'With a degree in History from Trinity College Dublin, I was looking to improve my career options through an MBA. Although not seeking to change industry, I wanted to deepen my finance skills and broaden my business knowledge. Prior to beginning my MBA I was a Manager at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi here in London, where I covered Central and Eastern European borrowers; leading deal teams to provide clients with structured and syndicated loans.

I chose London Business School for its reputation, its internationalism, and its excellence in finance and entrepreneurship. Despite my inclination towards finance, I found courses in Organisational Behaviour and Entrepreneurship particularly useful as they developed skills where I was weak. The course length provided a deeper and more valuable learning experience than one year programmes. Also the maturity, diversity and experience of my classmates distinguished the School from Ivy League competition.

The opportunities I had at the School were superb. For example, my summer internship was at Goldman Sachs, where I worked in the Equities Division, splitting my time between London and New York. I did my Shadowing Project with the Head of the large corporate division of Barclays Bank, and when I graduated I joined Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. Away from work, I was Treasurer of the Rugby Club, and played in trips to the USA, France and Cuba!

The greatest benefit of my London MBA is my confidence in my ability to address any business problem and provide a reasoned, thoughtful solution. My time at School was exhilarating, demanding and hugely stimulating, and it exceeded all my expectations. I now have an incredible international network that truly spans the globe, and the skills and knowledge to advance my career.'

Back to top

'Prior to my MBA I was working as a legal consultant for a law firm in New York City.  I wanted to change from a legal career to a general management career and also to work internationally and cross-culturally in my everyday job.  I chose to do my MBA at London Business School because I thought it had the deepest interdisciplinary focus, a superb delivery in curriculum, and professors and students that would teach me how to manage and succeed in a multi-cultural environment.

At School I was elected Stream representative for the first term and then re-elected to serve throughout the year.  I was also President of the Squash club, a member of the Wine club and the Christmas review band, and I participated in a wide variety of other clubs and events.  The MBA was a great way to build networks and lasting friendships and also involved great times and trips together.  In almost every country I now travel to, I have friends and business networks from London Business School that I can call upon.

My summer internship was with Citibank, a job I got through a listing with Career Services.  I received a full time offer but although the choice was tough, I eventually took a role with Samsung, based in Korea.  I am now a Board Director of Wanadoo UK, a division of France Telecom, and Managing Director of the Portal Revenue division.  I essentially run our online Portal – a domestic competitor to Yahoo, MSN, AOL etc and this year at our industry awards event we won best Portal, beating all these competitors and more!'

'An MBA is a unique opportunity to deepen and broaden your professional skills, to direct or re-direct your career and to expand your networks both locally and globally.

I came to London Business School as a career changer. Before my MBA I was working for Andersen Consulting, putting in long hours to get corporate IT systems and processes to work. In my first year at School I shadowed the World Traveller Brand Manager of British Airways for a week; I then did my Summer Internship with Booz Allen Hamilton, possibly making more money than I was worth at the time and obtaining full sponsorship to cover my tuition and expenses!

I had an excellent study group, with colleagues from US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Singapore and India. It was an inspiring and formative experience with long lasting consequences – some of my former group mates have become very close friends in the last few years.

As usual in life, the more you put into business school the more you get out! I joined the Consulting, Finance and Entrepreneurship clubs to make sure I wasn't missing out on anything professionally, the Soccer, Golf and Sky clubs for sports, and the Latin American club for cultural activities. The clubs were very enriching, and provided lots of opportunities to meet interesting people. I also re-established the Italian Club and was elected President for my two years at School. We organised several events with Italian corporate personalities speaking, and lots of social activities including an Italian Pasta Party where kilos of pasta disappeared in a few minutes! In the winter term of my second year, I also went on exchange to Anderson - UCLA, which was one of the highlights of my time at School.

Four years out from graduation I am working in the Strategic Marketing Function of Poste Italiane. It is a very recent transition fulfilling a long time aspiration to work in both strategy and marketing for a top league company.

If in doubt – no matter what – go for the London MBA. It is one of the wiser choices you can make in life, with unlimited return. Take all the time it deserves and devote all available energy. You won't regret it.'

Back to top
 

'I wanted to use my MBA to investigate business opportunities with a view to setting up a new venture.  London Business School had a strong reputation for entrepreneurship, which was attractive, and also an extensive exchange programme to enable me to search for and verify ideas. 

I was joint President of the Entrepreneurship club during my time at School – we had great speakers visiting who provided motivational insights and were able to share their experiences.  I also joined the Rugby Club as both player and trip fundraiser.  This provided great networking opportunities between the different programmes, and we also went on an overseas tour to the USA.  I then used the exchange programme to study a term at Berkeley – another school with a very strong entrepreneurship programme, based in one of the most entrepreneurial cultures in the world.

Prior to the start of my MBA I was a Senior Accountant with Salomon Brothers in the UK, managing large trading exposures of the bank.  Since graduation, and following my passion to become an entrepreneur, I am now the Founder and CEO of Iglu.com, an online specialist travel agent focused on ski, villa tropical & cruise holidays.  It is currently the UK's largest retailer of ski holidays and the 25th fastest growing company in the UK.'

'Prior to beginning my MBA I was working as legal counsel to a multinational trading company. I didn't come from a typical business background, so I chose to do an MBA to bridge a gap in terms of work experience and an undergraduate degree in law. I was also very interested in entrepreneurship, and I chose London for its strength in this area, the breadth of its international exchange schools, and the diversity of the student body.

I loved my finance and entrepreneurship courses, and also really enjoyed the marketing options. The diversity in my study group (from Russia, UK, USA, Singapore, India and South Africa) was great for teaching me different ways of problem solving, as our different cultural and professional backgrounds meant problems were not necessarily tackled in the same way. I also had a great International Exchange, and it was very exciting to be away in California during the dot com period.

I started my business, fresh! gourmet organics during my MBA summer internship in 1999. I wanted somewhere to get really good coffee on campus, and seized the opportunity to open an organic food sandwich shop on campus. Once I started supplying Sainsbury's supermarket chain, I realised I had found a niche market that could be exploited further.

We initially expanded to have three shops in central London, then switched direction away from retail outlets and began concentrating on production. We are now supplying an increasing number of large retailers (including Sainsbury's, Tesco and Boots) and all the leading organic retailers. We have doubled in size in each of the previous two years, and aim to continue expanding in the future.

Our mission – 'We aim to make and deliver the perfect sandwich or salad on time every day. We are only as good as the last mouthful a customer had.'

Back to top