MBA High Flyers

Want to get ahead in 2012? We speak to four new business-school graduates to find out how doing an MBA took their career to the next level - and helped them to see the world at the same time

Featured January 12 Words by Simeon De La Torre
MBA High Flyers

It's cold outside. Christmas cheer has made way for the January blues, work feels even more like a slog and you'd rather be anywhere else. Sound familiar? It needn't be. The start of a new year is the perfect moment to shake things up professionally, and how better to do it than with an MBA? Long considered one of the world's most effective business qualifications, the Master's of Business Administration is also, increasingly, creating a new jet set. With the rise in availability of air travel across Europe, students are increasingly choosing a school far from home, and these same routes offer new entrepreneurs a ready-made client network. With a fresh intake of students starting this month, we asked four recent graduates to tell us why going back to school was the best decision they ever made�

THE STYLE PROFESSIONAL

POLLY McMASTER The 31-year-old is co-founder of a new fashion brand called The Fold, which designs and sells clothes for "professionally chic" women. However, this new venture is at odds with a more sober career background�

"I started out with a PhD in virology, then went into strategy consulting, before moving into private equity. I was involved in investing in healthcare businesses and in 2009 my employers suggested I study for an MBA.

"I took a two-year secondment to study at London Business School, with the intention of building my 'business toolkit' and returning to work with more well-rounded skills. Then everything changed. It was a real opportunity to stop and think, and to get off the treadmill that I was on. I met my business partner, Cheryl, on the course and we had the same idea.

"We both had personal experience of getting dressed up for work in manly suits and we wanted to give women a more fashionable alternative. The course was a springboard for the business. We learned all the necessary skills, worked on the business plan and, crucially, built up a valuable network of contacts.

One of the reasons I chose to study in London was because it's so easy to get around Europe, and lots of students do exchanges. I travelled to Munich and Madrid extensively during the course because they're both important hubs and the businesswomen there are potential customers.

Cheryl and I have been working at the business full-time since July, and it's the best thing that could have happened to us. We're now doing something we're extremely passionate about."

THE BUSINESS NETWORKER

BAS ROOKHUIJZEN This 30-year-old Dutch national began studying for his MBA part-time in 2007, while also working for a technology firm. He found that the course improved his business acumen and the network he built up took his career to the next level.

"I was an international account manager for Acer, which meant that my role was to travel throughout Europe and bring in as much business as possible. I was good at it, but I wanted to improve my prospects, so I signed up for a 21-month MBA course at Nyenrode Business Universiteit, which is near Amsterdam.

"It was part-time, which was extremely difficult to fit into my life. However, I quickly found that I could apply the things I learned to my job, and I could talk to my fellow students about challenges I was facing at work and they'd help me find solutions.

"I soon got a job offer with an IT company as a result of my networking, and I now travel the world with my job. I earn more than double what I did before, and that's partly due to the skills I've learned and partly because of the people I've encountered - they've been such a key factor in my success.

"The help and advice we share is invaluable, as are the introductions: my MBA colleagues know that when they introduce me, I can be trusted to deliver and that goes a long way."

THE TECHNOPRENEUR

ARNOLD FERLIN After earning an engineering degree in mechatronics (robotics), this 31-year-old Parisian found himself marginalised in a technical job that didn't maximise his entrepreneurial talents, so he headed to Lyon and the EMLYON Business School.

"The technical field no longer suited me. I wanted a broader vision - and I didn't want to wait the 10 years that it would take to have a job in management, so I quit. I moved to Lyon and began a new life, with new objectives and a new future.

"I decided to do an MBA because I'd thought about starting up a company of my own. I was soon studying with 30 students from all walks of life.

The course taught me so many things that you don't learn as an engineer - such as strategy and finance, and 'intrapreneurship', which is how to work within companies to identify markets and new opportunities.

"During the course we were given a feasibility study to complete and I met with a surgeon who told me - almost in passing - that he needed a tool to complete a particular task. I built a team to explore the feasibility of producing such a tool, created it and then put together a business plan. We're now a year down the line, I've graduated from my course and the technology has been approved by neurologists. I have a patent and a business partner, and we have a growing company."

THE ONLINE GURU

LINDSEY NEFESH-CLARKE During her previous working life spent heading up a humanitarian organisation, this 40-year-old Briton felt compelled to make a difference. She studied for her MBA at ESCP Europe business school and now runs an online philanthropy platform for women.

"I was previously a programme director for an organisation that secured access to education and comprehensive care for children across Asia. Then I was confronted by a humanitarian crisis - a huge fire - while I was working in the Philippines and I helped with providing relief for 3,000 people in a slum. It was a turning point for me.

"I came back with the intention of studying business. I thought that if I could learn how, I could make a difference. My course was part-time over 18 months and, while it was expensive, it was an investment. It was all about cultivating leadership skills, networking and building up the support framework that will serve you in your business life. I learned the hard skills - such as strategy, finance, business operation, etc - but I also cultivated soft skills, such as how to interact with people from different backgrounds. It really was a confidence booster.

"One of the things I completed was an international consulting project, which is where I cultivated my idea: W4 (Women's Worldwide Web), an online philanthropy platform dedicated to poverty alleviation. Although the organisation is still in its nascent stage, we have field partners around the world.

"The course has definitely changed my life for the better - I'm now doing my dream job. It's amazing what you can do in just a few months."