Matina Keramida MBA'14

The changing landscape of the marketing field brought a change of scenery for Matina Keramida: from her native Greece to Bentley and ultimately to a job in London.

“Everyone was talking about the fact that marketing is evolving, but few people could define the big picture behind the new terminology appearing in a marketer’s life,” she says. “It was time for me to step out of a specific role and its biases, and redefine my value proposition as a marketer.”

Keramida pursued the 11-month, full-time Bentley MBA — and praises program’s combination of cultural awareness, social intelligence and business knowledge.

“I had always thought that core project management skills were just as important as building a network that shares information in an effective and trustful way,” she says. ”But it’s the latter that truly drives greatness and helps a leader influence a team.”

Leadership skills such as leveraging the benefits of collective knowledge aren’t always taught on the job, she adds. “Practicing these skills in the Bentley MBA’s multicultural and diverse cohort was priceless.”

Summer 2014 took Keramida to England, where she serves as senior manager of go-to-market effectiveness at American Express Services Europe, Global Merchant Services. Knowledge management is a key part of her role.

“It’s the first time in my life that I don’t act as a marketer, but as a team member focused on enabling marketers across 21-plus countries to be more effective,” she says. “I’m already doing things differently.”

Keramida is also settling into London life with some fond memories.

“One of the things I miss the most is the Bentley MBA studio. I rebuilt myself in that room and remember it dearly.”

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