A note about us

The Inside the London MBA blog is written by a cross section of the London Business School MBA community. First and second year MBA students, MBA alumni and MBA Programme Office staff all contribute toward the site. The purpose of the site is to give an insight into the vibrant culture and activities of the community. We welcome your feedback! (Please note that comments will be reviewed by the site administrator prior to publishing. This is not an attempt to censor feedback, but is necessary to prevent spam and maintain the quality and relevance of content.)

The contributing authors on this site are all members of the London Business School community. The opinions expressed here are their own, and are not reviewed or edited in advance by anyone but the individual authors. Neither London Business School nor any other party necessarily agrees with them.

Martha

Martha

Class: MBA 2008

Nationality: Mexican

Last job: Field Service Manager

Favourite place in London: Regent's Park

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Each member of my numerous Mexican family, my closest friends and Albert Einstein, of course.

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Now this is the most important thing in your life, focus.

About me: I am Mexican, majored in physics, my passion, and upon graduation joined Schlumberger, an oilfield services provider, with whom I developed my technical and leadership skills the most throughout six intensive years. Worked in Mexico, South Texas, Brazil and the UK and I guess I just felt in love with Britain. Other than international exposure I enjoy quality time with my family and close friends, travelling, spinning, reading and red wine. Applying to London Business School was my last year's best decision, receiving the offer was my last year's best news. I bet it will all be a fantastic and rewarding experience, all worth it.

Sean

Sean

Class: MBA 2008

Nationality: American

Last job: Institutional Sales Manager for SEI Investments

Favourite place in London: The Royal Observatory at Greenwich and The Tate Modern

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Bill Clinton

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Be yourself

About me: I grew up mainly in Cincinnati, OH, but moved around a lot (Chicago, Connecticut, Belgium). I spent four great years as a Boston College Screamin' Eagle where I majored in Computer Science and Economics. After Boston, I moved to Philadelphia, PA to join SEI Investments. One year into that, I transferred with SEI to their new European headquarters in London. My wife and I have had such a great time in London over the past three years that we may never leave (don't tell the in-laws that!). I have just completed the Chartered Financial Analyst programme and will probably continue with a career in Financial Services after graduation. I can't wait for all of the experiences that lie ahead of me at London Business School!

Manish

Manish

Class: MBA 2008

Nationality: Indian

Last job: Software Engineer

Favourite place in London: Don't know yet!

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Dave Chapelle

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Shower your love on the school

About me: I'm a jack of many trades and a master of a few. I love music of all kinds and am deeply interested in the business of music. People generally like my company and I enjoy being with people. I am married and have a 2 year old daughter.

Natasja

Natasja

Class: MBA 2007

Nationality: Dutch

Last job: Consultant

Favourite place in London: Toss up between the British Library, Selfridges and my bed!

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Johann Gutenberg

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Start early!

About me:Raised in the most beautiful town in the Netherlands, set off into the wide world to follow my heart and study English and Book History. Accidentally got hired by a big consultancy firm, which I left after two years for a tiny consultancy firm, which I left to come to London Business School. I'm a book-a-holic, a passionate foodie and and I love to travel (because that usually involves both books and food!).

See-wan

See-Wan

Class: MBA 2009

Nationality: Canadian

Last job: Trade and Pricing Manager, Mediterranean Region

Favourite place in London: Regent’s Park

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Oprah Winfrey

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Talk to current students, make sure you find out the culture of the school before making a decision.

About me:: I come from a family that moves around a lot, I began my own experience abroad when I went to Switzerland on exchange at 15. I fell in love with Europe and couldn’t stop coming back. I majored in European Studies and German literature at the University of Toronto and worked in Germany right after graduation before moving to my favourite city, Barcelona, two years ago. My hobbies include reading, dining out, cooking, learning new languages and meeting people from different cultures.

Matthew

Matthew

Class: MBA 2009

Nationality: American

Last job: US Navy

Favourite place in London: My Bed

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Dave Chapelle, Judd Apatow, Natalie Portman, and Hamish Seegopaul

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: "Go Hard or Go Home"

About me:: I was born and raised in New York. I was educated in California, and I have spent my employed life bouncing around from San Diego to Honolulu to Sasebo to Toulon. I have little idea what I want to do after Business School. Well, I would like to work and find better places than my bed in London.

Melanie

Melanie

Class: MBA 2009

Nationality: American

Last job: Management Associate with MeadWestvaco's Consumer Packaging Group

Favourite place in London: Must I really decide between Guanabara, Whole Foods and the Tate Modern?

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: My best friends who are scattered around the world - and probably Al Gore.

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Talk to students who are there to get a feel for if these would be people you would want to be friends with for the rest of your life.

About me:: I'm a Chinese-Texan who can't seem to stay in one place for very long. I studied International Business at The University of Texas at Austin and have lived in Hungary, Singapore, India, New York, Austria and now London. Minor travel bug - major foodie. Having previous experience in non-profit I'm looking to get back into the spirit through Responsible Business.

Stuart

Stuart

Class: MBA 2009

Nationality: British

Last job: Royal Navy Medical Officer (Submarines and Royal Marines)

Favourite place in London: Portobello Road Market for shopping, Soho/Piccadilly for the atmosphere, Regent's Park for summer boating and the ducks!

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Sir Winston Churchill (one of Britain's greatest ever leaders).

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Never underestimate the length of time and amount of effort required in applications, but also realise how much the transformational experience will affect you and influence the rest of your life.

About me:: I am a home-bred UK boy but have no particular 'base' in the UK having spent many years at boarding school and then 10 years in the military. I have been fortunate enough to have worked in some of the most demanding and exhilarating roles whilst living in the most interesting locations on the planet. I have met some extremely brave and dedicated individuals, both within the military and medical practice. It has been my honour to work as a physician for the past 7 years and I hope that the trust placed in me over this time will have taught me the integrity and honour required to work in a future career path based on social entrepreneurship and responsible business. My transition into the business world has allowed me to become involved in some extremely interesting global healthcare projects, and I am fully confident that the global outlook of London Business School will help me to continue on this path.

Jerome

Jerome

Class: MBA 2009

Nationality: French

Last job: IT Project Manager / Developer

Favourite place in London: Notting Hill

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Zinedine Zinane: among the top 10 football players ever, a model of modesty and kindness outside of the pitch, but also knows when to draw the line and not to accept anything!

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Make no compromise on the quality of the school and just be yourself.

About me:: was born and raised in the middle of the Bordeaux vineyard, where I also studied Computer Science. After interning in Boston, MA (USA) for a few months I started working in Paris as a software developer for equities market makers. After three years I moved to Goldman Sachs in London, where for three years I managed and developed software projects for commodity traders. Six years was more than I needed to deserve a break and London Business School was kind enough to offer me one!

Don

Don

Class: MBA 2009

Nationality: British (but born and bred in Germany.

Last job: Management and IT Consulting (Manager in Capital Markets for Accenture).

Favourite place in London: So far Chinatown for food shopping, Regent's Park for running and the Windsor Pub for socializing.

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Arnold Schwarzenegger / The Dalai Lama

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Be yourself (which includes knowing who you are and who you want to be).

About me:: I studied computer science and business in Munich and then joined Accenture. The next two years were spent in Frankfurt helping build Xetra, after which I took a break and backpacked around the world for six months. I spent an additional six months in South East Asia, where I undertook a meditation retreat, a Thai massage course, and became a dive master. The next 18 months were spent working on a banking project in Vienna. After three months in Honduras working as a dive instructor, I was staffed to Shanghai, where for three years I helped build the SSE trading system. Shortly before coming to London Business School I was working on projects in Tokyo and St.Gallen. I enjoy being with people and being alone, a lot of sports (diving, sailing, skiing, gym, running, tennis, golf, most likely rugby soon-ish) and want to turn my personal passion for capital markets into a professional occupation.

Hamish

Hamish

Class: MBA 2009

Nationality: American.

Last job: Manager of European Index Development at Dow Jones

Favourite place in London: Too soon for a definitive answer, but the top of Hampstead Heath for now.

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Chuck Klosterman, with Matt Shenkman as an alternate.

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Make sure you are actually answering the questions asked of you.

About me:: I might be the only Australian-born American of Guyanese/Indian descent with a Scottish name. However, a unique and beautiful snowflake this does not make -- my interests are comically banal, including travelling, hanging out with friends, sports, enjoying food & drink, etc. Professionally, I graduated with a degree in Mathematics and have been working for Dow Jones Indexes ever since, most recently in Germany. I had planned to go into asset management after graduating, but career services orientation got me thinking. To be continued.

Debasri

Debasri

Class: MBA 2009

Nationality: Indian.

Last job: Banking

Favourite place in London: Too soon to say.

If I could invite anyone to my dinner party, it would be: Richard Feynman

Best piece of advice I received when applying to b-school: Don't pretend to be someone you are not; they'll always find out!

About me:: I was born and brought up in India and had spent the last three years in Mumbai working for HSBC on the personal financial services side. When not working, I enjoy reading and if back home in India, I love walking my dog Tin Tin. I also enjoy travelling and though I’m not particularly well travelled, I hope to make up for lost time pretty soon!

Adcoms

Adcoms

Who we are: The MBA Programme Office team

Nationality: Mostly British but with a hint of Australian, Kiwi, Polish and American.

Current job: MBA Marketing/Admissions

Best piece of advice for people applying to b-school: Start early.

Do your research. Speak to as many people as possible and try and visit your short listed schools to get a feel for the place.

About us: The MBA Programme Office is 27 people strong. Approximately half of the team are dedicated to providing information and admission services to prospective MBAs, while the other half look after the administration of the programme once the course begins. The Admissions team is divided up on a geographical basis, with each admissions officer "owning" a specific region. The Programme Office is open 09.00-17.00 Monday-Friday. Find out more at www.london.edu/mba/

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