Growing up in Montpellier, France, Ines Terki Hassaine ’15 always wanted to attend college in the US. “Bryant seemed like the perfect choice for me because it integrated business and liberal arts in a way that very few schools seem to,” she says.

Early on, she imagined a career in either politics or business, and during her time at Bryant she gravitated to a degree program that seemed custom tailored for both her background and her ambitions.

“I chose International Business because it made the most sense for my international career goals, and as a multilingual student,” Terki says. She graduated with a BS degree in International Business. She minored in Psychology, and also pursued concentrations in Finance and Political Science.  

“The best leaders …are those who make others feel important, and who behave with humility.”

Initially thinking that she wanted to pursue a finance role in the private sector, she took a position at BlackRock in London. Her time there gave her the opportunity to exercise an important skill she learned at Bryant: Working in teams.

“Because Bryant put such a strong emphasis on team projects, I learned to adapt to different groups, communicate effectively with people from different backgrounds, and achieve common goals. I am so grateful that I got to learn all of that before going into the workplace, because it is such an essential skill.”

The skill came in handy working on a program at BlackRock called Women in Focus. It was designed to bring awareness about the female experience in the workplace, and to grow sponsorship for organizational change. The long, complex process of setting up the program in London came to fruition, reaching more than 200 busy executives across the company, and its success was rewarding for her, she says.

Following a move to Singapore, Terki began to rethink her professional path, and chose to focus on something that called to her: helping organizations maximize their positive social impact in the world around them. Today, she is pursuing that ambition by earning an MBA at the INSEAD business school in Singapore.

Leveraging the principles of business as a force for good in the world, social impact consulting can help organizations formalize and focus their strategies, converting ideas into tangible action and results. It is a perfect fit for someone who believes in the power of business to do good while also doing well.

Terki enjoys helping and mentoring others, and says she looks for ways to integrate those interests into her roles. The most important skill a leader can possess, she says, is humility.

“I’ve consistently found that the best leaders – and the ones employees respect the most – are those who make others feel important, and who behave with humility,” she says. “They make the team members feel heard and valued, which motivates them to perform at their best.”