Alumni of the month is a news series of interviews where we feature Henley Business School alumni from various fields of business. In the interviews, our alumni share what were the most important lessons they learned during their studies and how studying at Henley has impacted both the career and personal life. In addition, you will also get insights on what are the keys to success in each alumnus’ field of business.
1. What were the most important lessons you learned at Henley Business School?
Henley's most important learnings for me are related to leading change – why change fails and what are the essential ingredients to successful change. While studying, I was in charge of two company-wide strategic programs related to transformation into a lean and agile company and pricing based on customer value. In my studies, I made deep dives into these areas in assignments and the Management Research Challenge, created change plans and implemented these strategic programs. This has made me passionate about continuous learning, enhancing organisational agility and experimentation culture to create more value to customers.
2. In what ways did studying at Henley change your life?
I have gained more self-awareness through personal development. I believe it has also increased my awareness of other people's motivations and context. Also, I have a better understanding of the criticality of transforming organizational culture and taking into account people's emotions to make the change happen in reality and deliver results. I hope it has made me even more authentic and an easily approachable leader that I am aiming at.
3. What is the importance of networks in today’s business?
Henley has a wide alumni network, an excellent asset in today's business. It is easy to contact other Henley alumni when needed. Also, I truly value having met a wide diversity of people and made close friendships during my Henley EMBA journey, including international studies in Shanghai and personal development in South Africa.
4. What is happening in your field at the moment, what are the keys to success?
As a research and technology organisation, the key to VTT's success is to create impact together with customers via systemic and technological breakthroughs that bring fundamental transformation and renewal to our customers' and partners' business.
