Meet INSEAD’s MBA Class Of 2019

Benjamin Amoah-Adjei

INSEAD

“Focused and driven, I like to work hard and make an impact.”

Hometown: Aburi, Ghana

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have been a groomsman at five different weddings, and at four of those I was actually the best man. At a point, the main conversation anyone has with you at a wedding is, “When did you say you were getting married again?”

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Ghana, Legon; Economics & Statistics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Research Manager, Fidelity Bank Ghana

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Won Gold Award for Research Analyst of the Year at the Ghana Investment Awards. This was after leading the research department in my firm as a Senior Analyst for 16 months. At the same event, our team won Silver Award for the Research House of the Year.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? They’re global. Several of them have multiple nationalities and almost everyone has worked and schooled in several countries. Which means they are pleasantly open-minded. The variety of personal and professional experiences I have heard have been mind-blowing so far.

Aside from your classmates, 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? The length of the programme, strong research and INSEAD’s clout with getting MBAs into the world’s top consulting firms.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? The Consulting Club. I don’t think I get the thing with case interviews yet. Hoping the club will prove useful in helping me develop some serious skills.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I decided that I needed to speed up my career progression and to get into more leadership roles. I also wanted to change location and sort of develop a more global network of personal and professional contacts. For obvious reasons, the INSEAD MBA was a natural step in that desire.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I come from a Finance background, so I had an Excel sheet with all the costs and potential benefits (adjusted for uncertainty of course). I did research on post-MBA incomes over the internet and spoke to alumni in some of the firms I thought I would want to work with and then applied for scholarships. Eventually, I decided the payoff was going to be worth the investment.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? HEC Paris. I know, I have a thing for France.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? For me, the length of the program was a key factor because I did not want to be in school for another two years. But even more important for me was INSEAD’s history with MBA recruitment into the Consulting Sector. In my search for an MBA programme, I did consider the rankings as an initial approach to short-listing the available options. Speaking to alumni was a good way to research culture and I found that alumni were always willing to have an honest discussion about what to expect (or otherwise) from the MBA programme.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? I’m hoping to get into Private Equity over the long term (doesn’t everybody?), but I think I’ll go through either management consulting or investment banking. I really need to develop my business skills and I think a position with one of the MBB might be really useful to that end. Nonetheless, I am more of an explorer and still open to other opportunities.

Where do you see yourself in five years? I did write something in my INSEAD applications but I’m not too sure. I do hope to find a path to Private Equity during that time.

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.