Alex Blomstedt: From the military to the Cambridge MBA

What led you to take the Cambridge MBA?

I come from a family of pathological pivoters. My dad was a chemist before becoming a history professor. My mother was a teacher before becoming a nurse. I taught college English before joining the US Navy as an Intelligence Officer. It was the best career decision I have ever made. It was also terrifying to abandon the “stable” career path I had envisioned for myself. 

Now, as I prepare for a second pivot after almost 7 years of military service, I am happy to say that joining Cambridge Judge as an MBA student has (mostly) assuaged the dread of abandoning yet another “stable” career. 

The military gives you a wealth of hard and soft skills, along with invaluable leadership experience. Even so, if you ask a veteran about their time in service, I wager that they are most likely to talk about the quality and diversity of people they served with. At Cambridge, I don’t have to give that up. The MBA cohort is truly global and made up of incredibly talented and accomplished individuals. 

However, joining Cambridge Judge also means joining the larger University of Cambridge community and learning with some of the brightest minds in the world. I could not think of a better place to plant my pivot foot. 

Describe the biggest accomplishment in your career so far?

My most recent post was at NATO Allied Maritime Command, where I served as a staff officer. Following the invasion of Ukraine, I was tasked with representing our 3-star vice admiral in a small team of officers from all corners of the alliance. 

We were empowered to redesign key portions of the alliance’s military doctrine in response to the strategic shift playing out on the continent. Our recommendations were to be presented to the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe and, ultimately, to the North Atlantic Council. 

We ended up recommending a massive overhaul of the current operational paradigm and some drastic changes to the entire organisational structure of NATO. Historically, sweeping changes are seen as a fool’s errand for an organisation as large and politically diverse as NATO. 

However, leadership ultimately recognised that our vision was clear-eyed, and the time was right. Our team saw our changes enacted with unprecedented speed. I was both humbled and honoured to be part of such an agile and fearless team of problem solvers. It has encouraged me to break more things in the future. 

How do you feel about being awarded your scholarship?

I am honoured to receive the Cambridge MBA Scholarship for military personnel and proud to join an organisation that values the military experience. 

I believe teams are stronger when they include people with starkly different backgrounds and skill sets. The military is just one “non-traditional” pre-MBA career, but I am thankful that Cambridge Judge Business School has carved out this space for veterans. 

What do you want to get out of the MBA most of all in the next year?

I want to be surprised. Of all the places I considered for my MBA, Cambridge seemed most likely to challenge my perceptions and help me grow intellectually. 

Cambridge Judge is not a siloed business school, but a business school operating in the context of both rich tradition and cutting-edge innovation. I would love to colour outside the lines of the bog-standard MBA experience while I am at Cambridge. 

Where do you see your MBA journey taking you in your future career?

If my journey has taught me anything, it is that life is unpredictable. The average 10-year plan typically has more than a few detours. In the short term, I want to start a new career and a new life for my family across the pond. 

For the long haul, I hope that my MBA will provide me with confidence in my ability to locate and harness the opportunities that I cannot yet see. 

What does Cambridge mean to you?

Cambridge is a place to feel small in the presence of those who came before you, but also to feel like you are a part of something bigger and vastly more important than yourself. So, to me, Cambridge means feeling more or less normal-sized (on balance).

Something that few people may know about you…

I’ve voluntarily read Moby Dick 5 times.