Regional manager at Ultramar Network, Ultramar Agencia Maritima, Ltda, Chile, Matthias Reinarz, gives the introduction to the series "The Candidates" explaining why he travels all the way to Copenhagen Business School in Denmark, several times a year, to join his 40 class mates for two or three days…..apart from the rest of his duties:

“Ultramar Network is a shipping agency in 10 countries and more than 60 port offices in Latin America. I’m regionally responsible for the commercial development and coordination of the three agency business areas: tramp agency, liner agency and services to the on and offshore oil & gas industry. Ultramar was founded in 1952 as a shipping agency for the Norddeutscher Lloyd and Hamburg Amerika Linie (today Hapag-Lloyd). The shipping agency is still it’s core business, but the group has diversified in to shipping (LNG/LPG, dry bulk, liquid bulk, containers), towage, logistics, port and terminal operation and other related businesses, today employing over 7.500 people, having offices all over the world.”

Acquire knowledge

"My goal with the Blue MBA is to acquire new knowledge and expand my network. This however, could be achieved in many places. I could have chosen one of the quite prestigious MBA’s at a Chilean University or within the Americas. But I have been working for many years in the shipping agency business and the Blue MBA opens a few extra doors: more specific knowledge about shipping, which is different from a shipping agency, and located in Denmark, which is a well-known cluster of shipping knowledge and specialization, one of the most important ones around the world. And also a different network: centered around Europe and extending to the East. My classmates are from all over Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia, Middle East, Asia and Far East. A mixture I will not find anywhere around the Americas.”

“I have already learned more than what I hoped for. It has not been easy! The amount of work, reading and travelling required is a heavy load when added to the job and the family. It requires commitment and leaving aside a few other things you are used to do, but so far, it has been worth the effort. As to the network, I’m also positively surprised: many people from different countries, cultures, backgrounds, businesses, etc., a truly enriching experience which will no doubt open many new doors in my future.”