EMBAmbassador Series: Susanne Wennekers
How would Susanne Wennekers describe her experience in TUM's Executive MBA program? “Joyful, enlightening – and challenging, in the best way”.
Susanne Wennekers
Executive MBA Candidate since April 2024
From the TV studio to the EMBA program
Susanne Wennekers has dedicated her career to the media world. She’s been working in the television industry for 28 years. Her job: managing the production of high-quality content and coordinating reporting. And that has always given her great pleasure. But even in a fascinating industry, not everything always runs perfectly. To develop personally and professionally, she decided to do an Executive MBA at the TUM School of Management. She has been part of the program since April 2024 and is expected to graduate in March 2026. She tells us about the challenges of the television industry, what she has already learned in the EMBA program and how it enriches her career and personal life.
The Munich native began her career with internships in the television industry, but quickly made a name for herself as a freelancer. With passion and commitment, she worked her way up to the position of Senior Duty Editor, most recently at RTL. Over the years, Susanne oversaw the production of television programs and curated high-quality content. She covered major events such as the Golden Globes, the Academy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival and Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan.
Having fun at work has always been the key to success for her. “You can only be sustainably good at your job if you enjoy it. And I almost always did.” She was particularly motivated when she was able to learn new things and develop – ideally in a supportive atmosphere. Because creativity and innovation can only really develop in an open and trusting environment.
And it is exactly this climate that she wants to create for her teams. As a supervisor, she is committed to ensuring that her employees can develop and grow. She encourages personal responsibility, open communication and mutual support. Her goal is not only to produce strong content, but also to create a working environment in which people can reach their full potential. This conviction also plays a major role in their further training.
Despite enjoying her job, Susanne faced major challenges. In the television industry, budgets were falling drastically and job cuts were an ever-present topic. The remaining employees had to cope with more and more work. At the same time, a lack of communication and unclear management decisions made it difficult to change the industry. In Susanne’s opinion, this led to uncertainty and also had a negative impact on leadership behavior. To find out how to better manage such challenges, Susanne decided to enroll in the Executive MBA at the TUM School of Management.
The EMBA was the perfect choice for Wennekers to learn how to better communicate change, strengthen her teams and successfully manage transformations. “The most important thing for me is the new awareness of all these things. And that the program provides me with the toolbox that I can reach into in different situations.”
She has already gained many valuable insights. Candidates learn how important “psychological safety” is in a team – in other words: an environment in which everyone feels safe to contribute ideas without fear of negative reactions or consequences. They learn which unconscious thought patterns hinder change processes and how to overcome them. They also take a close look at what really constitutes a strategy – and how to implement it successfully.
Susanne finds the diversity of the program particularly exciting. She exchanges ideas with fellow students from all over the world – from India, the USA, Finland and Nepal. “One of my fellow students is Chinese, works for a German company in Mexico and flies in for each module.” These different perspectives have shown her even more how enriching it is to adopt other points of view and, above all, to listen attentively. This not only helps her in her job, but also in everyday life.
One of the most important insights for Susanne came from the “Leadership and Cooperation” module. And that is: how crucial a supportive atmosphere is for the well-being and performance of a team. Innovation and outstanding results can only be achieved if everyone feels safe and valued. She found the effects of different leadership styles on a team particularly exciting. This not only helped her to work on herself, but also to look at her superiors from a new perspective.
How would Susanne Wennekers describe her experience in TUM’s Executive MBA program? “Joyful, enlightening – and challenging, in the best way”. The program challenges her to take on new perspectives and think outside the box. She grows with the tasks and appreciates the exchange with other participants. Each day in the program brings new impulses that help her grow both professionally and personally.
