"The learning experience was compacted into the two years and I often revisit resources now and take new learnings from them."
Danielle McIver
Danielle McIver
Nationality: Australian / British
Programme: Modular Executive MBA, 2021
Current industry: Finance
Position pre-MBA: Senior Manager and Director at Trident Trust, Guernsey, UK
Post-MBA: Vice President, Senior Relationships Manager at Northern Trust Corporation, Guernsey, UK
Transitions made: Function
Why did you choose the Modular Executive MBA at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass)?
Prior to joining the MBA, I worked for a private financial services SME. I wanted to make a transition into a global organisation and meet like-minded professionals with similar ambitions. I also lacked exposure to other sectors beyond finance, so sought some insight into the wider world of business.
There were a number of factors that led to me choosing Bayes. Firstly, an MBA is possibly the biggest investment you will ever make in yourself. I wanted to spend the money wisely and complete my MBA at a top five UK business school.
Secondly, flexibility was something that was really important to me – I didn’t want to take a career break so ideally wanted to pursue an Executive MBA. I discovered that Bayes offered a modular version which allowed me to attend classes over one long weekend per month. Finally, it was location.
I live in the Channel Islands so the commute needed to be straight forward and ideally I wanted to attend a London school.
Before deciding to apply, I spoke to an alumnus who was an industry contact and who had a positive experience which led to my final decision to apply.
I didn’t apply to any other schools and when I interviewed with the course director I knew immediately I had made the right choice. Having not applied anywhere else, Bayes thankfully accepted my application and made me an offer.
Could you tell us a bit about your experience of studying on the Modular Executive MBA?
There were definite times of burnout where I had taken on too much between the MBA, my career and a property renovation, but overall I thrived on the fast-pace of the two years and learnt a lot about myself.
I am very grateful to our course director who was supportive through some of the harder times and was a great mentor.
The friendships and allegiances formed in the cohort also made it impossible to dwell for more than a minute. It was hard work but I wouldn’t change anything as I learnt so much on the journey. The spectrum of topics in the first year provided a very holistic grounding for understanding a global business model.
The strategy modules in particular gave me a solid base to pursue a new growth strategy in my company and latterly present a strategic case which helped secured a new role. The negotiation and presentation workshops as part of the professional development modules were also impactful.
In year two I originally focussed on finance modules being an accountant and working in finance.
However, I discovered that I had an entrepreneurial passion and pursed a sustainable fashion startup as my final project, which I couldn’t have imagined at the start of my MBA journey!
The negotiation, presentation and media workshops held as part of our professional development modules were challenging and I had some instant new skills to take back to my career. Our skills were tested in a safe environment with additional tools being rolled out to us in live situations.
These workshops were some of my favourite and most valuable throughout the programme.
Would you say that there are any special qualities that characterise a Bayes MBA graduate? If so, what are they?
I believe there’s certainly some distinct qualities that are gained from being part of an MBA at Bayes. Entrepreneurial spirit is one of those and is something that I found throughout my time on the programme.
Additionally, embarking on an MBA is not an easy ride, so you need to be hardworking in order to succeed.
Finally, a Bayes MBA graduate should be ambitious. We have invested heavily in ourselves to get to this point so should take advantage of the opportunity this presents. This includes networking with fellow alumni, which I have found to be a supportive and strong network to have.
My approach to business since graduating is more entrepreneurial and leads me to questioning the norm and finding smarter ways to work more frequently than I was before. It’s also enabled me to be more objective having had the opportunity to complete projects on various companies throughout my MBA.
The learning experience was compacted into the two years and I often revisit resources now and take new learnings from them.