LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Roberto Lee Jr , 35 , is the President of Fresh Bread & Company in Shanghai . He has an MBA from USC Marshall School of Business and an Executive MBA ( EMBA ) from INSEAD and Tsinghua University in Beijing . Roberto Lee : `` I do n't think I 'd be as complete a manager as I am today without the EMBA . '' Roberto tells CNN how his EMBA has helped his career . CNN : Tell us about your current role . Roberto Lee Jr : I 'm president of Fresh Bread & Company , in Shanghai , which I started in 2004 . We supply finished products like sandwiches , cakes and desserts for Starbucks , Walmart , Metro AG , Tesco , and a number of franchised restaurants . We also have a more upscale chain with bakeries , coffee shops and the biggest bread chain in the Shanghai subway system . We currently have 620 employees , 32 shops in Shanghai , and we hope to expand into Eastern China next year . CNN : You already had an MBA , what made you decide to do an EMBA ? RL : We are hoping to expand Fresh internationally , at least in Asia , and it could become an international company . The Tsinghua/INSEAD EMBA is a really global MBA . We had classes in Beijing , Shanghai , Singapore , Abu Dhabi , and Fontainebleau ( in France ) so it gave a very international focus . In each city INSEAD arranged for guest speakers from very large companies to tell us about the business environment in each country . It gave me much more of an international focus . CNN : How has that global focus helped you with your business ? RL : In my class I had senior people from 17 countries . We became like a family and we are still in touch . I 've been in different countries the last few years and my classmates have entertained me and showed me around in each of the countries . Down the road , if we decide to go into some of these countries , I have contacts and I 've learned from my classmates , from their past experiences and the experiences they 're going through . CNN : What was the biggest difference between the MBA and the EMBA ? RL : A key difference is seniority . The average age on the MBA was 28 and on the EMBA it was 37 . On an MBA people are getting ready to move into senior management , whereas much more senior management things being discussed on the EMBA . The other difference is that for the MBA you take off two years of your life . With the EMBA you still work , so every five to six weeks you meet for a week or two and you go to classes . With the EMBA you do n't get spend as much time on the books , so an MBA is more theoretical and with the EMBA you learn a lot more from your classmates . I had numerous high-level people in my class and they shared how they 've done things in the past . Read more business related features . CNN : So because you 're working at the same time , can you put what you 've learned into practice ? RL : That 's what was really cool -- all my classmates did it , taking stuff from class and applying it . I was able to get help from my finance professor about international standards for how some things are done on the books . The professors all have working experience -- they 're not just people with PhDs who teach -- so you can ask for advice and even now I can email them and ask their advice . CNN : Can you think of any example where you 've directly applied something you learned from the EMBA to your business ? RL : We learned about how one company got all its senior managers together and went out for a weekend brainstorm to set out their strategy for the next year . That 's something we did this past year at Fresh , and we set out a really clear path and goals . So far we 've met all our goals this year , so it was a really great way of doing it . CNN : Would you have got where you are today without the EMBA ? RL : It helped me out a lot -- I do n't think I 'd be as complete a manager as I am today without the EMBA . It 's given me a broader perspective for being a manager for all departments . My strong point has always been sales and when the company started that was the area I pushed the hardest , but now I 'm diving more into finance , accounting , marketing and HR . After the EMBA I have a much clearer idea what 's going on in my company within all the different departments -- that 's where it 's really been a huge help for me . CNN : What would you say to people put off by the expense of an MBA ? RL : If you 're going to do an EMBA program , do a good one . Tuition plus time and expense will usually run into six figures in U.S. dollars , but if you get into a good program it 's very worth it .
Roberto Lee Jr is President of Fresh Bread & Company , based in USC . He has an MBA from Shanghai and EMBA from Tsinghua University and INSEAD . `` I 've learned from my classmates and their past experiences , '' says Lee . He says the EMBA course helped him become a more complete manager .