Transforming Leadership and Career with a Professional MBA
How the Manchester MBA gave Adam the tools to lead confidently and advance his career
Adam Goddard, Head of Better for You Expansion at Ferrero, is responsible for driving the global growth of the company’s Better for You (BFY) category. This includes health and wellness-focused brands such as Eat Natural, Fulfil, and PowerCrunch.
Adam’s role involves defining long-term expansion strategies, leading multi-region go-to-market execution across Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific, and tailoring pricing and branding to diverse market needs.
Despite the demands of a truly global role, Adam chose to pursue the Manchester Global MBA to strengthen his leadership toolkit and prepare for future opportunities.
Motivation to pursue an MBA
Adam’s decision to embark on an MBA was driven by three factors: career progression, skills development, and entrepreneurship.
“I wanted to broaden my experience beyond my functional strengths, particularly in finance, strategy, and leadership,” he explains. “The MBA provided a structured environment to refine my skills, test entrepreneurial ideas, and learn from world-class faculty and peers. My goal was to accelerate my career today, while keeping the option open to launch or scale a venture tomorrow.”
Why the Manchester Global Part-time MBA?
The Manchester Global MBA stood out to Adam for its unique blend of applied learning, flexibility, and global outlook.
Through the renowned Manchester Method, centred on real-world projects and application, he was able to translate classroom learning directly into his professional role.
The blended, part-time format allowed him to sustain career momentum while managing family commitments, offering the balance he needed.
Equally important were the School’s academic reputation, the diversity of the cohort, and the strength of its global alumni network, which promised both intellectual challenge and lasting professional connections.
“The programme allows me to apply learning directly at work while remaining close to my family in the North-west. At the same time, it offers the opportunity to engage internationally when it fits my schedule” he says.
Balancing work, study and family
For Adam, balancing a senior leadership role with MBA study and family responsibilities, has required discipline and planning.
He carefully aligns modules with peak work periods, schedules study time in advance, and protects family commitments. Collaboration with his employer has also been key, ensuring clarity during in-person study weeks in Manchester.
“It is demanding, but achievable with discipline. Treating the MBA as a second job has been an important mindset,” he reflects.
It is demanding, but achievable with discipline. Treating the MBA as a second job has been an important mindset
Key learning and impact
The Manchester Global MBA has already delivered significant professional impact for Adam.
Modules such as Digital Marketing Strategy and Strategy & Competition have provided him with frameworks, including the Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas, and stakeholder-persona models that he has applied to real business challenges.
In parallel, finance modules have enabled him to build robust, finance-backed business cases using tools such as NPV, sensitivity, and scenario analysis. “These sharpen decision-making around innovation and market expansion,” he explains.
Advice for prospective MBAs
Adam encourages professionals considering the Manchester Global MBA to approach it with commitment and preparation.
The steps Adam found most valuable in achieving success were:
- Treat the MBA as a second job
- Plan study schedules rigorously around work peaks and personal commitments
- Align expectations with family and employers in advance
- Select electives strategically to address skill gaps
- Apply assignments directly to live professional challenges.
“Planning and time management are critical. The more you prepare, the more you can maximise the programme’s value,” he advises.
Adam has not yet undertaken any of the international electives on offer with the Alliance Manchester Business School Global MBA programme. “Coming from Luxenberg I find coming to Manchester for my electives very easy. Having spent over a decade working abroad, to now have this opportunity to be in Manchester a couple of times a year is a great opportunity for me to use the time back in the UK to see family at the same time as being on campus for my studies”
The Manchester Global MBA is more than an academic qualification, it is a platform for career acceleration, entrepreneurial exploration, and global leadership development.
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