Monsicha (Mint) Pongrujikorn: Law in finance, energy and ESG sectors 

What stood out about the academic learning experience for you?

The MBA delivered top class academic content, from stellar faculty with impressive achievements. The classes were academically rigorous (I wrote more than 55,000 words worth of assignments!), as any University of Cambridge degree should be. I enjoyed both Management Praxis I and II very much. The most useful courses to me were Management Praxis, Organisational Behaviour, Entrepreneurship and Operations Management. 

Please tell us about the standout elements of the Cambridge experience.

I spread myself extremely thin with the number of SIGs I became a part of and learning to juggle was a valuable skill I learned on this course. Taking part in MBAT was also a great bonding opportunity and the quest to experience as many college formals as possible helped me meet more classmates and get to know them. The highlight must have been our board-games group though, as we got involved in such complex high-strategy board games with a group of top negotiators that we ended up playing a game that ran for 12 hours (18:00-16:00) and it was an experience I will never forget. 

How would you describe the cohort of people in your class?

They made the year. Everyone had so much to offer, everyone was unique but in many ways there’s an overlap in our core values and that made us CJBS students. There was a healthy dose of diversity, it wasn’t all rosy and clashes have been known to happen but that is life and overall it really changed me, my mindset, and broadened my perspective in ways I could never have imagined. 

What aspect of the MBA learning/experience would you say you find most useful now in your professional life?

The life optimisation skills that you practice and pick up: networking, living the “you only MBA once” lifestyle for the year and having to defy all limits of time-management possibilities to align everything you want to do in the limited time that you have. 

Did you switch any elements of your career after your MBA?

I switched industry sector. 

If you did make a switch, what factors enabled you to do that?

I went from being a private practice lawyer in a banking/project finance and power and infrastructure projects to an in-house lawyer in a related industry. The understanding of business concerns from the academic learning and all the case practices I did really helped me hit the ground running when supporting a business. 

How has the MBA influenced your career journey in general?

It allowed me to grow the capabilities of myself and others more effectively and build relationships in a very large multinational company across geographic boundaries. It brought me much closer to the organisational leadership much faster, and was able to remain resilient through massive organisational change initiatives and tough times. The MBA helped me stay ahead of the organisation when it came to digital transformation initiatives, or transformational leadership initiatives and metrics, allowing me to stay ahead. I’ve been constantly redefining my job description throughout my post-MBA career. 

What would you say to others working at the same company you did before your MBA – would you recommend the Cambridge MBA to them, and if so, why?

Definitely! I’ve been recommending the Cambridge MBA (and MBAs generally) to all young lawyers who’ve come across my path for all the reasons set out above. It’s a business course but it is valuable life skills, you build a highly capable and supportive network that gives you the confidence and peace of mind to tackle anything in life.