Patrick Blute is an ESG Associate Principal based in New York City championing innovation in green technology and a graduate of the inaugural class of Columbia University’s Sustainable Development programme (2008-2012). He has spent the last ten years working in high-growth start-ups in Silicon Valley, purpose-driven consulting firms in New York, and boutique innovation advisories in Singapore. As a student on our Flexible Executive MBA programme (Class of 2024), Patrick is keen to continue collaborating with his diverse cohort and expand his professional knowledge.
While working in the professional world, we can often feel like our environment changes rapidly on a day-to-day basis. Navigating how best to grow as managers, understanding our capacity to positively impact the bottom line, and remaining proactively informed on evolving global dynamics requires grit and collaboration. All the while we must stay steadfast in our imperative to ‘do good’ for people and the planet. While my previous professional environments have provided range, I’ve always thought of an MBA as the next step in strengthening my professional skillset.
I sought a leading MBA programme with a foundation in ethics and impact and focused on 21st century challenges. Trinity Business School’s Flexible Executive MBA, lovingly referred to as the FEMBA, is a modern, proactive course for those looking to bolster their career with a global-first mindset. Naturally after a decade in business, learning gaps begin to emerge in topical issues like machine learning and artificial intelligence – being able to re-explore these topics in an immediate and applicable way has been extremely beneficial. The design and structure of the programme fosters these opportunities exceptionally well and I am proud to be a member of the Class of 2024.
Delivered alongside dual in-person immersion weeks on campus, the program fosters a dynamic and collaborative way of learning together. The first year featured modules like “Leadership in Climate Emergency” with Professor Daniel Malan, co-chair of the B20 Task Force on Integrity and Compliance and a member of the Global Future Council on Transparency and Anti-Corruption of the World Economic Forum. The “Managing People in Organisations” module with Dr Wladislaw Rivkin gave our class a deep understanding on how to improve employee resilience through change (and remote working) through his own published research in publications like the Journal of Applied Psychology.
The programme’s cohort-led approach has allowed for camaraderie with visionaries and best-in-class experts in their area from all over the globe. Everyone has something to contribute, whether they are a prize-winning journalist in London to the head of surgery at an Ivy League hospital or from a successfully exited pharmaceuticals founder in Galway to a renowned project leader in Saudi Arabia. The range of expertise allows for a multidimensional way to learn and partner together.
The pursuit of higher education is an opportunity to change your life. I would advise anyone considering the Trinity FEMBA to consider how the programme can allow you to fully explore the ‘good’ in business and transform it, and yourself, in every possible way.
