Meet Oxford Saïd’s MBA Class Of 2020

MBAs LOVE MATRICULATION

Another popular tradition? Try the Oxford Union, a 200-year-old debate hall that has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill to Malcolm X. Not surprisingly, the University of Oxford lands some of the best guest speakers in the world.

“Oxford breathes thought leadership,” explains Pascal Riederer. “Leaders from all over the world come to share their thinking, get inspiration, and open up collaboration to work on a better tomorrow together. During the first three months of the program, we hosted Bob Iger (CEO of Disney), Muhtar Kent (former CEO Coca-Cola), Paul Pohlman (former CEO Unilever), Patrick Pichette (former CFO Google) and fashion designer Calvin Klein. Yet, the most inspiring person I met was Dr. Katharina Barley, currently Vice President of the European Parliament. I was impressed about her genuine view on the world of politics and her intuitive way to make up her mind based on her value system. Having dinner with Dr. Barley reminded me about my roots and led me to reflect of what kind of leader I want to be. I’m very thankful to the eco-system of Oxford to create these very personal moments of learning at the front of the world’s thought leadership.”

Perhaps the most popular Oxford tradition, according to the Class of 2020, is Matriculation. Think of the pomp of circumstance of Matriculation as an introduction to Oxford’s rich history and expectations for academic excellence. Held during the fall’s Michaelmas term, students don their sub-fusc and stream together to the Sheldonian Theater. Basically, the Saturday ceremony welcomes students into the Oxford community. As you’d expect, the individual colleges follow up Matriculation with (ahem) less formal and decorous celebrations.

Yes, the parade of students holds up traffic. And the ceremony is briefer than students might expect. Still, it ranks among the most poignant experiences for students past and present. “The most Oxford thing I have done is dressing up in full academic dress, parading from my college, Green Templeton, with all of my collegemates to the Sheldonian Theatre where the streets were filled with everyone else dressed for matriculation, writes Ashleigh Herd, a chemical engineer from Kansas. “Then we entered the theatre and participated in a ceremony in Latin signifying our official membership in the university. It was humbling to be a part of a ceremony that has existed for nearly a thousand years as a common thread amongst all generations of Oxford students.”

AUTHENTIC AND MULTIFACETED

Alas, Matriculation isn’t the only time when the Class of 2020 wears sub-fusc. “Writing exams in sub-fusc [is] an Oxford tradition that requires students to wear dark suits with a black or white tie and an academic gown when writing exams,” adds Samuel Darko. “It sounds bizarre until you show up at the exam venue to see everyone looking well-dressed. I have particularly enjoyed post-exam photos and drinks in sub-fusc.”

Despite these trappings, “traditional” isn’t a term that the Class of 2020 would use to describe their peers. For Pascal Riederer, a better word might be “authentic.” “This word is often overused, but I believe it adequately depicts the most important trait of my fellow MBAs classmates and the wider Oxford community. Every single person you meet has a genuine story to tell and knows where his or her roots are. This brings collaboration to a level of down-to-earth, humble and truly novel interactions.”

Amandine Roche tags her Saïd classmates with a different quality: multifaceted. “I am in awe of the fact that everyone comes from a different part of the world, with unique Pre-MBA paths and distinct post-graduation endeavours. This is what makes class discussions and one-on-one coffee chats so fascinating. Our cohort is actually comprised of 64 different nationalities and it makes such a difference in the classroom when you look across the lecture hall and see the richness of different cultures and experiences. I’ve never felt more at home in my life – being surrounded by so many international students.”

WOMEN INCREASINGLY DRAWN TO OXFORD

As a whole, the Class of 2020 features 329 students, who bring a 681 average (and 690 median) GMAT to Saïd – though 25% entered with GRE scores. Like the previous cohort, 95% of the class hails from outside the United Kingdom. The largest segment of the class – 45% – falls into the catch-all Global Industry category. The remainder of the class brings experience from Finance (26%), Consulting (16%), and Social Impact (11%).

One big difference with previous classes? Women account for 44% of the Class of 2020, up five points over the previous year. Don’t expect Saïd to rest on its laurels. In March, the school received £450,000 for each of the next three years to help support its push to achieve gender parity. The funding, the school notes, will be earmarked to increased scholarships for women – an effort that will supplement the school’s efforts to boost female leadership opportunities through skill development and career preparation programming.

That wasn’t the only good news from Saïd over the past year. Last fall, Forbes reported that MBA alums boosted their pay by $127,300 within five years of graduation – a number that bested rival one-year programs like Warwick and Imperial. At the same time, Saïd continued to rank among the Top 10 non-American MBA programs in every major ranking. Better still, Saïd MBAs were earning the 4th-highest base salaries among European schools – $161,443 – within three years of graduation according to 2019 Financial Times data. In other words, Saïd grads aren’t sacrificing pay to pursue their passions.

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE MBA DIRECTOR

What can the current and future Saïd students expect from the MBA program? Prior to the pandemic, P&Q reached out to Liz Starbuck Greer, the school’s MBA Director to learn about new developments at the program. Here is what she had to say about new electives, the rollout of its Creative Destruction Lab, and its increasingly-vibrant social impact and entrepreneurship scene.

P&Q: What are the most exciting new developments at your program?

LSG: “We strive to ensure our world-class faculty and industry-leading practitioners are offering an MBA programme that balances core business fundamentals with cutting-edge research, and in 2019 we launched two new electives.

The Trust in the Digital Age elective is led by trust expert and best-selling author Rachel Botsman. It explores how trust is undergoing a radical transformation, with implications for how we live, work, and consume. Students will learn how to be more trustworthy, discover the ‘currency of trust,’ and learn about issues of trust within the tech sector.

Also on the tech theme, we have recently launched an elective on Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, led by marketing expert Professor Andrew Stephen. Candidates learn how to apply these developments to business challenges in the domains of marketing, advertising, and retail management.

We now host the Creative Destruction Lab, an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage science and technology-based companies, with our 2019-20 Oxford MBA cohort the first to take part in Europe. This initiative further bolsters our entrepreneurial spirit, and affords our MBA candidates the opportunity to network with and learn from fantastic ventures in the artificial intelligence space.”

P&Q: What is the most underrated part of your program that you wish prospective students knew more about?

LSG: “People expect globally recognised speakers at Oxford, but don’t underestimate our incredible faculty. Pinar Ozcan recently joined us as Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She teaches Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Technology Management, and Change Management, and has conducted award-winning research into disruption within the banking industry. Our resident workplace mental health expert, Associate Professor Michael Gill, was recognized for the quality of his teaching in Poets & Quants’ 40 under 40 this year. And one of our longest-standing faculty members is Colin Mayer CBE – our former Dean and a leading light in the responsible business movement. The wide breadth of our Professors’ expertise is part of what makes our MBA so enriching.”

P&Q: MBA students are able to participate in all of the activities that make up Oxford’s rich history. Talk to us about some of these traditions that give Oxford such a profound mystique?

Go to Page 3 for in-depth profiles of 10 members of the Class of 2020.