I was raised in a small town on the French Riviera, and grew up increasingly reading, watching and listening to British pop culture as I was drawn into it: Roald Dahl, J.K. Rowling, Arthur Conan Doyle, then some of their silver screen adaptations with the Harry Potter saga or Sherlock Holmes, along with the likes of James Bond. There were also comedies from the 90s to the present, from Mr. Bean to Kingsman, including romantic ones I shouldn’t quote here – Notting Hill and Love Actually anyone? On the music front, I surrounded myself with other British classics spanning generations such as The Beatles, The Who, Oasis, The Verve, The Kooks, Foals or Royal Blood to name just a few.
I spent quite some time trying to understand whether there was some sort of common thread between those amazing pieces of art across many forms that may have inspired me from the other side of the Channel. Stories behind them are widely different, but I think they all share a sense of resilience and ambition while staying deeply rooted in humanity, which makes them especially relatable to me. I was so fond of British rock that I dived into songwriting after studying the classical guitar since I was 7, then formed a Britpop band who performed on stage and the radio for a few years, including highlights such as a Berlin festival or the 100th anniversary of a low-profile British car manufacturer named… Martin, Aston Martin.
I still can’t believe I will get to enjoy formal dinners every evening in a mesmerising hall, while walking through the cloisters and stairs so many distinguished alumni experienced before me.
Why did you decide to apply for an MBA?
My approach to higher education and career goals has been derived from the above creativity as well as the technology trends that enabled it, especially after I ran a digital media agency part-time in my undergraduate days. They made me realise multidisciplinarity and international exposure tremendously help see the big picture in a digital world. So I earned a Master’s in Management from EMLyon, while pursuing another Master’s in Business Law at the Sorbonne following my undergraduate studies in law and politics. Right after I interned at the European headquarters of Facebook in Dublin, I pursued then graduated with a third Master’s degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Imperial College.
My career started while returning to Facebook as a full-time account manager and advising high-value advertisers on growth through the use of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. Over time, I began striving to leverage my expertise in tech to tackle a broader set of corporate topics, then relocated to London in order to join McKinsey as a senior consultant specialised in digital. Less than a year into the role, I became a product manager overseeing the development of new pricing products within Periscope, McKinsey’s AI-powered SaaS. Combined with my former hands-on entrepreneurship experience, I kept exploring ways I could further refine the complementary skills I gained at McKinsey and Facebook to foster an even fuller understanding of how businesses come to flourish or wither in a tech-driven world.
Using some time for a transformative MBA finally made sense to me, as long as it would tick my – rather picky – boxes. I wanted to keep it short and avoid slowing down my current career trajectory while optimising opportunity cost with a 1-year programme. As opposed to standalone business schools, it also had to happen at a global, world-renowned university. The institution where I would study should be meant to serve as a springboard for any longer-term project, thanks to a diverse network of talented minds in all fields, ideally in Europe. It had to be the kind of place where one can randomly debate with a PhD student in Computer Science or Astrophysics from anywhere on earth at dinner, hear from world leaders or attend century-old rowing competitions. Realistically, this left me with nothing but one – right, perhaps two – options I may have really been willing to apply for. Then came the dream factor, the Hogwarts bias my inner child’s memories never really stopped nurturing: I would apply to Oxford and nothing else.
Following my successful MBA application, it turned out I was also honoured to be admitted to Christ Church, the very college whose illustrious history was topped by some of the most famous scenes from the Harry Potter films. I still can’t believe I will get to enjoy formal dinners every evening in such a mesmerising hall, while walking through the cloisters and stairs so many distinguished alumni experienced before me.
How have you been preparing to start the programme?
I came to visit the school and staff early on, to get a sense of how it would fit my aspirations while catching a glimpse of life at Oxford – including a nice stroll across Magdalen College. I was also invited to 2021-22 MBA events, such as the Africa Business Forum where I had dinner with fellow Oxonians at Balliol College. On the logistics front, I was lucky enough to be offered a central and spacious accommodation by Christ Church, which is crucial to take advantage of the countless events held across colleges.
From a content standpoint, I have extensively looked into the opportunities the programme would provide, ranging from college-specific to business school-related, and university-wide. In particular, I explored the entrepreneurship capabilities that Oxford had to offer, whether it was about seed funding, IP counselling or founder mentorship across the university. There are several entities in place like the Entrepreneurship Centre at SBS or Oxford University Innovation. On top of this, I also got in touch with future classmates as we started planning our year around common events, such as musical performances or wine tasting sessions – not to mention our preparation for the MBA Tournament held at HEC Paris that Oxford has consistently won in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022!
What do you hope to gain from the Oxford MBA?
I hope to navigate and leverage the endless connections Oxford provides to refine my leadership by learning from others’ perspectives, while blending them with the MBA curriculum to dive deeper into the building of digital ventures. I believe this approach will be beneficial to my return to McKinsey in London as well as my international career in the longer run.
What are you most looking forward to from the programme?
I can’t wait to mingle with diverse people from a variety of fields and geographies, while engaging in conversations and activities pushing my thinking further in the breathtaking scenery that Oxford uniquely provides – including many formal dinners to come!
What advice would you give those looking to make an application?
Aside from what the MBA admission process takes itself (planning references, test scores, personal statements, etc.) and for which plenty of guidance can be found online, I think what truly helps is developing a sharp view of your profile’s strengths against your actual needs. A proper MBA fit should be determined based on both your academic and professional backgrounds as well as aspirations, combined with what you bet the job market will be looking for in the next decades. The more aligned you can get these parameters, the likelier your odds of admission become, and the better value you get out of your chosen programme if admitted – this probably stands even truer when it comes to Oxford.
