I think your profile is very interesting and has a nice combination of leadership and pedigree. As someone who has lived in Greece, speaking Greek? Wow c dingue, pas evident pour le moins!

You've given yourself plenty of time, and I would use that time to solidify connections with where you want to end up post MBA. it's great that your profile is so distinct, but also they might be concerned about helping you find an infrastructure investment position esp without a finance background.

So speak to the people who have recently gotten into the role you desire at the firms you hope to work for, and make sure that an INSEAD MBA would open those doors. Speak to this research in the essays to reassure them.

You might also consider LBS, a finance school where you can do buy-side in-semester internships in the city.

If you have ruled out US programs more sympathetic, I could not be, but worth looking at Wharton-Lauder, even with your current score. I think they would be really interested in your profile. Very exceptional brand and the best of all worlds. I have a French Engineering client you could speak with about it.

Thank you very much for your comments! I really appreciate your ideas - I want to make the most of the time I have left until R1 in a strategic way.

You're absolutely right - my current experience is more on the engineering and operational side. I was keen to get the GMAT « in the bank », but now that it's done, I can focus on connecting with people already in those roles to gain a clearer view of the path ahead.
I'll also look into LBS and Wharton (INSEAD also propose an exchange program there which I'm going to explore), as you suggested. And if your French engineering client is open to a brief discussion, I'd be delighted to connect and learn from his journey.

Thanks again for taking the time to share such detailed advice - it's really helpful at this stage.

Thanks for sharing your profile, @quengnst!

Your international engineering + on-site leadership background is the kind of profile INSEAD likes. A 645 GMAT score can be on the line. If you are comfortable, you can try to raise the score with 20+ points, it’ll materially improve your odds; if not, you might still have a shot, but you must deliver well everywhere else (impactful, quantified accomplishments, crisp career plan to infrastructure investment, strong recommenders, and finance upskilling). You can take a look at this success story.

INSEAD values: international exposure, early responsibility, clear career focus, multilingual ability, and cultural adaptability. You tick nearly all those boxes: top engineering school, international bids and Middle East travel, then 2.5+ years expatriated on a major Greece project as the company’s on-site lead, which reads as ownership and real-world leadership. That’s gold.

The obvious question AdComs will have, Why an MBA now? Also, they’ll probe the transition from technical operations to strategy/infrastructure investment: show a credible, specific bridge (skills gap you’ll close at INSEAD and first 2-3 roles after graduation).

If you keep 645, you remain in the running but in a tougher bucket. INSEAD will expect excellent essays, top-tier recommendations, strong quantitative proof (courses/certifications or finance-related work), and an iron-clad career plan.

What you can emphasize in the application (essays, CV, recs):
Leadership scenes, 2-3 vivid, short stories (on-site crisis you resolved, negotiating with local stakeholders, cost/time/quality impact). Use numbers (tons of material moved, % schedule saved, budget improvements, team size managed, number of contractors).

International & diplomatic skills, being the sole on-site rep in Greece and representing the company in institutional contexts (embassy, consulate), is marketable, use them to show cross-cultural negotiation and stakeholder management.

Business & strategic insight, show you’ve thought like an investor: highlight any commercial/contractual outcomes, profitability impacts, risk mitigation that would translate to infrastructure investment analysis.

Career plan specificity, name target roles and employers (infrastructure funds, infra private equity, development finance institutions, M&A infra teams). Explain the skills INSEAD will provide (valuation/finance, alumni network, INSEAD’s campus & clubs).

Short, recognized courses can be good: Corporate Finance / Financial Modelling. Begin networking: reach out to INSEAD alumni in infrastructure, INSEAD Admissions events, and schedule informational chats. Secure language certification plan for Greek, if you’ll cite it as career leverage (optional).

You can also take a look at other schools like HEC Paris, IESE, ESADE, Imperial, LBS, RSM, or IE.

We would love to learn more about your professional experience and personal journey so we can offer a more tailored assessment of your profile and evaluate your chances at your target school more accurately. If you'd like, feel free to book a profile evaluation session.

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Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma(INSEAD Alumnus)
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Hello, your engineering and expatriation experience are strong differentiators, but your GMAT Focus 645 is low for INSEAD. While the January intake is slightly less competitive than September, you are still 50+ points below the typical median.

If you keep the current score, you will need an extremely compelling leadership narrative and outstanding recommendations to compensate. You have strong international and project management exposure, and your marathon charity sponsorship is a great personal angle.

Still, given the high GMAT bar at INSEAD, I would recommend a retake unless you can fully own the risk and accept lower odds. Your essays must clearly connect your infrastructure expertise to your private equity/investment goals.

Ameer Khatri, Admissions Consultant
Schedule 1-on-1 call with me for detailed profile review
https://admitportal.ameerkhatri.com/pro ... n-calendar

Thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate the clear points on strengthening my leadership narrative and recommendations.

I’ll work on making the link between my infrastructure background and investment goals even more explicit. I’ll also assess my GMAT strategy in the coming weeks - I understand your point on the +50 gap, though the figures I’ve seen from INSEAD suggest a slightly narrower difference - but for now, I’m thinking putting my focus on refining the rest of my application to make it as strong as possible.

Hey
Priyanka here from ARINGO. Speaking about your profile, I see a leadership-driven profile that aligns well with INSEAD’s globally focused cohort. With 4 years of experience as a civil engineer, you bring both technical excellence and significant cross-border leadership exposure. The fact that you’ve spent three consecutive years on expatriation underscores adaptability, cultural fluency, and resilience.

Your ECs add a strong human dimension, completing the Athens Marathon after a 6-month training program, turning it into a charity initiative sponsored by your company, and representing France at embassy and institutional events shows initiative, networking skills, and community engagement. Your multilingual abilities further match INSEAD’s emphasis on language proficiency and cultural adaptability.

The 645 GMAT score also looks decent for INSEAD. Given your leadership scope, international exposure, and alignment with INSEAD’s global outlook, you present a competitive profile, focus on leveraging your cross-cultural leadership narrative and clearly connect your technical project management background to your post-MBA goal in strategy, management, and infrastructure investment.

From your time managing the Greek infrastructure project, can you highlight a particular challenge where you had to navigate cultural differences or conflicting stakeholder priorities?

To help sharpen your positioning across platforms, ARINGO is offering a free LinkedIn profile optimization, which can help you better align your story for both adcoms and recruiters.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR FREE LINKEDIN OPTIMIZATION.

I’d also be happy to offer you a free profile review for your target MBA programs to see where you stand and how to boost your chances, happy to help!
No pressure, no strings - just helpful insights on where you stand and how you can strengthen your chances.

Feel free to connect- Click here
You can also email me at: [email protected]
Good Luck!