Shelley Doorey-Williams, Modular Executive MBA alumna (2011-2013),
Head of Wealth Planning and Sales Management, UBS Wealth Management
I was motivated to do the Modular Executive MBA as I wanted to consolidate what I already knew and add new, more structured ways of looking at the world of business.
I am a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and also part of their Social Entrepreneurs network. They hosted an event at Cass one evening and as I walked through the doors of Cass Business School I was swept away by the energy, dynamism and enthusiasm of everyone there. I had already started to research MBA courses at the best business schools and therefore knew of the excellent reputation that Cass had. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to join Cass and be part of this outstanding institution.
I am a chartered secretary by profession and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators. For around a decade, I worked in numerous roles in a broad range of industries, from food retail to broadcast media. I started my own business in 2000, managing and communicating employee share plans, having spotted a gap in the market. I sold that business in 2006 and am privileged to have been with UBS for the past eight years, having held various roles in both London and New York. I was promoted shortly after completing the Executive MBA and am currently Head of Wealth Planning and Sales Management UK.
The experience at Cass far exceeded anything I could have expected.The most memorable elements of my Cass experience were the richness of the teaching, the closeness of the connection I built with my cohort and others at the business school and the adrenaline of completing group assignments. You are operating alongside other like-minded individuals who are all enthusiastic and want to get the most from the course, so there is a shared ambition and drive.
I selected the Modular Executive MBA for two main reasons. The first was a practical one, given I was already working long hours and travelled internationally for business, the weekends were more feasible. The second being that I believed that the Modular option would give me a greater opportunity to get to know my cohort better and also to meet people from other countries. I was extremely pleased to have chosen this option, as both the practicalities and ability to build stronger relationships held true.
Being able to study over a long weekend per month gave me the flexibility to work full-time yet acquire new business skills, knowledge and expertise . Many of my peers commuted from Europe and even further afield, I felt the diversity of the cohort really added to my learning and the overall experience.
The international dimension was particularly important in my decision to do an MBA and during the programme I visited China, Vietnam and Las Vegas. These trips were vastly different; China was an International Symposium where we heard from business leaders and professionals about conducting business in China, during our Vietnam visit we worked on a consultancy basis with a start-up business in Hanoi and in Las Vegas we conducted a strategic marketing review of a major hotel and leisure business. The commonality of the trips was the ability to put some of what we had learnt in our existing careers and in the lecture rooms at Cass, into practice. The opportunity to meet and work with such a varied group of amazing people, from the high-quality lecturers, to the business people we met on International trips and of course, my fellow MEMBAs. It was hard work, took great commitment and sacrifice, but if I had to do it again – without a doubt, I would.
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The Modular Executive MBA provides a flexible learning experience studied over one long weekend per month (Friday-Monday) over 24 months and is designed prepare you for senior leadership.
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