Programme: Cambridge Executive MBA 2012
Country: Japan
Company: Executive General Manager, IT, Universal Music Group
Education: Bakersfield College, California
My experience in supply chain manufacturing enabled me to become a SAP consultant at Diagonal Consulting in Malaysia, and led to a role in the London headquarters of EMI Music. On completion of the Executive MBA I was promoted to the role of General Manager IT, for Universal Music Group in Tokyo
“I began my career in the hotel industry, working in a number of sales roles, eventually becoming Associate Director of Sales for Concorde Hotels and Resorts Malaysia. In 2000 I switched to IT, as manager for a local system integration firm, working with logistics and manufacturing clients. My experience in supply chain manufacturing enabled me to become a SAP consultant at Diagonal Consulting in Malaysia, and later provided the opportunity to join EMI Music Plc as a SAP Business Analyst in Tokyo. In 2009 I was promoted to the role of General Manager, IT, and then to a new role as Transformation Director, Supply Chain Lead, in the London HQ of EMI Music. On completion of the EMBA, I was promoted to the role of General Manager IT, for Universal Music Group in Tokyo.
“Although I have had plenty of business experience, I felt that I needed more academic training to become an effective manager in my new role. During the course of my career, I have acquired various practical industry qualifications, but felt I lacked high-level management knowledge, specifically in the areas of marketing and leadership. I realised that ‘street knowledge’ could only take me so far, and that both academic and industry knowledge are both critical drivers of success in my business. I therefore decided to dedicate 20 months to working towards the Cambridge Executive MBA and to broadening my knowledge and skills through collaborating with participants who come from very different industries and have quite different business approaches. I am already finding that I am better able to communicate with people in my office and am more conscious of how to avoid or confront potentially difficult situations, thus helping me become a more effective, and better, manager.”