Paras Joshi: Reflecting on The Shard and the MBA that transformed my career

“Being part of the first cohort at The Shard was a real attraction - the course combined the credibility of Warwick, great teaching professors and an exciting new location.”

It’s a decade since Paras Joshi walked through the doors of The Shard for the first time, and he knew then the experience would be momentous.

As one of Warwick Business School’s first students to embark upon study at the celebrated London landmark, which the School is celebrating this week, he relished the buzz of joining a group that gathered professionals from very different industries.

By the time Paras joined the Executive MBA class at the age of 32, he brought a solid 10 years of commercial experience from British Airways’ prestigious graduate scheme, combined with a stint in charge of financial services at travel rewards currency firm Avios and consumer finance business NewDay.

He had worked with BA’s flagship global partners – the likes of Boston Consulting Group, Citibank, Rolls Royce and General Electric. Now he wanted to consolidate his broad experience which had begun in multinational sales, “driving commercial growth, and going after business development opportunities”.

With experience consulting with UK small businesses seeking to expand into European markets, Paras developed a focus on strategy and execution for commercial growth.

Today he’s focused on strategic initiatives, including innovation and realising new opportunities at Valuedynamx – a new business unit of customer loyalty travel experts Collinson Group. He joined the group’s central product innovation team shortly after completing his MBA.

As an undergraduate, he had trained in air transport engineering and business management at City University of London, and it was the commercial rather than engineering element of his first degree that captured his imagination.

“But I still have an analytical mindset and that helps me in the work I do today,” he says.

He’s lived in London since the age of 10, and was born in Nepal before moving to Hong Kong, and then to the UK. He still speaks basic Nepalese and hasn’t lost touch with his country of birth – back in 2009 he helped organise running events to raise money to build schools in rural parts of Nepal. 

Paras says: “It was a great team achievement, contributing to establishing these schools and it was a chance to play a small role in helping the many children who will benefit in years to come.”

As a Londoner, choosing Warwick as a business school involved some dedicated research. An MBA had always lurked in his mind as a ‘distant thought’ rather than a set plan.

“I’ve always been interested in understanding how a business, such as Apple for instance, becomes a leading player,” says Paras. “What are the business elements that propel it to the front of the pack?”

After more than a decade of working his way through different roles and gathering wider experience, the degree made sense.

“It would help me understand how different components come together,” he says. “I liked the prospect of applied and academic learning.”

How WBS rankings played a big part

After investigating top tier schools in depth, he opted for Warwick because he felt it was unencumbered by tradition and heritage.

“Warwick felt the best fit for me – because of rankings, the London facility, and the innovative approach.”

And when guest speakers visited, Paras realised the value of being based in the capital.

He’s still in touch today with his class-mates, many of them sector experts, and group discussions are always lively.

He adds: “We’ll plan meet-ups, we have leaders in different fields, who’ll put forward their thoughts about their areas of expertise – it’s a really good group to have. A big takeaway from the MBA is the network and community, being able to bounce ideas off each other and work together – that was an important part of the learning.”

Studying in evenings and at weekends, he managed to complete some courses at the School’s Coventry campus.

“I felt it was important to go there,” he says. “Warwick has a focus on social leadership. Company culture felt an important part of the course – how people collaborate and come together.”

Highlights included an overseas elective at Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, which he chose over options to study in San Francisco or in various European schools.

“Warwick does well to put together some excellent options,” he says. “But I was very interested in understanding China - it was good to get an experience of business there and get a view of the working culture.”  

While squeezing in professional life with intense study over the course of the degree was a stretch, Paras’ supportive family kept him sane. It wasn’t without challenges – he changed jobs midway through the course and his first daughter was born just before he handed in his dissertation - “she was with me on graduation day”.

Today he lives in London with his wife and two young daughters who might make unscheduled appearances during video conferences when he works from home.

He credits the MBA with an enhanced ability to jump in at the deep end into new and evolving business situations. He’s unphased today by fast paced technological change and fresh opportunities at Valuedynamx, where he leads on strategy and innovation.

“I’m very much interested in the ethos of entrepreneurship - that’s a key takeaway,” says Paras. “It has unlocked my ability to dive in deeply, to learn and absorb and plan very quickly what to do. I can spot opportunities, put a business strategy together and keep across key things happening in the industry. We’ll take an idea from whiteboard all the way to launch. I’ve taken away a lot from the MBA and applied it – it’s much more than a badge for me.” 

And the experience has cemented his love of study – at 42, he hasn’t ruled out another university experience.

“I’m always learning – sometimes in a very focused way, looking at new topics, reading academic papers and blogs and keeping up to date with technological advances,” says Paras. “I like to stay up to date.”

Further reading:

How an MBA transformed a soldier into a financial strategist

From GP to CMO: How an MBA at The Shard shaped a clinical leader's career

Warwick Business School celebrates 10 years at The Shard

Discover Warwick Business School's Change Makers.