Alumni Stories
Alon Nachmany
Class of 2011>>
I was in the process of establishing a career in IT when major universities, including Harvard, began approaching me to begin an MBA program. But I met with the late Simon Benninga, the Founder of the Sofaer International MBA program at Tel Aviv University, and he convinced me that the Sofaer iMBA was the place for me.
I spent part of my childhood and youth in Israel and graduated from high school there. I obtained my undergraduate degree from the Anison School of Business, part of the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) at Herzliya.
The Sofaer International MBA is part of Tel Aviv University's Coller School of Management, the top business school in Israel and the only Israeli institution to be awarded international accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The decision to receive my MBA there is one I don’t regret.
Overall, the program gave me the tools and skills to further my professional career and I never lack ways to tackle challenging issues. The program also gave me the tools and skills to be able to speak to people of every level, whether they are the project team and employees I manage or senior executives at the world’s largest Stock Exchanges.
My parents are entrepreneurs, and I was leading teams at the age of 16, and already understood a lot about management, but the Sofaer program inspired me to go further. I think the program put me on track for becoming a member of the Board of Directors and for working as a consultant, which is essentially what I do today.
Simon Benninga told me that once I graduated, I would be ready to do business with anyone. Working after the Sofaer program has proved that he was right. For example, I was able to use skills I learned during the program when I engaged in a brainstorming session with an EVP of one of the Stock Exchanges about raising funds from venture capitalists. The EVP was working on a startup with a mutual contact and they pitched their idea to me in the lobby of the Dream Hotel at 11 p.m. at night and asked me for my input.
In a previous startup I worked for, I examined the costs, negotiating contracts, and set up new processes, hired personnel and built a hierarchy. I had to start a lot from scratch and thanks to the program I knew where to begin. For students considering the Sofaer International MBA, I recommend that you don’t work while you study. My advice is to commit fully to the program. Get to know your professors. Get to know your peers, these contacts will last a lifetime. I keep in touch with many people from my time at Tel Aviv University, and we consult with each other on business all the time. Ultimately I know that the networking skills I got from the Sofaer program will help me to achieve my future goals.
