Partners in life and learning: 2 Executive MBAs, one journey

As a family with 3 children under 8 years old, 2 full-time careers and an international business to run, even one parent taking on an Executive MBA would be a big step. For both parents to study for Executive MBA programmes at the same time might seem like an enormous challenge. Yet for Stephen and Yvonne Amponsah, it has become a shared Cambridge experience.

Stephen is studying on the Cambridge Executive MBA (2025 cohort) and Yvonne is on the Global Executive MBA (2026 cohort). Between them, they are experiencing 2 different routes through Cambridge Judge Business School and learning how to make them work around careers, family life and a growing business.

Choosing Cambridge – and choosing differently

When Stephen and Yvonne began looking at business schools, Cambridge and Oxford quickly emerged as the obvious options. For Stephen, it was Cambridge from the start. He was drawn to the University’s research strength, the quality of education, the network and the wider Cambridge ecosystem.

Yvonne initially leaned towards Oxford, partly because it is closer to home. Her thinking shifted when she discovered the Global Executive MBA.

“What really swayed me was the flexibility of the Global Executive MBA programme,” she says. “Once I understood how it was structured, I was sold. We are both going into very intense study at the same time and we have 3 young children. The Global Executive MBA gives me more flexibility to balance all of that.”

The 2 programmes vary most in how they are delivered. That difference is central to how they make this work as a family. Stephen’s Cambridge Executive MBA brings him to Cambridge Judge for regular teaching weekends, with in-person lectures, coffee catchups and the kind of face-to-face networking that continues long after class ends. Yvonne’s Global Executive MBA blends intensive residential blocks with highly interactive online teaching and group work between visits to Cambridge. That mix of frequent on-site weekends for one parent and more flexible, blended learning for the other is what makes 2 Executive MBAs in one household possible.

Multiple programmes, one family calendar

The juggling act becomes most apparent when Stephen and Yvonne both have to be in Cambridge at the same time. So far, that has only happened during Yvonne’s orientation week in January. Managing their schedules then felt, at times, like a military drill.

“Our youngest had just turned 2,” Stephen recalls. “I stayed home from Monday to Wednesday doing the school runs, dropped the kids off on Thursday morning, drove to Cambridge and sat my exams on Friday and Saturday. It was intense, but with family stepping in to help over the weekend, we pulled it off.”

Multiple formats, one Cambridge experience

Prospective Global Executive MBA participants often ask whether they will still get the Cambridge experience when they are not on-site as often as Executive MBA students. Yvonne is clear that they do.

She points to her orientation week, which provided a deep introduction to Cambridge Judge and her classmates. Since then, her cohort has stayed close through an active WhatsApp chat, rotating study teams and lively Zoom sessions. Even though much of the learning happens online between residentials, she feels able to reach out to anyone for help or advice and describes a strong sense of community.

Stephen’s Cambridge Executive MBA offers a different rhythm but a similar level of connection. From the outset, the programme built in structured networking sessions designed to encourage openness and trust, and he feels that almost everyone in the cohort is happy to connect and collaborate.

Sharing the learning curve

With Stephen a term ahead on the Cambridge Executive MBA and some overlap in modules, there is a natural opportunity for mutual support. Stephen’s experience often gives Yvonne an early sense of what to expect. They also talk through concepts one of them finds challenging. At other times, the Global Executive MBA cohort covers certain topics first and Yvonne effectively becomes Stephen’s study group. Although assignments and some modules differ between the 2 programmes, meaning they cannot collaborate on the assessed work itself, they still help each other understand the material and what lies ahead.

Both have built their careers in finance, so the finance and economics content feels familiar. The bigger shifts have come from the management and leadership elements of their programmes, and from the coaching that accompanies them.

For Stephen, the programme has shifted his focus from spreadsheets to people. Working across wealth management, oil and gas and a growing cybersecurity startup in Africa, he says Cambridge has helped him step back, listen, show empathy and lead with clarity, especially under pressure and across different cultures.

For Yvonne, the programme has sharpened her sense of who she is as a leader. The content so far has helped her articulate and build on her existing strengths. She sees the upcoming coaching as a chance to go further: to reflect more deeply on how she leads, both in her corporate role and in the family business.

Making space for study, work and family

Behind the scenes, the practical question remains: how do they make it all fit?

They are upfront about it being really difficult. Yvonne says they have had to be very deliberate about how they use their time. Instead of waiting for long stretches of free time, they weave their time together into everyday routines.

School runs have become one of their main touchpoints. Whenever possible, they take the children to school or nursery together, using the drive as time to talk without interruptions. Their older children attend school in another town, about 25 minutes away, so the journey there and back provides a regular window to catch up on work, study and family matters.

They also try to walk together several times a week, for an hour or so, and protect shared mealtimes where they can. At this stage, they accept that there is always something else they could be doing, such as an assignment, a call or an email, but instead treat these everyday moments as opportunities to reconnect.

More than a certificate: doing it together

Stephen and Yvonne say they would still choose to take on 2 Executive MBAs at the same time. The pressure is real, but they are collecting memories they would not have made any other way: from cohorts and projects to travel, late-night conversations and quick chats between lectures and school runs. For Yvonne, it matters that she is living the Cambridge experience alongside Stephen rather than watching from the sidelines. For Stephen, it is about more than the certificate: it is about the shared journey.

They jokingly describe the 18 months on the 2 programmes as a pressure cooker, but it is one they are in together. If they can handle this mix of deadlines, flights, school runs and group projects, they feel ready for whatever comes next.