Anchoring her Ambitions: Dominique Tchimbakala on how an HEC Executive MBA Helps Her Tell Her Own Story

French-Congolese journalist and news anchor Dominique Tchimbakala has made a career out of telling stories. Her 20-plus years of experience in broadcast media has seen her interview opposition leaders, heads of state, and titans of industry. We sat down with her so she could tell us another story – her own– about why an Executive MBA at HEC Paris is the next step for a career spent in the field and on the air.  

Dominique’s story is one defined by ambition, determination, and self-belief. Born in France to Congolese parents, her family moved to the Republic of Congo when she was 10. There, she attended a French lycée in Brazzaville, Congo’s capital and most populous city.

“Growing up and going to that school, I had friends from all over the world,” she told Le Petit Journal, a French periodical, in 2018. “I am very lucky to have grown up in that setting. It gave me a real global point of view and made me curious about other cultures.”

That cultural curiosity led her back to France for university, where she studied journalism. She started her career, as all journalists must, at the bottom of the ladder: the night desk. In the years that followed, she steadily worked her way up as a field reporter and anchor. Since 2017, that turned into lending her cultural nous and hard-earned gravitas to the Journal Afrique, a program beamed around the world from TV5Monde’s Paris headquarters and the most-watched French-language news program in Africa.

Headline ambitions

In the world of journalism, being an anchor on an international broadcast is in many ways the pinnacle of one’s career.

What, then, interests Dominique in an Executive MBA?

“I’m ready to step into the second iteration of my career,” she explains. “I’ve been in France for 25 years, but my long-term project is to go back to Africa, and to tell stories like I do now, both for and about Africans. Stories about who we are, what our talents are, and what we’re able to do.”

“But Africa is a complicated business environment, and if I plan to succeed there, I need to be sure I have the best network,” she continues. “HEC has the best alumni network in Africa.”

The path to HEC was not a clear one for Dominique. The first hurdle, for her, was her vocation: though the Executive MBA program has no stringent requirements about professional backgrounds, dedicated journalists are exceedingly rare. Indeed, she is the only one in her cohort.

“It’s a bit unusual for journalists to do an EMBA,” she says. “But I knew, given my ambitions, that I needed to be efficient with my time. I also needed to find a program that would give me a world-class business education while allowing me to work full-time.”

Despite any initial hesitations, she felt strongly enough about her ambitions -- and more importantly, in her ability -- that she applied.  She got in.

“You need the energy for it,” she says. “The EMBA is very demanding. You to organize your life differently to make it all work. I have many obligations to fulfill, but I look at it as delegating time commitments and prioritizing is great training for being an executive.”

“I think my background helped in the end, given the fact that it’s general, covers many topics, and is unique within the program. If you’re going to be a CEO, it’s more important to understand a broad range of subjects within the business environment. When you’re a journalist, that’s something you have to do every day.”

As the news of being an admitted participant crept in, she tempered her excitement when faced with another reality: the time commitment. An Executive MBA – especially while working a full-time job – requires immense stamina.

“You need the energy for it,” she says. “The EMBA is very demanding. You to organize your life differently to make it all work. I have many obligations to fulfill, but I look at it as delegating time commitments and prioritizing is great training for being an executive.”

A news beginning

In order not to stretch herself too thinly, the mother-of-two needed to secure buy-in from the most important people in her life.

“I have two young sons,” she says. “My first weeks at HEC were difficult for the youngest because I’d come home late from work and class and would barely see him; he didn’t understand at first.  I explained that it was temporary, but still very important for me to do this for myself– that it was important for my goals. As a mother of boys, I feel a responsibility to show them that their mother has goals, too, and she isn’t always going to be at their disposal to do everything for them. For them to understand that is an important part of making sure they grow up to be happy, balanced, and respectful men.”

Fortunately, she and her sons have gotten used to the rhythm and the rigors of an EMBA.

“I really didn’t have the finance and accountancy skills before, so those classes have been difficult,” she says, chuckling, “my oldest son thought it was funny how difficult I was finding the math and finance classes. Still, I’m proud of myself because I worked hard, and even if I never become a financial expert, at least now I can understand some complex topics.”

One topic that she never doubted was the value of being at HEC Paris.

“During orientation, an alumnus told us that the EMBA would be our last real opportunity to make new friends that are almost as close as childhood friends,” she says. “And it’s true. You can really make some close relationships.”

“’The more you know, the more you dare’ is more than just a motto. It’s true – with knowledge, you acquire the tools and the confidence to really move forward. I can already tell that HEC and the EMBA have changed me already.”

“’The more you know, the more you dare’ is more than just a motto. It’s true – with knowledge, you acquire the tools and the confidence to really move forward. I can already tell that HEC and the EMBA have changed me already.”