I grew up in Exeter and spent the better part of my twenties in London, where I met my wife with whom I now share a baby son. Currently, I reside near Wakefield, West Yorkshire. My background is multicultural—my father is British and my mother Singaporean. With extensive family in Singapore, I try to visit as often as possible. I've always been hands-on and inquisitive, which naturally led me from my first degree in Computer Science into a technology/IT-related career.

I was initially attracted to Warwick Business School (WBS) for three key reasons: the teaching approach, fees, and location. I was balancing WBS with another option and originally visited for a Global Online MBA open day. After talking with the admissions team, I shifted toward the Executive MBA given the increased amount of face-to-face teaching, which was important to me. Additionally, my application sponsor—the CEO of my first post-graduation employer and someone whose opinion I highly respect—specifically recommended Warwick.

I really value the diversity of knowledge and experience in the classroom. With my background primarily in technical consulting, my expertise has been arguably "T-shaped." The in-class discussions have been fascinating, offering insights from the varied perspectives of my cohort members.

The programme has allowed me to learn and reflect on complementary ‘business’ disciplines that I hadn't been exposed to previously in my career. The core modules cover a wide range of topics—some I expected to enjoy (Operations Management) and some pleasant surprises (Marketing, Leadership—which validated my personal creative leadership style). These core modules significantly influenced my elective choices.

I'm deliberately using the Executive MBA to create flexibility for my future. In the short-to-medium term, I have an opportunity to establish a new work area within my current employer. I plan to apply takeaways from this program to communicate effectively with senior decision-makers.

Alternatively, I'm considering leaving consulting altogether to pursue a career in technology innovation within a single organization. The nature of consulting means I often move between clients without seeing the long-term—and hopefully positive—impacts of my work.

For those considering an MBA, I offer three pieces of advice:

First, if possible, take annual leave from work during intensive study periods. This allows you to fully immerse yourself in the classroom content without distractions from emails, MS Teams/Slack, etc. (though I understand this isn't feasible for everyone).

Second, consider your elective choices early in the program.

Finally, acknowledge that an MBA will be stressful at times. Life occasionally interferes with reading, individual assignments and group work—a supportive cohort will help each other through these challenges (within reason). Just make sure you read the case studies!