Q : Starting off with your background , could you talk us through your pre-Hult career ?
Whilst I was studying for my PhD , I was fairly convinced that I wanted to become a professor . My postdoctorate was in research engineering , so essentially inventing technologies . The business model of the lab I worked in was spinning off companies from those technologies . Unfortunately , those companies didn ’ t do that well when they were taken to the open market . I came to realize that although everybody in the room had a PhD in technology , no one knew anything about business . It was at that point that I decided I would go and learn about the world of business with an aim to run a technology company at a later date . As postdoctoral positions don ’ t tend to pay very well , I couldn ’ t afford to do an MBA . Joining McKinsey therefore seemed like a sensible second option , as they could teach me all about business whilst I was earning money .
At McKinsey , I specialized in building companies for blue-chip clients . I started off with the . coms , but when the . com bust hit , I moved into building credit card companies around the world . I became a sort of ‘ rent-a-CEO ’; I went in , I got the business up and running , and then I handed it back over to the client . Standard Chartered became my biggest client , and after getting to know me , they offered me a job in Hong Kong running their credit card business .
Since my career ambition wasn ’ t to be a consultant , and by that stage I felt as if McKinsey had taught me a lot about business , I decided to take the plunge and see what being a banker was all about .
McKinsey taught me how to communicate effectively and how to problem solve . At Standard Chartered , I learnt the art of leadership and basic service and marketing . Despite being a fantastic opportunity and a phenomenal learning curve , being a banker didn ’ t quite suit my personality . Even though I was running the largest credit card business in Asia , the role lacked an element of excitement , so I started looking into technology-based startups . And then fate intervened in the form of a telephone call from Philip Hult ( member of the Hult board ), whom I knew socially . He explained that they had taken over a business school a few years previously and they were in the process of looking for someone to come on board and take it forward . That ’ s how I joined Hult .
Q : Considering that many students come to Hult with the ambition of making a career change , how did you find the transition from a PhD researcher to consulting ?
I definitely found the transition a daunting prospect . I think the biggest shock to my system was how hard I had to work . I had gone from having a pretty laid-back existence as a research engineer to suddenly working hundred-hour weeks at the bottom of McKinsey ’ s corporate ladder .
The second biggest shock was that I had always been a subject-matter expert and was only ever expected to speak about my narrow area of expertise — in fact , that was regularly all I spoke about ! But that changed overnight when I moved to McKinsey . I remember there was an expression in our evaluation forms , which , if I recall correctly , was something along the lines of “ being able to speak off your knowledge area confidently .” I was pretty skeptical at first , thinking I would have to bluff my way through endless meetings , but they assured me that it wasn ’ t bluffing . I was told to simply apply my intellect to topics that I may not immediately know lots about ; it was all about picking apart a problem and going back to the basic logic .
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