Meet London Business School’s Class of 2019

Amanda Morgan 

London Business School

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: To re-paraphrase the 19^th century advertisement for barbed wire: “Lighter than air, stronger than whiskey but NOT cheaper than dust.”

Hometown: Born in New York, NY 

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love wildlife and am the fortunate parent of a Burmese dog called Laska who my husband and I rescued from the streets of Yangon, Myanmar. Laska first travelled with me on the 28 hour journey from Yangon to New York and is now coming to London to support me in the LBS MBA.

Undergraduate School and Major:  Oxford University, Somerville College, BA Modern History

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: These include:

Associate, Business Development working in Myanmar for both Serge Pun & Associates Ltd. and Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd. (affiliated);

Associate and head of Strategic Management Division for SP Group (also in Myanmar)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: After almost two year pursuit, winning Yum! Brands tender for KFC franchisee partner in Myanmar. I was working for a local conglomerate and its affiliated group and it was not only our first foray into quick service restaurants, but would also be the first international fast food brand to enter Myanmar. Despite competition from well qualified international and local competitors, our team delivered a stunningly detailed proposal, the result of about two years of extensive fieldwork and primary research, and became the exclusive franchisee of KFC Myanmar.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Whenever possible, take the time to visit each school in person. Despite reading all the literature, nothing was as valuable as the insight I gained from visiting the campus in person before submitting my applications. Through these meetings with alumni and current students, I could narrow my focus to the business schools that mattered most to me. I was also able to identify the business schools where I would not be a good fit thus reserving time and effort for the applications I cared most about.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you?  I chose the LBS MBA program because it represented a combination of opportunities that I could not find anywhere else. Key to this was the international nature of the LBS student body and faculty which was the most diverse of any business school I applied to. Diversity is important to me because I believe that a large part of what you learn during an MBA is from your peers.  The students and faculty at LBS offer a vast range of perspectives from which I can learn and later apply in a consciously global context.  

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school?  Launching my own start-up, ideally in the consumer sector (I already have some refined ideas and hopefully LBS will help give me the tools and network to successfully implement them!)