Monthly Archives: September 2011

Ashish Dongre, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

What is your response to C4 ? This was the first interview question I was asked when I went for the IIM B interview in Mumbai. For those who know chess and for those who don’t, C4 is the first move in the Sicilian Defence and one which Viswanathan Anand, the Indian chess grand master, used to play a lot in his early years (nowadays he plays D4).

Kamal Nagi

A few hours after I finished my last exam for the winter quarter, I packed my bags and headed off to Spain.

Ryan Conway, Thunderbird School of Global Management

Well I’m now full swing into my last trimester at Thunderbird and once again trying to keep my head above water.

Brigitte Roediger, University of Stellenbosch

I couldn’t help but laugh when my lecturer said he hates “MBA speak” when students pretend to know what is going on and hide behind lines such as “your core business model needs to be effective and efficient to be a success”.

Abhishek Ramanathan, Australian School of Business

Two weeks after the curtain fell on our busiest semester yet (session two, which ended in late August), the stage was already set for the next session.

Miguel Suarez, IE Business School

It has been 11 months since I started this exciting journey which has taken me through two terms, one internship and sleepless nights dealing with cases and assignments.

Thomas Gatley, Tsinghua University School of Economics & Management

Returning to Beijing last week from my internship in Hong Kong, I had a strange sense that I was coming home.

Barry Chien, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business

Sun Tzu once said,“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

Barry Chien, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business

Reading business case studies can be interesting but I’ve found some to be lacking because they are often too short, linear and do not have the subjective information that would make for a thrilling detective novel.

Kelvin Chiu

I don’t really remember the exact moment when I decided to pursue an MBA. I guess that higher education was something that was always in the back of my mind.

Anthemos Georgiades, Harvard Business School

We’re now two weeks into the second year at Harvard Business School. This wouldn’t be a business school blog without a cliché up front so here we go: the past summer came and went in a flash.

Karenina Loayza

While the European finance ministers and the US head of treasury met to discuss solutions to the European debt crisis, the Cass MBA cohort for full time students went to Moreton-in-Marsh to learn more about working in groups.

Abhishek Ramanathan, Australian School of Business

I can’t believe it’s been over eight months since I started the MBA at AGSM. As of the last week of August, our second (of four) semesters finally came to an end, bringing us to the halfway mark.

Alanna Petroff, Saïd Oxford

Over the summer, my MBA classmates were scattered around the globe, from Tunisia to Italy, from Iceland to Germany. We worked on various consulting projects and internships and some students continued with additional elective classes in Oxford.

Andrea Nowack, George Washington University

I went back to school to get my MBA in marketing and brand management, so how I ended up in operations strategy this summer, I really do not know. But I’m glad I did.

MBA blog

Business students

About this blog Blog guide
Welcome to the Financial Times Business Education MBA blog. MBA students from business schools around the globe are blogging about their experiences.

What is it really like to study for an MBA? How do the students juggle their work load and their personal life? What do they hope to achieve once they have gained an MBA? Read the FT's MBA blog to find out.

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All posts are published in UK time.

Contact linda.anderson@ft.com about the MBA blog.

Read posts by the MBA class of 2010.

See the full list of FT blogs.

Meet the MBA students

The following students will share their business school experiences over the current academic year

Ernest Gyimah, European School of Management and Technology
Age: 26
Nationality: Ghanaian
Background: Ernest gained a first class degree in banking and finance from the University of Ghana before joining PricewaterhouseCoopers, working across Africa. He is a Kofi Annan fellow and hopes to contribute to growing small businesses in the developing world.

Mark Partridge, Foster School of Business, University of Washington
Age: 28
Nationality: Dual (US & UK)
Background: A British-American citizen Mark graduated from University College London with a degree in modern history before working as a journalist in Seattle. He hopes on graduation to work in a venture capital firm.

Mihai Danila, Insead (Fontainebleau)
Age: 28
Nationality: Romanian
Background: After graduating with a degree in international business from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest Mihai moved to the financial sector, working with a private equity fund and most recently as an investment banker in the mergers and acquisitions department of a large Romanian bank. He believes Insead will give him the knowledge he needs to have a greater impact in developing his country's emerging economy.

Aushima Thakur, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Age: 29
Nationality: Indian
Background: Aushima is a Fulbright scholar and has experience of both the corporate world and NGOs. She is keen to develop successful sustainable models for the world's poorest societies.

Hajime Sudo, Bradford University School of Management - University of Perugia: Bradford-Perugia joint MBA programme
Age: 30
Nationality: Japanese
Background: Hajime graduated from the Accounting School of Tohoku University, Japan earlier this year. He wants to become an accounting professional and believes an MBA will supply him with a broad and practical management knowledge and enhance his career portfolio.

Al Kennedy, University of Exeter Business School 'One Planet' full time MBA
Age: 43
Nationality: Irish
Background: Al has a masters in visual communication from the Royal College of Art. He has worked with leading companies on environmental projects and is keen to understand how business and brands can create sustainable strategies and innovate for social good.

Kamal Nagi, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Age: 27
Nationality: Qatari
Background: Kamal has a Masters of Engineering degree from Imperial College, London. He hopes to play a senior leadership role in Qatar’s financial and international investment future and is the first Qatari to enroll on Stanford’s MBA programme.

Karenina Loayza, MBA Cass Business School
Age: 27
Nationality: Bolivian
Background: Karenina moved from Bolivia to Wisconsin in the US at the age of 19. She holds a double degree in economics and international relations and has worked in financial publishing. She hopes to make the career switch into the finance industry.

Andrea Nowack, George Washington University
Age: 26
Nationality: American
Background: After studying for a degree in journalism and communication from the University of Oregon Andrea worked for Waggener Edstrom Worldwide in analyst relations. She also has experience as a digital marketing strategist.

Kelvin Chiu, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Age: 28
Nationality: Canadian
Background: A graduate from the electrical engineering programme at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Kelvin has worked as a project manager for Ontario Power Generation at a nuclear plant near Toronto, Canada. On graduation he hopes to work in consulitng. He is a certified personal trainer and fitness professional.

Julia Steinberg, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Age: 27
Nationality: American
Background: Julia has a degree in communications from Kent State University. She has worked as a public relations manager for a clothing group for several years but opted for an MBA so that she could make a career transition into marketing and strategy.

Lucky Sigbenu, Lagos Business School
Age: 28
Nationality: Nigerian
Background: After graduating from the University of Benin in Nigeria with a degree in electrical/electronic engineering Lucky worked as the business development manager of an IT start-up in Lagos. He hopes his MBA will give him a competitive advantage when running and managing a business in an emerging economy.

Katie Cannon, London Business School
Age: 30
Nationality: British
Background: After studying politics at Edinburgh University Katie embarked on a career in the arts. Aware that her skill set is focused on softer skills she hopes her MBA will give her a broader perspective on business.

Brigitte Roediger, University of Stellenbosch Business School, part time MBA
Age: 26
Nationality: South African
Background: Brigitte has a degree in financial analysis and marketing communications from the University of Stellenbosch. She is the assistant brand manager at Spier Wine Farm near Cape Town and will continue to work as she studies which will allow her to repay her business school loan.

Wesley Cole, Executive MBA Cass Business School, London
Age: 29
Nationality: British
Background: A business systems manager for a recruitment company, Wesley was keen to study for an MBA, whilst continuing to work full time. He hopes to be able to develop his leadership skills and apply them to his career.

Andi Caruso, SDA Bocconi
Age: 27
Nationality: Canadian
Background: Having graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, with a degree in journalism, Andi first studied acting before beginning a marketing career in the hospitality and entertainment industry. She wants to move into business development and strategy.

Suhel Banerjee, Kellogg School of Management
Age: 27
Nationality: Indian
Background: After completing his undergraduate degree in business at Calcutta University in 2005 Suhel joined Google's Hyderabad (India) office in advertising operations, before moving to Gurgaon where he became one of the founder members of the Google India sales team.

Anthemos Georgiades, Harvard Business School
Age: 28
Nationality: British
Background: After gaining degrees from Oxford and Cambridge, Anthemos spent three years as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. He then worked as an economic adviser on the Conservative party's election campaign.

Abhishek Ramanathan, Australian School of Business: AGSM
Age: 29
Nationality: Indian
Background: A graduate in computers and business studies from the University of Warwick in the UK, Abhishek has worked in operations and consulting in the insurance and IT industries worldwide. He hopes to become a management consultant.

Aman Modi, IMD
Age: 30
Nationality: Indian/British
Background: Aman has a BA in accounting and a masters in banking and international finance from Cass Business School, London. With more than eight years of finance-focused experience he wants to move into general management via an MBA.

Ashish Rastogi, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
Age: 32
Nationality: Indian
Background: For the past 10 years Ashish has worked for Infosys in various capacities in the US and India. He wants to build a career in corporate strategy and product marketing. He is studying on the Full Time MBA for executives (PGPex).

Aurélie Metcheka, Global MBA Essec
Age: 25
Nationality: Cameroonian
Background: Aurélie left her native Cameroon aged 19 to study at San Diego State University in the US. where she gained a BSc in accounting. She then worked in inventory control for an accessory company before opting for an MBA. She intends eventually to work in the audit department of one of the big four accountancy firms.

MBA blog


Welcome to the Financial Times Business Education MBA blog. MBA students from business schools around the globe are blogging about their experiences.

What is it really like to study for an MBA? How do the students juggle their work load and their personal life? What do they hope to achieve once they have gained an MBA? Read the FT's MBA blog to find out. www.ft.com/mbablog

Follow the FT's MBA coverage on Facebook



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