Insights gained from my Executive MBA journey so far

Ore Adekoya, participant of the Executive MBA programme, delves into her enriching journey and shares her experience thus far.

Hi! I’m Ore and I’m currently the Head of Customer Supply Chain at Nestlé Central and West Africa. I am proudly Nigerian and passionate about healthy living, food, fitness, planning events and travel (You can check out some of my travel posts on Instagram @officialmrsdiva). I’m married and I have two handsome boys, 8 and 5.

I studied Economics for my first degree at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and I have over 10 years of experience spanning customer service, research, teaching, planning, import and export operations and supply chain.

I recently got promoted at work which was very good news for me, but I knew there was a knowledge gap. I was suddenly in a new department, where more strategic and not operational skills were required. This is what drove me to do an MBA.

Because I like to travel, I naturally wanted an overseas MBA. I started my search from both The Economist and the Financial Times ranking because I wanted to go to a top school. I eliminated schools around North America because of the time difference. Since I was going to be travelling often, the program format was quite important for me. I looked for a program that was reasonably spaced out and wouldn’t require me to travel more than once in six weeks.

Warwick came out as one of the options alongside two other schools. What really attracted me to Warwick was the testimonials of previous students and the emphasis on Change Makers. I knew I wanted to effect change and become a trailblazer so this was really important for me.

The application process forced me to think differently than I used to and I really liked the challenge. It opened me up to things about myself that I had not previously thought about.

I intended to apply to three different schools, but I completed the application for Warwick first. I got feedback pretty early and was even given a scholarship. This sealed it for me and I decided to look no further

I remember when I told my first son that I’m going back to school and would be travelling every 6 weeks. He burst out crying and asked me why I have to go. That was such an emotional moment for me. I felt so terrible, but I knew it was something I had to do.

We have had three modules so far, and it’s not as difficult now as it was when I first started. I try to make up for the time away by spending a lot of time with them when I’m back and buying them plenty of gifts to compensate.

My classmates have been simply amazing! It’s quite a diverse class with people from different backgrounds and experiences so it makes the discussions rich and engaging. My best module so far has been Strategic Advantage because of its applicability in my current role. I also loved how Irina took our classes and made it very enjoyable.

Sometimes it can be tough managing my family, my career, MBA classes and the assignments… oh the assignments! Even though they give us one month to complete, somehow I end up doing them in the last week before the deadline! The adrenaline, the rush, the crammed reading, oh my. But trust me, it’s all worth it at the end. Getting to apply theories learnt in class to actual real-life situations makes a lot of difference and helps the concepts we learn to stick better.

The Warwick MBA is one I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in developing themselves and their career and broadening their current scope.