Changing Careers with Conrad Chua

The changing face of the workplace after the pandemic, how to manage and think about your mental health during a crisis, and how to build your resilience during a crisis, in order to start preparing to change your career - a personal perspective from Cambridge MBA Executive Director, Conrad Chua.

Cambridge MBA Executive Director gives a range of advice for conducting interviews remotely, either in the new virtual world under Covid-19 conditions in 2020 or indeed when the recruiter is half way across the globe. Putting your best self forward in every scenario.

Conrad Chua, Executive Director of the Cambridge MBA talks about how we can prepare for the future, how we can present and manage ourselves in the current climate of uncertainty, and how MBAs can still work on their career change and ambition.

Covering a career in conservation and the environment, bringing social innovation and entrepreneurship to the table after his MBA year for alumni Paul Herbertson (MBA 2010). Covering business skills in a larger NGO environment to a smaller start up: financial modelling and business strategy, innovation and scaling. Now Director of a tailored conservation focused travel agency, Paul talks about his...

Career coach and talent acquisition consultant, Kate Harman, outlines the Case Interview process; she shares her tips and interview insights after over a decade recruiting talent at Boston Consulting Group, London, UK.

Serial entrepreneur Michael Birdsall (MBA 2012) talks about his rapid startup growth across Asia and North America, in the education and tutoring sector. From scaling up, client relations, tech platforms, to managing vastly different geographies and company culture through enormous growth. Now a startup sales success story - Michael talks about his exit strategy, stepping out of the Founder positi...

Covering a career in leading technology companies across Europe, Asia and the UK, from Amazon, to Adstream to Jagex Games. Hamza Mudassir (MBA 2012) talks about digital transformation and the role storytelling might play in these large-scale digital transformation projects - from product management to corporate strategy. Hamza is now a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School in Strategy...

Dr. Ritika Dave talks about her career in medicine, via the Cambridge MBA(2012), through to the 'business' of science with such giant pharmaceuticals as Astra Zeneca; as well as covering her years of experience in the consultancy world, with consultants L.E.K. Consulting. Ritika covers her career changes and the lessons she has learnt on the way, from analytics to asking the right questions.

As we end 2019, we hear from the year's podcast host Conrad Chua about career tips, and an outlook for the future to de-clutter your life, to help you enter a new decade with a focus on what matters most.

Jon Kwan, global careers consultant and career coach talks about the power of informational interviews as well as using design thinking in your career; and more widely about the job search in Asia. With a background of his own career change, for example, from Canada to Singapore; Jon takes us beyond the 'coffee chat' and the steps to take to find the 'right fit' in your global job search.

Jen Murphy, independent Careers Consultant & Assistant Dean of Career Management and Student Success, Ohio University, talks about careers in the USA, as well as the approach to the job search in North America. Navigating the career journey with a targeted and intentional strategy across the disparate geography of the United States. She covers life choices, from family decisions to career change a...

Career changing star Wee Lee Sim (MBA 2012) talks about his sector experience journey from tech sector start up at Groupon with very little sales experience through to his Cambridge MBA and beyond, to his ultimate pivot into the fast expanding retail and consumer goods sector. Now based at CAA-GBG, one of the world's largest brand management agencies, as Director of Financial Planning and Analysis...

Legend Don Leslie talks about careers in consultancy and the agency he runs advising MBAs and those aiming for this sector. Management Consultancy - How to apply, where to find the jobs, and what you’re letting yourself in for. Don also talks about his own career path and how this sector has developed across the last three decades.

Yuki Kishi (MBA 2016) Director of Fintech at Plug and Play Japan - the early stage investor, accelerator and corporate innovation platform headquartered in the USA, talks about innovation and investment across the VC and investor landscape.

Paul O'Keefe from YaleNUS College, Singapore explores our human motivations from our passions to our interests, our goals and our curiosities. Are interests inherent or can they be developed? Why do we look at change in our career path or our lives more widely? These are some of the questions discussed.

Armin Schriewer VP Finance & Strategy for Dahmakan, Malaysia's biggest food delivery app and service, talks about the business model of providing restaurant quality food with in house suppliers, chefs, delivery units, even packaging to optimise the food delivery industry in this highly successful Asian company.

From journalism to marketing, live events to broadcasting, and creating strategy for a range of broadcast platforms at BT. Kate Wendelboe (MBA 2011) explores the changes across the sector, looking at how people consume content, video and TV today. She also talks about the unique mentoring platform called RISE - for women in broadcasting, which she now sits on as an Advisory Board Member and Mentor...

Chris Maure talks about 'future proofing' your career targeting teenagers and those about to enter the employment field, using a relatively new tool 'My Careers Options' - an online assessment and psychometric testing tool that supports planning a career journey, as we face a future of jobs that as yet may not exist! Working with Dr David Stillwell at Cambridge Judge Business School.

Tania Villares Balsa (MBA 2014) talks about the seed funding and start up support available across the wider Cambridge eco-system, post MBA in her role at Cambridge Enterprise - a commercial arm attached to the University of Cambridge.

Using the power of storytelling to communicate your career aspirations more powerfully to recruiters. Robert Holtom, a professional narrative coach talks about using creative writing skills as a business tool, from refreshing your CV to pitching your idea in the workplace.

What skills are sought in the digital sector globally today? We hear from Jynn Goh the Executive Director of Russell Reynolds based in Singapore. An alumnus of Cambridge University, Jynn talks about agility, leadership, and C-suite recruitment as the technology sector evolves at great speed. She talks about the banking sector, the customer experience as well as the need for change and personal rev...

A start up story in the Indian logistics sector as Blowhorn was established by Mithun Srivatsa (MBA 2011). Starting out employed by a large shipping company and now running his own delivery and logistics enterprise, developing fast as India grows. From conflict management to crisis systems and the wide range of skills needed to be an entrepreneur in this fast paced sector.

Dickson Ma, Deputy Director of Business Development of AlipayHK, based in Hong Kong, talks about his career in the entertainment industry and how he has now transitioned to the FinTech sector in the cashless digitized payments industry. Dickson Ma also talks about his time and the connections he made on the Cambridge MBA 2011.

From call centre to apps, using an army of two wheeled SMEs across Indonesia and into SE Asia. Chief Human Resources Officer, Monica Oudang talks about her career journey and working with a staff of over 3500 at GOJEK. Social impact, technology and speed are the reason for the foundation of the IT, distribution and services company.

Nanna Saito Nielsen talks about her career journey from Cambridge MBA(MBA 2011) to Director of Banking Operations at GoCardless, as well as her start up journey with both drone technology and across the Fintech sector, travelling and transforming her career from the US to London,UK. Nanna also looks at the gender balance in the fintech and technology sectors, both traditionally less populated by w...