Muito Obrigado Prof. Nuno Fernandes…

​Let’s rewind back to January 2013…a group of 90 MBA’s in their late 20’s or early 30’s from across the world…each one of us with an average of 7-8 years of work experience in all kinds of tough and harsh work environments and cultures…

Just when you think you know it all…god (or a Portuegese Finance Guru) proves you wrong!! The first week after class with Prof. Nuno, I remember telling my wife “Oh my god! I didn't think that I would have the fear of god in a Professor at the age of 30!!” I was awake most nights past midnight studying Finance and ensuring I didn’t miss even one of the required readings for the class…because being cold called and not knowing an answer in Finance class was a feeling most of us never wanted to experience!!!

I came to IMD with zero background in Finance, with no particular interest for a career in Finance post MBA and with a fear of Finance…but ask me what I know about Finance today and I will tell you I am not an expert, but I can have a pretty good conversation with a finance expert and keep up and in most cases also understand what he or she is saying! J I’m not as petrified by Finance anymore and in all honesty, Finance is probably on the list of the top 2-3 things I have learnt at IMD!

And like most of my classmates, I can only attribute this to Prof. Nuno because he helped us push our limits and test our boundaries (and in many cases make leaps and jumps over those boundaries). Today during our last finance class, we all were dressed in either Black or White as dedication to Prof. Nuno (“Things are either black or white”) and we tried our best to say thank you to him in our own way. As a class were able to finally see Prof. Nuno for who he “really” is rather than the Professor we 'love to hate'…..you see, no one likes to be the bad guy but someone has to push a group of driven and egotistical (as proven by today’s exercise) individuals to work hard….especially, since it’s been a while since most of us left university and this is where our Finance professor has no hesitation in doing whatever it takes to ensure that we do our best and learn our best! So it's not just about finance, but its about leadership - because leaders need to be tough guys, make the difficult calls and take the blame for the greater benefit of their team! 

I’m still a bit concerned(actually afraid is the right word :-) ) that he might not like us talking about him on the blog or blowing his cover but I think I can speak on behalf of the class when I say that we will miss our Finance classes and our inspirational Prof. Nuno Fernandes!

Muito Obrigado Prof. Nuno Fernandes…

Vikas Menon