Inside one Of Kellogg’s most popular Executive MBA electives

Taught in Lisbon, the course covers both strategic brand management and international finance, and includes a live case study with a Portuguese business.
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A large group of Kellogg Executive MBA students stand on a staircase at an historic Lisbon building, with a banner reading "Kellogg Executive MBA Global Network"
Students from Kellogg’s popular EMBA elective pose in the 19th Century Portuguese palace where students complete their live case exercise.

This content was originally published in Poets&Quants.

Rob Feng of Los Angeles developed his business chops in the field over two decades in the film and creative industries. He learned the nuts and bolts and of brand messaging directing commercials and working in advertising, but he had no theoretical grounding. Though he worked on complex, international financing deals as a CEO and executive producer at Dream Factory Group, he had no formal training.

He’s worked around the world, and won an Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Design for his work on HBO’s culture-defining Game of Thrones. Feng decided to pursue an executive MBA after seeing too many brilliant projects struggle because of a lack of business acumen. He wanted to apply the varied hodge podge of business skills he’d learned on the job and better understand the relationship between them.

So, one particular elective caught his eye immediately at Kellogg: Strategic Brand Management + International Finance. This unique course combines the two competing disciplines into one course, culminating in a week-long trip to Lisbon, Portugal, for a live case exercise with a real company.

“These courses have provided me with the strategic ‘why’ behind my decisions,” says Feng ’24, chief creative officer of Hexagram, a creative tech studio for the entertainment industry.

“They have given me the deeper insights and confidence to navigate the international business landscape more effectively and have more in-depth conversations with finance and marketing experts.”

Read the original article in its entirety on Poets&Quants to hear from the course’s professors, Sergio Rebelo and Alexander Chernev, and step inside an historic palace for a live case study at the heart of the experience.

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