Full-time MBA

Stephan Schissler

Stephan Schissler
Class of 2015
Germany

After I graduated from high school, I volunteered to work with the youth community in my hometown in Germany. My role entailed teaching and counselling children and young adults. After one year of volunteering, I decided to join Bayer, which is Germany’s biggest pharmaceutical and chemical company, well known for producing the painkiller Aspirin. During the traineeship to gain my Diploma as a Computer Science Expert, I also acquired a B.Sc. in Information Science for Business.

From 2009 till my MBA studies began, I worked in Bayer as an in-house IT Consultant for logistics software. I was part of several international projects, which aimed to optimise the global SAP system landscape. By focussing on the optimisation of business processes and the underlying IT systems, I learnt a lot about the operations of multinational companies.

In 2012, I moved to Shanghai and worked for Bayer China Ltd. I managed part of a project, which integrated several production sites in Taiwan and Mainland China into the global IT and SCM landscape. My stint in Shanghai and travels around Asia ignited my interest in this continent. I was and I am still impressed by the speed of development and the diverse and vibrant culture of Asia.

I decided to pursue my MBA degree in Asia and HKU was most naturally my first choice. The unique 3-city model of the programme is definitely a bonus. Spending one month in Beijing to improve my Mandarin and learn more about the Chinese culture was a great experience. It gave me the opportunity to get to know my classmates in a rather relaxed and informal atmosphere. Through this programme, I was also fortunate enough to study for a semester at London Business School, which is one of the world’s most respected institutions for business education.

Besides its very impressive programme model, HKU also opened for me the doors to the lively and multicultural city of Hong Kong, which, in a true sense, is the melting pot of Asia. Living here provided me with the chance to meet significant and influential people and allowed me easy access to China and other booming economies of South East Asia.

Current Status

Employer: Merck Group
Position: Global Business Partner & PM – Supply Chain & Operational Excellence​
Location: Germany