What made me choose Cass?

Located in the heart of the City of London, I chose Cass Business School, not only due to the reputation of the high-calibre leadership team on the Executive MBA course, but the opportunity to be part of a fantastic network of professionals and leaders represented both on the course and the alumni.

My background prior to joining Cass is predominantly as a professional chartered accountant. I have previously represented clients in financial services, biotechnology, life sciences, manufacturing, hospitality and agriculture. I have worked with FTSE- and AIM-listed global companies as well as SMEs. Currently, I am the Group Financial Controller for an offshore hedge fund based in the U.S. and Cayman Islands. In pursuing an MBA, I am looking to take my career to the next level and continue building my network internationally.

This is my insight into what to expect in the first few months on the Cass EMBA program.

The first term

As the first term comes to an end, we have completed our first six modules, covering strategy, finance, accountancy and business analytics to name a few. The cohort has established its newly formed groups, working together to complete numerous and challenging assignments set out at a frantic pace by our well-seasoned lecturers.

During case discussions, the mix of backgrounds, expertise and diversity across the cohort is clear, with conversations often drawing on experience from different industries and world markets. This can often lead to heated debates, particularly where there is more than one correct answer or approach. Whereas some of us approach an issue with cold logic, others prefer to use intuition, but the true answer lies somewhere in between. This does, however, benefit the cohort as a whole as it enables us to learn from one another and my fellow MBA candidates have taught me so much already.

By December the MBA is in full swing, with high expectations for the January exams adding to the pressure. As the Christmas period approaches, we connect with our mentors who are recent EMBA alumni and have been in our shoes. We discuss successful revision strategies, and the mentors share insights into the upcoming examinations, students and alumni coming together as peers to utilise all available resources to maximise our potential.

The Christmas break is warmly received by the cohort, giving us time to reflect on all our learning from the past three months in the run-up to the exams. On our return, peer support increases, an environment of constructive learning emerges, with teams organising revision sessions, mentoring one another on an individual basis and preparing for the first big test in only a matter of weeks.

The exams pass by at the usual, frantic EMBA pace, leaving us looking back, reflecting on where the first month of the year has gone. The end of January brings us to our first week-long break since starting the course. Many take the opportunity to celebrate together in the city, before the ‘achieving your potential’ away weekend set up by the Cass careers team. The weekend comprises of two days of self-reflection on our current careers, an evaluation of our core strengths and team-building activities. The weekend ends with executive coaching sessions with external facilitators to focus us on what we want to take away from the EMBA experience.

Looking ahead

The EMBA has already provided each member of the cohort a new, wider network of professionals, with an array of opportunities for the future. We are all extremely excited for the second half of the year, particularly our group consultancy project to Colombia in July. Given the achievements of the first half of the year, this too one would assume, will be just around the corner.