From engineering to sales excellence: building a hybrid career
Yann Carmichael
MSc in Global Sales Excellence
After earning an engineering degree from ECAM LaSalle, Yann Carmichael chose to begin his career in business development, spending three years as a Business Manager at Groupe BRL in Nîmes. This experience sparked a deeper interest in sales strategy and client relationships, leading his to join the MSc Global Sales Excellence at emlyon business school in September 2025. At the crossroads of engineering and business, he is now strengthening his expertise in B2B sales and strategic development, with the ambition of building a career in the tech industry.
Looking back at your experience so far, what is your impression of the MSc Global Sales Excellence?
What I appreciate in the MSc in Global Sales Excellence is the balance between strategy and real business application. We don’t just talk about sales concepts. The professors combine academic structure with practical experience: we work on concrete cases, often inspired by real company cases. The class is also very international, with diverse backgrounds, so you are constantly exposed to different ways of thinking about sales and growth.
You followed the course “Aligning Sales to Strategy”. What were key takeaways?
The course Aligning Sales to Strategy showed that sales is a strategic function, not just execution. It explored how a company’s strategy influences its sales model, organization, and priorities. We studied transactional vs consultative selling, acquisition vs retention, and Customer Lifetime Value. The course also covered sales organization in B2B vs B2C sales, marketing/sales alignment, and strategic KPIs, with a team project to design a sales transformation plan for a B2B company.
What did you learn from this project?
This team project helped me understand how complex a sales transformation really is. Changing from an acquisition-driven model to a retention-focused approach impacts everything: roles, incentives, KPIs, organization, and even company culture.
In which sector or what type of job would you like to pursue after obtaining your degree in sales excellence?
I would like to work in the tech industry, in a B2B environment. I’m aiming for roles such as Sales Development Representative or Account Manager, where I can combine business development with long-term customer relationships.
With my engineering background, I’m comfortable discussing technical topics. Not to focus on the technical side itself, but to better understand the client’s needs and translate them into a clear value proposition.
The MSc Global Sales Excellence enables students to move beyond operational sales and develop a strategic mindset. By combining academic insights with real-world applications, the program equips profiles like Yann’s – blending technical expertise and business experience – to navigate complex B2B environments.
With a clear goal of entering the tech sector in roles such as Sales Development Representative or Account Manager, his experience reflects a growing trend: engineers turning toward sales to bridge the gap between innovation and customer value.