Boutaina Sefiani

Getting the MBA degree has always been one of our common goals, and we wanted to achieve that goal together

Boutaina Sefiani is a civil engineer, who worked in three different countries prior to doing her MBA: Morocco, Qatar and the UK. One of her proudest professional achievements was managing the construction of the biggest wind farm in North Africa, located in the Moroccan desert. Resilient and always seeking new challenges, she is currently completing her MBA at HEC Paris with her partner and their two children. She is very involved in the HEC Paris MBA Energy Club (she’s the Club’s former president and is currently advisor to it). To say she’s busy is an understatement, but Boutaina and her husband, Youssef, make it work.
 
“Over the years, Youssef and I had worked in different countries and lived apart, sometimes for months on end, if not longer. I joined him in Qatar, then we moved to the UK, and now we are in France, pursuing our MBA together, enjoying our family and student life.
 
“It’s definitely not easy raising two children while being full-time students. But getting the MBA degree has always been one of our common goals, and we wanted to achieve that goal together. The COVID-19 lockdown, especially during the weeks of our final exams, made things even harder. But with communication, organization, and adaptability, we made it through. The school administration and professors helped too, giving us the flexibility to take our finals at different times.
 
Looking back, my lesson is simply this: “Never find reasons to say that you cannot do something. Do it, and you will find a way to make it work!”

-Boutaina Sefiani, Moroccan, September '19 intake, Class of 2021