Full-time MBA

My background might be considered quite unconventional for a business school graduate student. I did my Bachelor of Arts degree in Jewel­ry at London Guildhall University (now merged with London Metropolitan University) where I learnt all aspects of the industry – including management, marketing, branding, sales, design and production. During my undergraduate years, I was fortunate to receive 3 national design awards in the United Kingdom, from The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, the Victoria and Albert Museum and The British Jewelers’ Association. I also hold a Graduate Gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America.

Although I started my career in design, I realised very soon that my interests and ambitions were much broader than that. Slowly, I moved onto other aspects of the industry including merchandising, branding and marketing. In 2014, when the sales of luxury goods, especially watches and jewelry, reduced dramatically due to certain political and economic factors, I took some time off to learn a Latin language (French) and to think about how I wanted to progress in my career.

This is when an interesting opportunity came my way; I joined a fine wine merchant specialising in Burgundy wines. This time, I took on a purely sales-oriented role and eventually was involved in marketing and business development as well. During my time there, I gained valuable experience which included managing a sales team of 10 members, developing over 200 key accounts, handling the marketing and promotion of the company and of course, learning how to appreciate wine.

Because I’ve been fortunate enough to experience different roles throughout the luxury industry, I was constantly required to learn on the job. The more I was involved in different job functions, the more I wanted to take on additional responsibilities and figure out how to manage a business as a whole. This is when I decided to join the HKU MBA programme because I feel like it will provide me with the skills to achieve such a goal. Of course, meeting new people is also a great benefit.

Now, this is my third term in HKU MBA, I have already gained invaluable knowledge and had the privilege of attending some inspiring courses. I thoroughly enjoy the small-class atmosphere at HKU where students can form a close bond and share their ideas easily. Because we are such a tightly knit cohort, we have had a chance to work with almost everybody in our class, which is one of the reasons why this programme is so unique.