MBA student of the Week: Vanilla GUO

The Asia Career Times invites MBA Students to share their MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Vanilla Guo from The Management School of Fudan University. To contact the featured MBA student or to apply to be featured, send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

1) Your road to MBA (a little bit about yourself and what you did before the MBA)

I have worked 9 years in international trade and business. 4 years in Chinese state running company, 1.5 years in American family company, 3.5 years in Danish company hold by EQT. I touched the actual life of business world, as well as experienced different roles and sensed the delicate difference between official authority and non-official influences in the organization. I was hungry for knowledge of management to merge them into my daily working. In 2008, I started my MBA program in Management School of Fudan University.

在上MBA之前,我已经在国陁E

MBA Student of the Week: Celia Wang from INSEAD

The Asia Career Times invites MBA Students to share their MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Celia Wang Cousin from INSEAD. To contact the featured MBA student or to apply to be featured, send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

1.       My road to MBA
I was working in finance before joining INSEAD, specifically in the banking sector. Several years later, I found myself at a crossroad where my career choices narrowed down, that’s when I decided to pursue an MBA.
在加入INSEAD之前

MBA Student of the Week: Connie Nam

Every week TACT invites one Student to share his/her MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Connie Nam from London Business School MBA. To contact the MBA student of the week or to apply to be featured, send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

Your road to MBA:

Prior to enrolling at London Business School, I worked in investment banking for 5+ years in Hong-Kong and Seoul.

Your best experience:

My best experience in the MBA so far has been the opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with high caliber people from all over the world.

Your most important learning:

If you truly want something and work hard for it, you will eventually get it.

Your next steps:

I will work in the luxury good industry in Europe after my MBA. I choose to stay in Europe instead of going back to Asia because I want to stay close to where the luxury industry originated.

Your vision for Asia:

I want to take what I learned from Europe in the luxury industry and contribute to cultivating home grown luxury in Asia in the long run

MBA Student of the Week: Kunal Shah

Every week TACT invites one Student to share his/her MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Kunal Shah who is a London Business School 2012 student. To contact the MBA student of the week or to apply to be featured, send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

Your road to MBA:

I spent the early part of my life in India where I acquired my High School diploma from Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai. I completed my undergraduate studies in Marketing and Operations Management at Indiana University  EBloomington (U.S.A.) during which I also spent a semester abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. Upon graduation, I worked at United Airlines at the company’s headquarters in Chicago for 5 years, where I worked in Revenue Management (Pricing), Sales, and Distribution Strategy before moving to London to pursue my MBA at London Business School.

Your best experience:

My best experience was receiving the President’s Club award at United Airlines for outstanding performance and contribution to the company. As a result, I won a ten days, fully paid trip to the Ritz Carlton in Maui, Hawaii!

Having said that, winning the award was nothing in comparison to watching India win the cricket world cup live in Mumbai!

Your most important learning:

Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.

Your next steps:

I will be pursuing my summer internship (Summer, 2011) at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Your vision for Asia:

The dependency on emerging markets such as that of India’s is becoming increasingly common across businesses in the developed world. I strongly believe that India (along with other developing Asian countries) will continue to strengthen her economic position on the International stage. However, India’s fate will depend not only the performance of the private sector, but also on the government’s ability to implement strong monetary and fiscal policies, develop high quality infrastructure, alleviate poverty levels and increase literacy.

MBA Student of the Week: Deena Lawrence

Every week TACT invites one Student to share his/her MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Deena Lawrence who is a London Business School and Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy 2011 student. To contact the MBA student of the week or to apply to be featured, send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

Your road to MBA:

Before May 2010, I had been living in Asia for more than 15 years – Japan for 11, Malaysia for 2 and Singapore for 5. I had been working regionally in my previous role as Senior Director Business Development, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and had been in the professional services sector for the majority of my career.

While I had occasionally thought about a Masters degree or another similar degree qualification, it never really seemed like the right time or reason. When my partner got transferred to London I decided to take another look at the opportunities for me, my career and a further education and found London Business School and the Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy. It seemed like a great fit for me and I was excited by the programme and curriculum.

Your best experience:

It is difficult to single out a best experience with such a diverse region and over the 20 year period of time I have spent there. In Japan I adored the culture, the sense of hospitality and community and the food. I made it my home and my playground and there was always so much to appreciate about being there.

In Malaysia, the people are warm and not in a hurry, which is a nice thing, and it is a beautiful country to travel around. I spent a lot of time diving, hiking and traveling to island and other destinations while I lived there.

Singapore is fantastic for many reasons as well – ease of doing business, great location and airport, and a large expat community who care and who invest themselves and efforts into making Singapore and even better place to live. Overall, I have had 20 years of wonderful experiences in Asia and with the diversity that it represents.

I will say that, traveling the region for work or pleasure has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life and is part of what has kept me so entranced with the region. The opportunity to operate across so many cultures, languages and practices and to get to know so many different types of people, is a very powerful experience.

Your most important learning:

Global citizens are more alike than different. Everyone cares about giving their children at least as good if not better of a life than they had and an education if possible. Even though communities are formed differently and with different motivations, I’ve found that community is a shared value no matter where I am in Asia. Over the years I have learned that showing respect for everyone, no matter where they are in the social hierarchy, being polite and having a sense of humor are great tools for being in a place that you don’t know or might not understand.

Your next steps:

I will be finishing my Masters course toward the end of this year and most likely returning to Asia, although where is yet unknown. I have been considering China quite a bit lately however, and if this is my next destination, most likely this would be Shanghai. There is a special quality about Asia that I have yet to feel finished with and the importance of China in the global economy aside, I am eager to explore another Asia point of view and Shanghai might well be the correct vantage point.

Your vision for Asia:

My short term hope for Asia as a whole is that it continues to grow economically and that countries like the Philippines and Thailand find political stability.

Longer-term, an increasing emphasis on education and individual financial skills for long-term security is key. Many women, especially from the Philippines and Indonesia, leave their home countries and work endlessly elsewhere to educate their children, with great sacrifice.

I would like to see charitable work continue in the countries that need it most – Cambodia and Laos for example – and to see the west become more acquainted with Asia as a whole.

I very much like the positive contributions that non-Asian professionals are making in Asian markets, whether China, Singapore, India or elsewhere, and I believe that everyone involved in those professional experiences learns immensely important lessons.

MBA Student of the Week: Linh Vu

Every week TACT invites one Student to share his/her MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Linh VU from Executive MBA Global Asia Programme. To contact the MBA student of the week or to apply to be featured, send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

Your road to MBA:

MBA student of the week: Jorge Amirola

Every week TACT invites one Student to share his/her MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Jorge Amirola from CEIBS MBA. To contact the MBA student of the week or to apply to be featured, send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

Your road to MBA: my road to MBA started working as a researcher for a high-tech startup, and taking a Masters on Eastern Asia Studies. I decided that I needed to learn more about how business work and how do they get to the markets, and particularly, how things are done in Asia. This is why I decided to take my MBA at CEIBS in Shanghai.

Do you want to extend your network in Asia? The Asia Career Times invites you to  GoTACTiC.Asia

MBA Student of the Week: Gudrun Herrmann

Every week TACT invites one Student to share his/her MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Gudrun Herrmann from London Business School MBA. To contact the MBA student of the week send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

Your road to MBA:

Having worked as a marketing and communications consultant for many years, I decided on attending a part-time MBA program in order to finally learn what business is really all about. In my industry, you have to face at one point in time that consulting should be about more than buzzwords.

Your best experience:

Learning Bollywood dancing from my Indian classmates and getting to know myself through the incredible insights of 76 individuals from 31 nationalities in my class.

Your most important learning:

Aim higher. If you fail, ask yourself why, and bring your game to a higher level. Never accept defeat, and never accept mediocrity.

Your next steps:

Setting up an internal communications and employer branding agency helping high-tech companies define and align their strategies and brand with employees’ behaviours and companies’ hiring needs.

Your vision for Asia:

Asia will be the world’s global powerhouse in the years to come. Asian companies will dwarf the old world: They are more nimble, more flexible, prepared to take risks and not as complacent as their US and European counterparts. In addition, these new global powerhouses will increasingly operate through acquisitions and bringing in new capabilities to the world of business. These companies will not forever be content to remain in the low-cost position. They will move up the value chain and adopt disciplines like innovation and . Therein lies the challenge from Asian powerhouses to the multinationals from the developed world: A change in leadership is coming, and the baton has to be handed over. Future lists of the five hundred largest global companies will have increasingly an Asian presence. The world of business – and, more importantly, the world’s customers – will be better for it.

Do you want to extend your network? The Asia Career Times invites you to  GoTACTiC.Asia

MBA student of the Week: Rachid Melliti

Every week TACT invites one Student to share his/her MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Rachid Melliti from London Business School Executive MBA. To contact the MBA student of the week send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

Your Road to MBA:

With over 12 years experience in the Oil/Gas, FMCG and Pharma industries in functions such as Strategy, Procurement or project Management, in Asia, Europe and North America, I felt that I was at a stage of my career where I was ready to take a leap. As Challenges are important for me and after much research and speaking to people, I thought the MBA was the right next step. I never looked back since, especially as I have acquired so much soft and hard skills in almost 18 months at LBS that do make a difference on a daily basis in my work.

Your best experience:

I felt a really strong sense of team spirit throughout the MBA. Though coming from incredibly diverse backgrounds, the bonding among the class was very robust and everyone could truly count on each other when needed. There was a high level of leadership and there was always someone in the team to carry the flag. When the flag bearer was exhausted, others would step up, and there was always an opportunity for everyone to lead at some point.

Your most important learning:

The worst mistake is not to make a mistake. The conducive learning environment encouraged an entrepreneurial approach. It is not about minimising risks but knowing how to manage risks appropriately.

Your next steps:

I am exploring opportunities in Asia to further develop my career, as my stint in the region xx years ago has motivated to return to this dynamic region.

Your vision for Asia:

I would like to see Asia emerge as the leader in innovation and the engine to the world. It is already, in certain aspects, and there is incredible energy for growth. Being culturally diversity, it is a fantastic place to live in, especially with its buzzing creative scene.

Do you want to be a network pioneer? The Asia Career Times invites you to test GoTACTiC.Asia www.gotactic.asia and take the leadership to create a forum dedicated to talent in Asia or a group for your company or business school.

MBA Student of the week: Praveen Velichety

Every week TACT invites one Student to share his/her MBA experience and vision of Asia by answering TACT 5Y questions. This week we are pleased to welcome Praveen Velichety from London Business School Executive MBA. To contact the MBA student of the week send a mail to contact@theasiacareertimes.com

Your road to MBA:

Started life as an engineer in India, then migrated to Seoul (when there was an exodus to the Silicon Valley) to join a financial services dot-com, then migrated to London and within the year founded a product company.
Three years later joined a global consultancy leading strategic change & transformation engagements. Later joined a management buy-out from a global telecom giant as a member of the management team that led the turnaround.
In all, 7 years in early stage and start-up enterprises, 8 years in global organisations leading engagements across multiple clients, globally distributed teams, accountable for P&L, growth, and maintaining trusted relationships with clients and partners.

Your best experience:

The excitement of identifying a gap in the market, the rush of starting up a business to address that gap, and the adrenaline to execute is unparalleled.
Working with extremely diverse and multi-cultural teams in South Korea, Netherlands and UK has not only been an invaluable learning experience, but also created trusted relationships and long lasting friendships.
Learning and contributing in a class with about 770 years of collective work experience, and representation from 29 countries at the London Business School has undoubtedly been one of the best experiences of my life.

Your most important learning:

It is effective to create simple prioritisation frameworks like Fun, Fame and Fortune for choices that an enterprise will face en route to achieving its objectives i.e. will the team have fun, will we earn fame, will it increase our fortune.
It is not about whether you screw up or not, it is how soon do you recognise it, care about it and fix it.
Turning a business around is about dealing with individuals and emotions, as much as P&L and balance sheets.

Your next steps:

Help businesses make informed decisions more quickly and solve their toughest and most critical business problems.

Your vision for Asia:

Creating a favourable and sustainable environment to encourage social enterprises with the objective of bridging the increasing social divide and a guiding principle of “trade not aid”.

Want to be a network pioneer? The Asia Career Times invites you to test GoTACTiC.Asia www.gotactic.asia and take the leadership to create a forum dedicated to talent in Asia or a group for your company or business school.