Meet The Warwick MBA Class Of 2017

Ralph Abou-Mrad  

Warwick Business School

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: An easy going guy who is caring and thoughtful with a head on his shoulders.

Hometown: Sydney Australia & Beirut Lebanon

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have managed to travel to all six continents throughout my life covering over 72 cities in 41 countries. I also do triathlons to raise money for charities. 

Undergraduate School and Major: Hospitality Business Management – TAFE Sydney Australia

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: The Ritz Carlton Sydney – Reception supervisor, Intercontinental Hotel Dubai – Duty Manager, Emirates Airline – Global Sales Manager (Based in Dubai) & Etihad Airways – Manager Business Development (Based out of Abu Dhabi)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I have managed to penetrate new markets during my tenure at Emirates and Etihad to benefit both the airlines and promoting the destinations I represent (Dubai & Abu Dhabi) to boost tourism into those markets.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants?

• Choose the school that offers the main modules and electives that you would like to learn about.
• Choose a destination where you know you won’t be distracted (i.e. I chose Warwick over London as the area is so peaceful and calm which gives you good space to learn).
• Check with the business school about the mix of applicants work backgrounds, nationalities and most importantly age group.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I was lucky to get accepted at four business schools in the UK. However I chose Warwick due to their personal approach throughout the application process and their recruitment. Some of my favorite modules offered include Leadership Plus, Culture, Managing in a new world and Operations Management helped me decide on Warwick.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? I come from a family of “airliners” and this is one of the unique industries that is “addictive” in a way. My next goal, if I would like to stay in this industry is to work for British Airways due to their strong brand and being a leader in many initiatives globally.

I am also looking at changing my industry completely and heading towards a more technical industry in a business development area like Google or Apple.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program?

That Ralph was very helpful throughout the schooling year as well as considerate of other people’s beliefs and cultural differences. I would also like to contribute to the business school in some of the project and research that I am doing (in a group or individually) where the project will be implements. Currently we are doing a project for Warwick accommodation and it will be great to see it alive.