Nuno Pedro, EMBA 2016
CRM Director Projects & Programs
Adidas Group
Nuno, tell us about yourself.
I have spent the last 12 years of my professional life working in the CRM, BI and Digital Marketing areas, across different countries, industries, taking on many different roles ranging from line manager, project/program manager to solutions architect and business analyst.
Since August 2012 I have been working for the Adidas Group, where I am in charge of building up the global Digital / CRM solutions, facilitating the Adidas’ CRM strategy across geographies and sales channels.
On a more personal note, I was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal and in 2012 I moved to Germany with my wife and young son. Our family has now grown since the birth of our baby girl in 2014.
You got promoted while you were doing your EMBA, could you please tell us a bit more about this?
Yes, I got promoted in August 2014, so actually right before starting my EMBA. I think this promotion originated from many things: the natural evolution of my career, the recognition of what I have accomplished so far at Adidas, and the start of an EMBA, which showed dedication and the will to improve and develop myself. This promotion was an important step for me professionally as it enabled and empowered me to take on more responsibilities and to continue to successfully drive the Adidas CRM strategy. I also think it is important for me to mention, that without the constant support of my family, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue and successfully achieve all these goals.
How did the EMBA impact (or how is it impacting) your career? How has (or is) your participation in an EMBA program helped (or helping) you in your everyday job?
The EMBA has been and continues to be an amazing learning experience on many different levels. The topics covered in modules are up-to-date and relevant to today’s fast-paced business world. Faculty is top-notch, leadership modules have been quite interesting, and the exchange of experiences and learnings between fellow students has been a very enriching experience. The EMBA has allowed me to refine and polish up my knowledge of key business functions such as finance, marketing or operations. In addition, the leadership modules gave me a crucial edge in terms of managing and motivating teams.
Last but not least, there is one particular practical element that I consider relevant to mention in the context of this question: The one-on-one business coaching sessions have really enlightened me in terms of getting to know myself better and connecting the dots. This has had a very positive impact on my everyday job.
In addition to a new job and degree program, you also have a family. Could you please tell us a bit more about your family situation and how your family is dealing with the demands of your new schedule?
To be honest, with two children, a fast-paced job, an EMBA, finding the time for my wife, family and friends is really challenging and it’s not easy to manage everything successfully and simultaneously.
With that said, I do believe that managing all these challenges successfully requires two things:
- Upfront alignment: getting the support of your manager, your family, etc.… By pursuing an EMBA, you are doing something that’s important for yourself but without the support of the people around you, you cannot do it alone so before taking on such personal project, you need to make sure the relevant people in your life are ready to accommodate you;
- Time management and focus: You need to become a much better manager of your own time. Multi-tasking doesn’t really work, focusing on one thing at a time and allocating specific timeslots for work, EMBA, family is what currently has worked best for me.
