and actively contribute to his classes. Every class I had with him was a real pleasure, and the lessons he imparted have stayed fresh in my mind.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? CEIBS’ Global EMBA was a very easy choice to make due to several complementary factors. At the time, the program was ranked No.2 in the world (rising to No.1 last year). It was convenient logistically given that I live and work in Shanghai and I wanted an offline educational experience. I also have Autoliv colleagues who are CEIBS alumni, and I respect their opinions deeply. Once I knew that the Global EMBA aligned with my academic and leadership development goals, there wasn’t a viable contender – CEIBS was the only credible choice to make.
What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? I routinely fed back everything I did in a GEMBA module into my work. I would finish a module on a Sunday, then the very next Tuesday I would share my learnings during my Autoliv managerial meeting. I shared the principles with my team; I even gave them leadership classes along the same lines as the module so then they could reflect and incorporate it into their work process. The biggest risk involved in education or training is not to apply what you have learned. When you don’t apply it, you forget it.
This was a transformative time for me. I secured my Vice President position during my GEMBA studies, and they definitely helped me to transition smoothly into my expanded responsibilities.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? The first few weeks were very tough, I’ll readily admit it. Committing to an intensive educational program alongside a 50-60-hour working week and family responsibilities is incredibly hard. I was fortunate that I had the consistent support of my family and my employer; both understood the inherent value of what I was doing, and they gave me the time and mental space to achieve it.
What was your biggest regret in business school? I generally don’t regret things, or at least I try not to dwell on them. I do feel that I should have done an EMBA earlier; doing so would have been even more beneficial to my career trajectory. More importantly, it would have enhanced my leadership capabilities and mindset.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Everyone on the Class Committee Team (CCT) has my fullest admiration. They gave so much of themselves even as they grappled with their own commitments. Marco Kiefer, Iryna Huryn, Grelia Zhang, Roy Lin, Jose Alvares and CY (and more) stand out as exemplary classmates who never failed to lend their time and skills to make any situation better. They elevated the GEMBA experience for all of us, and they led so many outstanding ESG initiatives. For me, this is responsible leadership in action.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? I wanted an immersive experience. It’s perfectly fine to educate yourself in whatever manner best fits with your lifestyle and circumstances, but I wanted to be in an academic environment with like-minded people who would challenge me and force me to bring my full capabilities to bear on every lesson.
How did you finance your EMBA and what did you do to make tuition and associated costs more affordable? My company, Autoliv, sponsored me throughout my Global EMBA studies. This covered practically everything, from the tuition fees to travel costs. I was very grateful that they took on the financial burden, so I could fully concentrate on the educational challenges involved.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I’m not focused on a particular title or role – I’m purely interested in affecting positive change. I just want to be in the position that gives me the most influence to deliver better outcomes for my team, my company, and wider society – that’s what drives me.
DON’T MISS: BEST & BRIGHTEST EXECUTIVE MBAS: CLASS OF 2025
© Copyright 2025 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.
