“Taking the scenic route from New Zealand to Norway to build things that matter.”
Hometown: Wellington, New Zealand
Fun Fact About Yourself: I am the only one in my family who didn’t join the Navy (because I don’t like being told what to do).
Undergraduate School and Major: University of Canterbury – Finance and International Business
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Salesforce, Strategy Manager
What has been the best part of being in a small class with this group of classmates? You get to know everyone so well – I often joke that I paid for an MBA just to make 80 good friends. The broad network in an MBA comes from the alumni and the strength of the brand, regardless of class size. The deep relationships that you make with the smaller class size become the foundations of a lifelong support network.
Aside from classmates, what part of IMD’s MBA programming led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Leadership and self-development. I was at a point in my life where I wanted to reconnect with the best version of myself. IMD does a lot more than strong academic classes and consulting projects; it challenges you to discover yourself as a leader. I also believed it was the best place for my wife to join me – IMD gives partners and families their own network and development in a way that I didn’t see at many other schools.
IMD is known for academic rigor. What is one strategy you used that would help a future IMD MBA better adapt to the workload early on? Prioritize ruthlessly. Most MBA students are high performers and want to do everything to the best of their ability. You’ve got four priorities in your MBA: social (friends, family), career (job hunting, networking), health (exercise, sleep), and academics. The reality is that, at best, you can maximize three of the above. Think about why you’re doing your MBA and what’s most important to you – and be willing to accept that you can’t do it all.
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Relocating to Europe with Salesforce. I’ve had two goals throughout my career: first, to understand how to best run a business, and second, to raise a family in Europe. Every career decision I made contributed to one of these, including joining Salesforce. I worked hard to gain recognition and to network with leaders across Europe to make it happen. The day I landed in Amsterdam felt like I had achieved the biggest milestone in my two goals so far.
Describe your biggest accomplishment at IMD so far: I was in the first group of applicants to the MBA 2025 cohort. On my assessment day in early February 2024, I told some of my peers that if I were accepted, I would love to represent the class as an Ombudsman. A year later, I was proudly elected as an Ombudsman and want to ensure that every voice is heard at IMD.
Where is your favorite hang-out in Lausanne? Why do you (and your classmates) gravitate there? The lake. Barbecues, drinks with friends, sunsets, picnics with the wife, morning and evening walks, swims in summer, and snow-capped mountains in winter. All within a five-minute walk of the campus. There really aren’t many more spectacular places that you could call home for a year.
What has been your best memory at IMD thus far? As part of our Entrepreneurship course at IMD, we are split into teams to work with a Swiss start-up on a two-month project. As someone with a love for start-ups, it is always great to get under the hood of a new business and feel like you’re making an impact and my team and I had the privilege of working with a very early-stage drone company. We dived headfirst into a project to validate and improve their go-to-market strategy. The tight deadlines and high workloads brought our team very close together, and I made some of my best friends on the course during this time.
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