Graduation day at Cambridge Judge Business School is a celebration of 12 months of the full-time MBA programme. The event itself, held some 8 months after the programme ends, offers a chance to reflect on how an MBA from the University of Cambridge has helped our graduates secure a new role or transition in their sector or relocate and work in a new country. Many also reflect on the personal, as well as professional growth, that comes from their MBA year.
Switching location with a firm focus on ESG
Rishika Daryanani, (MBA 2021) an associate for McKinsey now based in London, found her post-MBA role through the Careers Team at the Business School.
“Through the structured recruiting process, recruiting for the MBA, I found and secured my role at McKinsey. I was supported by the CJBS Careers Team throughout the process, from case preparation to understanding what the MBB recruitment requirements are.”
Coming from Accenture consulting in the USA, Rishika already had some familiarity with the sector and some background for her current role. “I was thinking about what the right move might be and through my MBA year I rediscovered my love of consulting through the different practical projects that we did, including the Cambridge Venture Project and the Global Consulting Project.”
Rishika had wanted to transition her career into something more climate focused,
“As the consulting sector provides a variety of careers paths and options, this pathway has really allowed me to explore, and at McKinsey I am now able to be more climate focused, which is really exciting.”
She continues, “During my MBA year I was able to specialise and concentrate in the energy sector with the Energy and Environment Concentration. I was then able to focus my project work in the ESG and climate space.”
“My GCP was at Inditex, helping them think through their carbon pricing strategy to support the decarbonisation of their supply chains.”
While returning to the consulting sector, Rishika was able to switch location after her MBA,
“I was able to switch location, which was really important – to be able to get more of a global perspective, to base myself in London and to have access to both Europe and Asia more easily. To be able to understand the global context of how consulting might help companies think about their future.”
From the finance sector to impact investing in Asia
Luvina (Weilu) Yao (MBA 2021), from China, is now part of the investment team in London, working for Blue Earth Capital, looking after the Asia market with the private debt team.
Firmly focused on investment opportunities that generate social and environmental impact, she says, “I was doing my MBA, I was exploring what could be the next career goal for myself and I find this very niche area called “impact investing”, where I can leverage the skill set that I had from the finance sector but whilst also doing good in my career.”
Luvinia identifies the global network and diversity at Cambridge Judge in supporting her career going forward,
“I met people from all around the world and from different backgrounds during the MBA and I think one thing I learned the most is how to appreciate different work cultures and how different people work and think about things. This helps me in my new role working for an international global company.”
“In addition, when I am looking at investment opportunities in some sectors, I now know an expert working in that sector from my global MBA network and so I can ask for their insight and advice.”
Like Rishika, Luvinia also chose the Energy and Environment Concentration, “I did not have an energy or engineering background, but I wanted to focus more on the climate sector. The ESG sector is a very important part of the role that I do now.”
Luvinia switched location and job function through the MBA, and she moved to a different role in the finance sector.
“I used to work in finance, in the banking sector and I wanted to do something more meaningful but didn’t really have the answer to how. My MBA year has shown me the next steps in my career.”
Transitioning into tech with an MBA
Maimoon Saleem, (MBA 2021) has made the leap into the tech sector after his MBA year.
“I am now working for Amazon in the UK, I am the Operations Manager for the Last Mile Delivery, that fleet of Prime vans that you see on the roads.”
Working with the CJBS Careers Team, Maimoon was recruited by Amazon who came to campus during the first month of the Michaelmas Term.
“CJBS Careers were really helpful throughout the recruiting process, we had access to online platforms like CaseCoach and RocketBlocks and the team organised coffee chats with alumni in different sectors from finance to tech and consulting.”
Explaining which MBA courses and elements Maimoon applies most in his day-to-day work, he says,
“The Management Praxis course, taught by faculty Mark De Rond, is a negotiations course that I now use every day in my new role at Amazon, dealing with both internal and external stakeholders.”
Coming from the automotive sector based in Germany, previously in a R&D programme management role, Maimoon explains,
“Coming into the MBA, Amazon was my first choice of employer. I also wanted to start a career in the UK, so I chose the leadership development programme at Amazon called Pathways.”
He concludes,
“With the Cambridge MBA, I did the triple jump, basically changing geography, industry, and function.”
Switching sector into consulting at Bain
For Steven Goentoro (MBA 2021), from Indonesia, a role in consulting was always the goal coming into the MBA.
“I planned to go into consulting on joining the MBA, but I also wanted to explore a little during my year. So, I looked at social enterprise and the non-profit sector as well.”
Steven feels that all of the MBA courses at Cambridge have equipped him for his new role in consulting.
“As a generalist consultant at Bain I must understand all the businesses processes from end to end. I use my MBA skills in my new role every day. I will say that Cambridge Judge has equipped me with the necessary skills and courses to perform well in my new job.”
“The practical consulting projects during the Cambridge MBA also helped me a great deal in learning about this sector. I even worked with an ex-consultant I knew during the Cambridge Venture Project, where we work with startups across Cambridge and the UK.”
Steven switched sector, as he was a product manager before coming into the MBA and he has switched role, while firmly remaining in Jakarta, Indonesia.