Foluso Ajayi

• Programme: Masters in Finance Full-time
• Nationality: Nigerian
• Job Pre-programme: Consultant, Accenture
• Job Post-programme: Regulatory Co-ordinator (Gas), Chevron

Professional background

Foluso graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1998 and immediately began a career with Arthur Andersen as Audit and Business Advisor. She later moved to Accenture as a Consultant. After receiving her Masters in Finance degree in 2006, Foluso went on to work with Chevron where her current role is Regulatory Coordinator in the Gas Department.

A solid grounding in finance

I needed to get a solid grounding in finance to enable me to do better in my role and in my career generally.

I already had over six years’ experience in business advisory and consulting so an MBA was not very attractive. The Masters in Finance was a perfect fit for me – it was focused and yet had a practical, business-orientated outlook that most traditional MSc finance degrees do not have.

I would definitely recommend London Business School to others. Nothing beats the London experience; nothing beats the class diversity (there were over 50 nationalities represented in my class alone!) and nothing beats being in a world-class institution.

On a personal level, the friendships I developed during the programme – and keep developing through the alumni community – have been phenomenal. The networking opportunities – the connection with people who are excelling in their various fields all over the world – are superb.

Discovering a key strength

On a professional level, the Masters in Finance was an excellent foundation for the next stage in my career. In fact, it was a classmate who actually pointed me to my next job. The School played a significant role too. It was during a career coaching session that the coach picked up on a key strength in my CV, which I was oblivious to at the time. That specific area (experience with start-ups), presented in a professionally-tailored CV, helped me to get my role with Chevron as a Decision Analysis Advisor to management on new opportunities and business development.

In 2010, I moved out of the financial decision advisory role within Chevron into the broader, dealmaking post I hold currently. I do, however, have an advantage – decision advisory professionals are always in high demand in my company, therefore it is a considerable benefit to have so many options open in today’s tough times.

The Masters in Finance experience has become an integral part of who I am today – a professional who has consistently added value to the company in a variety of roles.