MBA Graduation and Success Stories
Latest press releasesWarwick MBA graduates turn business dreams into reality
Four young professionals who graduated with a Warwick MBA on 12 July have created new business ventures thanks in part to the breadth of knowledge and experience they gained through their management degree.
Steve Ampleford, at 28 one of the youngest ever graduates from the Executive MBA, created his own business in September last year from an idea he had while working as an IT consultant. The idea was simple, venture capitalists are often unwilling to invest in great business ideas if the management team does not have all the skills and expertise needed. This means that innovative and potentially very successful young firms are not receiving the funding they need to turn ideas into reality. Steve's firm, Aorta, helps by supplying much needed expertise and practical help to start-ups in areas such as human resources, financial management and marketing. "Quite often, we are brought in to work alongside the management team as a prerequisite to them getting the funding," explained Steve. "Young firms can gain much needed access to specific skills without having to employ someone permanently, such as a finance director, at the outset." Aorta uses a network of highly experienced associates, who have all made their careers in business and have excellent connections.
Steve added, " There is no way that I could have leaped from my position as an IT consultant via that of a senior general manager to head up my own business without the Warwick MBA. I was always ambitious, but the Warwick MBA gave me the tools to do what I have always dreamed of - create a business of my own."
James Clare and John Senior, who both studied the Warwick MBA full-time, set up business together last year. Their firm, CAJES Business Solutions Ltd, is set to revolutionise the way certain organisations train their staff by giving them access to simulated environments using Advanced Visualisation and Interactive Technology (AVIT). This means that specific skills such as helicopter and aeroplane piloting and high speed driving can be learned in part through simulation, thus cutting costs, eliminating risks and avoiding dependence on weather conditions. CAJES is to set up a corporate training facility based on fully interactive and motion based platform simulators designed and manufactured by Helitrainer Inc, USA and which can be operated using commercially available software.
As well as having a serious training application, the technology that James and John are utilising will also be used for interactive games and team building.
James, an ex-British Army Officer, has a training and telecommunications background and John, a Chartered Surveyor, has international commercial and project management experience, but the idea for their new venture came about through a shared interest in AVIT technology and a desire to set up in business. In their MBA dissertation they developed the idea, James researching the financial aspects of the new venture and John the marketing elements.
John said, "The Warwick MBA gave us the confidence and the tools we needed to go ahead with our idea. Warwick ventures and the Warwick Business School Alumni Association introduced us to a huge network of business contacts which helped enormously."
Chris Stamp, who took the Warwick MBA by evening study, used his experience of how big companies unlock the knowledge hidden within their own staff, to set up his own new venture. His new business, Prism, is dedicated to helping organisations tap into this knowledge and experience to create a competitive advantage. Knowledge management, as it is known, is an area that huge plcs are taking very seriously, but smaller organisations often do not have the resources or expertise to take any concerted action. Chris believes he can fill an important gap by helping firms implement practical strategies to communicate knowledge within the workplace, and by transmitting expertise raise the performance of all staff and the firm as a whole.
Chris commented, "The Warwick MBA has given me the confidence across a broad range of business disciplines, including finance and marketing, which helped me turn my dream of starting my own company into a reality."
Challenges of a Lifetime
Trixie Gadd has had a challenging time for the last 3 and a half years. She has just graduated with a Warwick MBA with Distinction while looking after around 1,000 undergraduate students - her full-time job is Undergraduate Programme Manager at Warwick Business School, the University of Warwick. In addition, she has managed to find time for running and gym sessions together with sail-training courses from Plymouth and Southampton in order to participate in the 'Global Challenge', a round-the-world 10-month yacht race inspired by Sir Chay Blyth.
Trixie has secured a place on the 2004 voyage, when 12 boats will leave from Southampton on the sailing trip of a lifetime. Between then and now, Trixie's next challenge is to secure sponsorship of around £30,000 to enable her to participate.
She said "I was both surprised and delighted to hear that I'd achieved Distinction for my MBA. The hardest part was trying to fit in the extra commitments whilst working full-time. Now I'll be able to apply the teamwork, leadership and management skills developed through the MBA to my next big challenge of securing the necessary sponsorship and sailing round the world".
Another member of staff at the University of Warwick is graduating alongside Trixie. Ken Sloan is Assistant Registrar in the Vice-Chancellor's Office.
A Siberian Marathon
Now living almost half way round the world from the Midlands UK is Shuan Baban. An Anglo-Russian, he is travelling to Coventry from Siberia to receive his MBA certificate, and bringing 8 visitors with him, 2 of them his children. It has been a marathon session for Shuan to complete his Warwick MBA - by Distance Learning study over the last 6 years.
Shuan said "I've had to move continents twice, our family has expanded by two, and all this added to the various other pressures of work and study. What has kept me relatively sane is the knowledge that in the background there were always the unsung heroes of the Warwick MBA team - the staff who keep it all ticking over so efficiently - I certainly appreciated it."
Shuan is now working as Facilities Engineer for John Brown Hydrocarbons (Russia).
Four young professionals who graduated with a Warwick MBA on 12 July have created new business ventures thanks in part to the breadth of knowledge and experience they gained through their management degree.
Steve Ampleford, at 28 one of the youngest ever graduates from the Executive MBA, created his own business in September last year from an idea he had while working as an IT consultant. The idea was simple, venture capitalists are often unwilling to invest in great business ideas if the management team does not have all the skills and expertise needed. This means that innovative and potentially very successful young firms are not receiving the funding they need to turn ideas into reality. Steve's firm, Aorta, helps by supplying much needed expertise and practical help to start-ups in areas such as human resources, financial management and marketing. "Quite often, we are brought in to work alongside the management team as a prerequisite to them getting the funding," explained Steve. "Young firms can gain much needed access to specific skills without having to employ someone permanently, such as a finance director, at the outset." Aorta uses a network of highly experienced associates, who have all made their careers in business and have excellent connections.
Steve added, " There is no way that I could have leaped from my position as an IT consultant via that of a senior general manager to head up my own business without the Warwick MBA. I was always ambitious, but the Warwick MBA gave me the tools to do what I have always dreamed of - create a business of my own."
James Clare and John Senior, who both studied the Warwick MBA full-time, set up business together last year. Their firm, CAJES Business Solutions Ltd, is set to revolutionise the way certain organisations train their staff by giving them access to simulated environments using Advanced Visualisation and Interactive Technology (AVIT). This means that specific skills such as helicopter and aeroplane piloting and high speed driving can be learned in part through simulation, thus cutting costs, eliminating risks and avoiding dependence on weather conditions. CAJES is to set up a corporate training facility based on fully interactive and motion based platform simulators designed and manufactured by Helitrainer Inc, USA and which can be operated using commercially available software.
As well as having a serious training application, the technology that James and John are utilising will also be used for interactive games and team building.
James, an ex-British Army Officer, has a training and telecommunications background and John, a Chartered Surveyor, has international commercial and project management experience, but the idea for their new venture came about through a shared interest in AVIT technology and a desire to set up in business. In their MBA dissertation they developed the idea, James researching the financial aspects of the new venture and John the marketing elements.
John said, "The Warwick MBA gave us the confidence and the tools we needed to go ahead with our idea. Warwick ventures and the Warwick Business School Alumni Association introduced us to a huge network of business contacts which helped enormously."
Chris Stamp, who took the Warwick MBA by evening study, used his experience of how big companies unlock the knowledge hidden within their own staff, to set up his own new venture. His new business, Prism, is dedicated to helping organisations tap into this knowledge and experience to create a competitive advantage. Knowledge management, as it is known, is an area that huge plcs are taking very seriously, but smaller organisations often do not have the resources or expertise to take any concerted action. Chris believes he can fill an important gap by helping firms implement practical strategies to communicate knowledge within the workplace, and by transmitting expertise raise the performance of all staff and the firm as a whole.
Chris commented, "The Warwick MBA has given me the confidence across a broad range of business disciplines, including finance and marketing, which helped me turn my dream of starting my own company into a reality."
Challenges of a Lifetime
Trixie Gadd has had a challenging time for the last 3 and a half years. She has just graduated with a Warwick MBA with Distinction while looking after around 1,000 undergraduate students - her full-time job is Undergraduate Programme Manager at Warwick Business School, the University of Warwick. In addition, she has managed to find time for running and gym sessions together with sail-training courses from Plymouth and Southampton in order to participate in the 'Global Challenge', a round-the-world 10-month yacht race inspired by Sir Chay Blyth.
Trixie has secured a place on the 2004 voyage, when 12 boats will leave from Southampton on the sailing trip of a lifetime. Between then and now, Trixie's next challenge is to secure sponsorship of around £30,000 to enable her to participate.
She said "I was both surprised and delighted to hear that I'd achieved Distinction for my MBA. The hardest part was trying to fit in the extra commitments whilst working full-time. Now I'll be able to apply the teamwork, leadership and management skills developed through the MBA to my next big challenge of securing the necessary sponsorship and sailing round the world".
Another member of staff at the University of Warwick is graduating alongside Trixie. Ken Sloan is Assistant Registrar in the Vice-Chancellor's Office.
A Siberian Marathon
Now living almost half way round the world from the Midlands UK is Shuan Baban. An Anglo-Russian, he is travelling to Coventry from Siberia to receive his MBA certificate, and bringing 8 visitors with him, 2 of them his children. It has been a marathon session for Shuan to complete his Warwick MBA - by Distance Learning study over the last 6 years.
Shuan said "I've had to move continents twice, our family has expanded by two, and all this added to the various other pressures of work and study. What has kept me relatively sane is the knowledge that in the background there were always the unsung heroes of the Warwick MBA team - the staff who keep it all ticking over so efficiently - I certainly appreciated it."
Shuan is now working as Facilities Engineer for John Brown Hydrocarbons (Russia).
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