Participant profiles

What is your professional and educational background?

I am a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb UK). I have a Certificate of Specialization in Strategy and Leadership from Harvard Business School Online, an LLM in International Corporate and Commercial Law from Kings College London, and a Bachelor of Laws from Obafemi Awolowo University.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

I am excited to lead and work with a team of young people who want to make a difference in their world and industry. Before switching to the corporate sector, I was an active courtroom lawyer for a decade and worked with a conglomerate with businesses in different parts of the world.

My current role as the corporate strategist and legal adviser in a highly regulated industry is exciting as we are bringing sustainability, namely a zero-gas flare policy, into the oil and gas industry.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Global Executive MBA?

The Global Executive MBA programme offers a unique blend of academic rigor, real-world application, and a diverse community of scholars and practitioners. I’m confident that, by immersing myself in such an environment, I will not only expand my knowledge but also cultivate and gain a deeper understanding of global business dynamics and leadership principles.

Furthermore, the collaborative nature of the programme fosters an environment where ideas are exchanged, debated, and refined This will enable me to broaden my horizons and develop innovative solutions to complex challenges.

The Executive MBA also provides the flexibility required to navigate a busy schedule while studying.

What are your long-term career ambitions?

I wish to become a world-leading practitioner in the corporate sector, and to bring sustainability to the practice of exploration and production in the oil and gas sector. Furthermore, as Head of Legal in the oil and gas sector, my career aspiration extends beyond corporate leadership to a broader vision of public service and nation-building.

My goal is to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with a focus on driving positive change and contributing to the country’s development.

What is your professional and educational background?

Currently I am Head of Strategy and Ventures at ITOCHU’s APAC subsidiary, responsible for venture investments and digitalisation strategies. Prior to ITOCHU, I founded 2 companies with a secondary exit, one in distressed asset investment advisory and one in fashion technology.

I studied Philosophy and Economics at the London School of Economics for my undergraduate degree.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

I grew up in Hong Kong, studied in the UK and started my career at a US firm. It is exciting to see how culture comes into play in corporates and I have learned a lot from the Japanese way of doing business.

Having the opportunity to learn and invest in the latest technologies also makes it a very exciting role.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Global Executive MBA?

Cambridge is a leading innovation hub in Europe. Unlike most MBA candidates, I am hoping to gain inspiration on entrepreneurship and potential partners for my next startup.

The Global EMBA programme also provides an invaluable international perspective and network, which made Cambridge Judge a much better option than other business schools.

What are your long-term career ambitions?

I aspire to become an entrepreneur who creates real value and drives positive change in the world, whether through transformative or incremental improvements.

This translates into an ambition to build businesses that achieve commercial success by meeting customer needs, create a fulfilling work environment for employees, provide attractive opportunities for investors and, most importantly, give back to the community in impactful ways.

What is your professional and educational background?

I am a Senior Manager at Amazon with 11 years of experience in devising, launching and scaling novel, billion-dollar technology products and businesses.

Leading 1000+ global stakeholders and teams, I have jump-started and grown third-party merchants’ businesses on Amazon, launched Amazon’s first non-grocery physical stores internationally, launched the customer and website experience for Amazon in the Netherlands and scaled Amazon’s physical store technologies to new countries. Currently, I lead teams responsible for the growth of Amazon’s largest consumables brands in Europe.

I hold an undergraduate degree in Economics and Economic History from the University of Manchester.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

The most exciting thing about my work is the people. Across the multiple locations, 4 job functions and 7 businesses that I’ve worked in at Amazon, I continue to be humbled by the ingenuity of the people that I get to work with.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Global Executive MBA?

I was attracted to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Global Executive MBA with the purpose of shifting my focus towards entrepreneurship. The Cambridge Global Executive MBA accelerates my entrepreneurial pursuits in 3 ways:

• unlocks lifetime access to high-calibre, impact-focused alumni
• bridges my knowledge gaps in scaling start-ups, fundraising and reaching a global audience
• presents collaboration opportunities with resources such as the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Cambridge Enterprise

Overall, Cambridge’s Silicon Fen is a global hub for entrepreneurial activity, providing the ideal environment for networking and idea-sharing with like-minded people.

What are your long-term career ambitions?

My long-term career ambition is to scale a high-growth, multinational business that leverages technology to solve the world’s most significant socio-economic challenges such as the impacts of climate change. In the short-term, I aim to build and launch this business.

What is your professional and educational background?

I am a marketing professional with over 9 years of industry experience, currently leading marketing for the American operations of Kingspan, a global leader in building materials with annual revenues of $9 billion. I hold a Master of Science in Marketing Management from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee.

Throughout my career, I have held various management roles in the building materials industry, specialising in strategy, sustainability and technology product marketing, where I’ve advanced my companies’ progress in these areas.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

The most fulfilling part of my work is the ability to lead cutting-edge technology and product initiatives that significantly bolster our market presence and growth while also ensuring that those products benefit both the people and environment they impact.

Managing Kingspan’s marketing initiatives is profoundly fulfilling, as it allows me to effect real change by collaborating with diverse organisations.

This aspect of my work not only fuels my passion but ensures that our corporate practices contribute positively to the planet and society.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Global Executive MBA?

The prestigious reputation of Cambridge Judge Business School and the innovative structure of the Global Executive MBA were certainly a factor that drew me to this programme. Its rigorous, practical approach to business education was enticing but the chance to engage with a diverse, global cohort of professionals was the aspect of this programme that appealed to me the most.

I chose Cambridge Judge Business School over several US programmes because I believed that true global perspective and diversity would best be achieved by stepping out of my comfort zone. This experience has already been incredibly rewarding, enriching my professional insights and broadening my social network with classmates from various backgrounds around the world, who are now friends.

What are your long-term career ambitions?

Looking ahead, I aspire to build a career in strategic leadership positions within the marketing sector, possibly as a Chief Marketing Officer or as a senior executive overseeing innovation and global market expansion.

I am eager to leverage the comprehensive expertise and extensive network I am developing through the Global Executive MBA to enact transformative changes and foster sustainable growth in my field.

What is your professional and educational background?

Legal practitioner with 17+ years’ experience in corporate and commercial law. I presently work in the information technology and software development space managing licensing, compliance, regulatory, environmental, social, and corporate governance matters with regards to product management, SaaS management, enterprise transformation and change management.

At the early stage of my career, I was part of the in-house team at Petroleum Products Marketing Pipeline (PPMC) that drafted the bill reformation of pipelines accepted as ‘Pipeline Vandalism Bill’ by the House of Assembly in Nigeria.

During my time at Nigeria LNG (NLNG), I worked on multiple projects, but a particular highlight was consolidating the company’s tax. This project involved a large-scale, in-house team working on a billion-dollar tax relief scheme. I was responsible for an initiative that enabled the company to achieve a billion-dollar tax credit saving.

I have also worked in private and public law, as well as in energy taxation and finance. I have worked as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and as a solicitor of the Supreme Court for England and Wales. I am also a member of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association Singapore.

I am currently the chair on the board of trustees for a charity in London.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

I have a legal background, but this does not limit me to working in a specific sector. I can contribute to a variety of sectors and meet with diverse professionals.

So far, I have used my legal skillset in innovation and transformation, but I am now contemplating entering the aerospace and health sector.

My work is intellectually challenging, and it is a privilege to help others and have a real impact on society; I find this highly rewarding.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Executive MBA?

An Executive MBA from Cambridge Judge Business School is a huge step in my career path.

I vividly remember the day I received am email from Cambridge Judge Business School inviting me to attend a seminar for Women in Leadership. I was elated but, at the same time, had mixed feelings. I attended the seminar and was immediately reassured that the knowledge, skills and experience I would gain from Cambridge would be an advantage not only for my career but for my life in general.

The team was amazing – another convincing aspect that eased the decision-making.

I wanted to join a renowned global community and Cambridge Judge Business School offered just that. I focussed on acquiring skills in problem-solving and communication whilst collaborating with an engaged community willing to share their expertise.

What are your long-term career ambitions?

I would like to help build a reputable and healthy corporate sector and pave the way for entrepreneurial success. I’d like to continue to develop my creative talents to deliver innovative results. Furthermore, I’d like to support African women in particular, helping them to access training and other opportunities that will enable them to take their place on the global stage.

To be instrumental through service leadership in assisting Africans especially female/women get on a platform that can be used to control behaviours, morally, economically, financially, and most importantly health wise. More so, secure careers and opportunities that will increase their training and skills to be a significant contribution globally.

What is your professional and educational background?

I am an Industry Manager at Google specialising in Consumer Retail, responsible for advising businesses on digital strategies. I am currently based in London but I was born and raised in Hong Kong, with an educational background in Marketing as an undergraduate.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

I am most excited about having the opportunity to work with some of the world’s largest retailers and help them grow their businesses! Being able to understand their challenges, help them solve problems, and deliver tangible results bring me great satisfaction.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Executive MBA?

I am truly impressed by the diversity and quality of the cohort. I’ve always wanted to expand my network beyond my current industry and CJBS offers the perfect forum for it.

What are your long-term career ambitions?

My biggest joy comes from meeting and learning from different people so I would like to continue to develop an international career in the long run and work in different markets.

What is your professional and educational background?

I have been fortunate to have an interesting and varied career path. I studied an Undergraduate degree in Law and a Masters in Criminological Research which formed the basis for my subsequent PhD specialising in offender rehabilitation.

After this, I wanted a change of direction, so I decided to work in sport as an agent to Paralympic athletes, including my wife! At a later stage I then moved on to work in the third sector before focussing on a career in disability sport which brought together some of the common elements of my career to date. I have now worked in this area for over 10 years.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

The most exciting thing about my work is the people I get work with and the differences we make together. I have a particular passion for trying to make a positive impact on society and bringing out the best in people I work with.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Executive MBA?

I am driven by the desire to make a positive difference in what I do. To do that, most effectively, I needed the rigorous academic and practical grounding that the Cambridge EMBA offers. I was particularly attracted to the emphasis on the combination of focus on softer skills and the development of ‘real world’ critical thinking skills that our programme offers. The EMBA programme also stood out due to its commitment to inclusive leadership and the emphasis on diversity.

What are your long-term career ambitions?

I am passionate about enabling others to be the best versions of themselves and working together to achieve common goals. I would like to be able to achieve change at scale. I have a particular desire to develop inclusive leadership capability given my lived experience and professional expertise in EDI and disability.

What is your professional and educational background?

I was a semi-professional and professional rugby union player for 14 years in the Japanese professional Rugby Union competition, Japan Rugby League One, which is the top division of the Japanese Rugby Union system. Hanging up my boots last 2022-2023 season as a player-coach, I am currently working for the same club, Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Sagamihara Dynaboars, as an international relations manager.

After graduating with my undergraduate degree in Economics at a Japanese university, I studied British and European Studies at the University of Oxford, so I now utilize that international knowledge to assist clubs when they enter into partnership agreements with European clubs and negotiate sponsorship.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

Teamwork comes first. It is sometimes difficult to work with others towards the goal but achieving the goal with the progress and helping each other is the most exciting feeling nothing could replace. I have experienced this for many years as a professional athlete, a captain of Junior Japan and my club, but never in another role. For me, leading our management team and adding more value to my club to win the championship is the next chapter of my post-athletic career and another most exciting teamwork.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Executive MBA?

Since I studied at the University of Oxford and played the Varsity match for the Dark Blues in 2009, studying again at Oxford was always in my mind. However, I was more attracted by the very inclusive and diverse learning environment of Cambridge Judge Business School. For example, the business school was very accepting of my lack of business background as it could be a unique aspect of the class. This made me realise that this school must be bringing, not just me, but a variety of diverse people from all over the world into the classroom, and that I can learn a lot from them that I cannot find at other schools. It gave me confidence.

Since I knew the average age of the 2023 Executive MBA is 38 years old, I wanted to gain a lot of knowledge from people of the same generation from different countries who have lived and experienced in the same era (the Covid-19 pandemic etc) and who will lead the business world as senior managers after completing the course.

What are your long-term career ambitions?

My long-term goal is to bring real professionalism to the Japanese sports industry, which still emphasises educational value and does not generate much profit, and to create a system that generates sustainable profits for everyone who watches and plays. This would not be possible without the experience of this course.

What is your professional and educational background?

I qualified 20 years ago as a mental health nurse with a Higher Education Diploma and quickly went back into education with an Innholders Award to complete my Bachelor’s degree. I had a strong interest in research and academia and was keen to become a Clinical Academic, so went back to complete my Master’s degree, which led me to project management in implementing the findings from my research. I always maintained clinical practice alongside all the other areas of interests

I have subsequently completed a Postgraduate certificate in Health Leadership, continue to do research, is an NHS clinical Entrepreneur all alongside my role in Blended Learning

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

The most exciting thing about my work is influencing health education policy and practice, to widen access and participation for diverse groups of people to prepare them for the demands of 21st century healthcare.

This is alongside meeting some amazing people across sectors and countries.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Executive MBA?

I was attracted to the Executive MBA to gain business skills in preparation for career progression and my entrepreneurial endeavours.

I chose Cambridge Judge Business School because of its reputation and the strong entrepreneurial elements to the programme, extremely glad I did because even though it is early days, love the ethos and culture of inclusion which has surpassed my expectation! Also, to provide me with a better family life and to access the strong entrepreneurial community it has – “Silicon Fen”

What are your long-term career ambitions?

I am driven by two things, good access to health (especially mental health) and good access to education globally- as this drives wealth. That is what informs my career ambitions.

To lead on agendas in Health, and or Education for the World Health Organisation (WHO) or the United Nations (UN).

In the medium term, secure an executive role in the NHS and invest in developing a culturally sensitive mental health and well-being screening app – especially for people in the UK from minority ethnic groups and countries, where there are limited resources to manage mental well-being or mental illness.

What is your professional and educational background?

I hold an undergraduate degree with a double major in Chemistry from the University of Adelaide, South Australia. My career has spanned diverse roles in finance, research management, and strategic leadership across Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

I have lived and worked in Adelaide, Melbourne, Jakarta, and Medan, providing me with a broad perspective on regional economic and environmental challenges. At Woolworths Australia, I built a solid foundation in payroll, finance, and budget forecasting while working in both Melbourne and Adelaide.

At the National University of Singapore (NUS), I was appointed as Singapore’s first Grant Consultant specifically for the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines—an experimental role created to advance research support in these fields. In this pioneering position, I managed the complete life cycle of grants, from idea conception and proposal review to program delivery, including establishing research centers and centers of excellence. My strategic approach led to a substantial increase in research funding, raising total incoming grants from $8 million to $30 million over three years.

Currently, I serve as the Regional Director of Grants and Contracts – APFD at Conservation International Asia Pacific Ltd., where I lead the Asia Pacific Field Division (APFD). This division encompasses 12 country offices across Singapore, Cambodia, the Philippines, Fiji, Palau, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Samoa, and Timor-Leste.

I oversee strategic partnerships, grant management, and sustainable finance initiatives that align with CI’s mission to protect and restore forests, build partnerships for nature and people, scale up blue carbon projects, balance production and protection, and expand ocean protection. My role involves close collaboration with government bodies, indigenous partners, and private sector leaders to achieve impactful and sustainable conservation and development outcomes.

What is the most exciting thing about your work?

As the Regional Director of Grants and Contracts for Conservation International in the Asia-Pacific, I lead transformative initiatives that blend conservation, sustainable finance, and community engagement. My work involves collaborating with government and Indigenous leaders, as well as senior stakeholders from the private sector, to implement projects that benefit communities dependent on nature for their livelihoods.

With 12 country offices spanning diverse geographies such as Singapore, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, I have the opportunity to work with teams from various cultural backgrounds and navigate unique environmental and socio-economic contexts. The variety of challenges and opportunities to innovate ensures my work remains dynamic and impactful, delivering sustainable, long-term benefits for both people and the planet.

What attracted you to Cambridge Judge Business School and the Executive MBA?

I was particularly drawn to the Cambridge Judge Business School’s Executive MBA because it is a fully in-person programme, offering a deeply immersive, face-to-face learning experience. All lessons are conducted on-site at Cambridge, allowing me to engage directly with the distinguished faculty, collaborate closely with my peers, and immerse myself in the University’s vibrant academic and cultural environment. The 20-month programme required me to travel to Cambridge every three weeks from September 2023 to April 2025, involving 16 intensive weekends and four week-long sessions. Despite the 14-hour flight each way from Singapore, studying at Cambridge has been one of the most magical experiences of my life. The opportunity to experience the richness of Cambridge student life while building meaningful relationships with a global network of professionals has been unparalleled.

Designed by visionary educators like Professor Simon Learmont, the programme integrates rigorous academic theories with real-world applications, empowering senior executives to challenge conventional thinking and redefine their leadership approaches.

What are your long-term career ambitions?

My long-term career ambition is to create and lead an organization that empowers marginalised communities, particularly people of colour, by providing education, capacity building, and economic opportunities.

Leveraging my extensive experience in sustainable finance, strategic partnerships, and community development, I aim to develop scalable models that alleviate poverty by fostering inclusive growth, enhancing resilience, and driving systemic change.

I am committed to contributing to a more equitable and sustainable world by integrating my diverse experiences across the non-profit, academic, and research sectors.