Inspiring inclusion: women graduates reflect on their MBA

A career in digital consulting

Sakuranna Chen (MBA 2022), from China, worked in VC in Beijing, quickly moving onto a cloud computing startup. After 6 years she moved to South Korea and then Singapore, working in corporate strategy and global expansion.

Sakuranna was looking for more in her career than doing a single function in an organisation and she was looking to pivot into consulting, working across a range of different projects and organisations on problem solving. She chose Cambridge for the one-year programme and she was interested in returning to the UK after her undergraduate studies at the University of Leeds.

She says the people are the highlight of her year, “You get to know so many great people in such a short amount of time. And the friendship and the knowledge you gain from the many different cultural perspectives on the MBA, it is just amazing. I don’t think you can do that anywhere else.”

Sakuranna continues, “We’ve been given so many choices and opportunities to have hands on experience of different industries, not just sitting in the classroom, but joining workshops and listening to people talk about different industries.”

For example, during the Culture, Arts and Media Managment Concentration which I selected in the third term, I previously knew very little about this sector and had always been just a consumer. But during each of our coach nights our Professor invited people from sports agencies, from the gaming sector, from film and TV, across all these different industries. This was very enlightening, I never experienced that before.”

“My MBA experience was not just about moving to the next role or job but more about exploring what’s possible, what is out there and what do I really want to do? It helped me explore what I wanted to do next. It showed me the possibilities and opportunities out there.”

She concludes, “I think that was more important for me, as after all the job is the job and you are going to work for the rest of your life. But this programme is something, it’s once in a lifetime!”

Gaining the skills for leadership in the family business

Karina Martin (MBA 2022), from Mexico, studied International Business and after a couple of years in industry she stepped into the family business, taking on a multitude of roles from project management, financial controller to strategy development, working with the external shareholders for the real estate development unit of the business.

“I had always wanted to do an MBA, but I needed to work in the sector beforehand. Once I worked in the family business and I was at a relatively senior level, making strategy decisions, I realised it was time to step back and get the skills to really drive the business forward efficiently.”

“I chose the UK as I had studied previously in the USA, and I wanted to have that different experience. And the UK offers a one-year MBA programme.”

Karina continues, “The practical projects and the hands-on learning, from the Global Consulting Project to the opportunity to do an internship, made Cambridge the best place for me.”

The diversity on the MBA programme was amazing, she explains, “I was a Student Representative during my MBA year and to be in the middle of 200 plus students and to listen to their views and their different standpoints, to realise that my world was not their world and the other way around. To realise that there are things that can be done in a better way and things can be improved. This has helped me personally to give and receive constructive feedback, to understand different stakeholders and to provide a voice to them, to provide those recommendations – that has been amazing.”

“My biggest surprise has been how much I have grown, how I see things differently now. The surprise has been my personal development.”

“Just to be among and to be part of these great leaders and amazing people, has just made me work more on myself and work more towards the best version of myself. That has been the biggest surprise for me.”

Karina is now Director of Project Development and Investor Relations at Door Capital Partners, based in Mexico.

A career in the social impact sector

Denise Ingabire (MBA 2022), from Rwanda, was working at the Rwanda Development Board before choosing to do an MBA.

She explains, “The organisation was a great institution to look at things from a policy perspective. But I also thought there’s a lot of opportunity to bring a lot of value within the private sector. And I thought an MBA is a good way to be able to bring that to fruition.”

Denise was attracted to Cambridge as it offers the one-year MBA and because of the reputation of the University itself.

“I was attracted to Cambridge because of the reputation it has as a reputable institution, but also the kind of people it attracts. I thought it would be very interesting to come and collaborate with people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and to be able to learn from them, not just from the faculty and professors, but also from my cohort as well.”

Denise tailored her MBA journey towards her goal of working in the private sector, “Coming in, I had this mindset of going into the private sector. My interest was more aligned with intrapreneurship. But I hadn’t really thought about social impact like that. And there was a lot of talk about sustainability and creating impact. And I thought that was interesting. I then decided to select the Concentration on Social Innovation.”

She continues, “It’s been really interesting, looking at how businesses can balance creating positive impact, while also being profitable and sustainable.”

“I am interested in sports development but also food security, 2 sectors that are very much linked. For me, it is all about innovation and being able to develop sustainable agricultural practices.”

On the diversity across the class, Denise says, “The wide diversity across the class in terms of backgrounds and experience is really interesting and it brings different perspectives to our discussions in class and in our projects.

“It has been great to get to know the people and their perspectives and become friends with people who you usually would not be able to interact with, maybe in the outside world, or where you come from.”

A startup career in the fintech sector

Cheryl Theixar (MBA 2022), from Indonesia, was a business development manager for Shopee before doing an MBA. Alongside this she had 10 years of experience in banking and working with credit rating agencies.

But she says, “Pursuing higher education has always been a lifelong goal for me. I was just waiting for the right time in my career to step out.

“I have this drive for self-development, and continuous learning. So yes, an MBA was always on my horizon.”

She continues, “I was mainly focused on a one-year programme. But I spoke to alumni and students at Cambridge, whilst doing my research, asking them about their own experiences at Cambridge Judge. 

“I was also interested in the values at Cambridge and across the Business School community. One thing that resonated with me was the value of collaboration within the School, as well as in wider Cambridge community.”

In the past year these values have been consistent throughout all aspects of the MBA programme and these attitudes are reinforced across its structure and the MBA curriculum. So, it has been the right choice for me.”

Cheryl was looking for international exposure, even after living and studying in both Singapore and the USA.

“I have never seen a more diverse environment than the one at Cambridge Judge. I was able to learn and share my knowledge with people from all over the world, from different countries.”

“I wanted to widen my horizons and learn about different industries, so I tailored my year to cover a range of topics from banking and finance to entrepreneurship and sustainability and even the healthcare sector.”

During the year Cheryl explored different industries and sectors through such projects as the Cambridge Venture Project (CVP) and the Global Consulting Project (GCP), working with a blockchain startup focused on fan engagement in the sports sector for her CVP, for example, and a family-run wine company based in Azerbaijan, later in the year, for her GCP.

“My MBA has given me plenty of opportunities to explore various areas. But I think it has also given me the courage to pursue what I have long wanted to do, which is to start my own business.

I aspire to start my own business and become a successful entrepreneur and I want to move into more advanced managerial and leadership positions.”

Cheryl came to Cambridge with an open mind, exploring different sectors and industries for her next career move.

“I am very grateful to have been able to grow and develop myself in this environment, it has been an amazing opportunity.”

Cheryl is now Director, Treasury Risk, Intragroup Credit Manager at Standard Chartered, based in their London headquarters.