Meet the MBA Class of 2023: Hugo Winn, London Business School

Hugo Winn

London Business School

“A strategic thinker with a passion for system change in traditionally underserved markets.”

Hometown: London, United Kingdom

Fun Fact About Yourself: During a university summer vacation, I cycled a tandem bicycle with a friend across Europe. The experience taught me how to deal with blood, sweat and tears, often at the same time. It also showed me the incredible diversity Europe has to offer.

Undergraduate School and Major: BA (Hons) Anthropology, Durham University; MSc Politics & Communication, London School of Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Head of Strategy & Growth at Flare Emergency Response (Nairobi, Kenya)

What makes London such a great place to earn an MBA degree? London is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, with over a third of Londoners born outside the UK and 200 languages spoken across the city. I love to travel around town and experience snapshots of different cultures – it keeps me on my toes and challenges my preconceptions and cultural knowledge. I feel you can never stop learning in London.

Over the last six years, I have been working primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, so remaining connected to this geography was important.

London Business School is one of the most culturally and professionally diverse MBA programs in the world. How do you see these global perspectives enhancing the value of your business education over the next two years? The international diversity at London Business School was an important factor in me choosing the school. Unlike most US schools, over 90% of the intake at London Business School is international. That diversity is reflected in the course structure, with global opportunities such as the Global Business Experience and international exchange programme available throughout the program. The variety of backgrounds among my classmates brings a wealth of different perspectives and makes discussions more interesting. My study group of five people has five nationalities and five different professional backgrounds. The global nature of this network will also open up new opportunities for me long into the future.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of London Business School’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The MBA at London Business School mixes rigorous academics with real-world application. The course will allow me to apply what I learn in the classroom to business cases all over the world and to take part in an international exchange that will broaden my network even further.

The school’s Wheeler Institute for Business and Development is influential in conversations about the role of business in society and the value of business in a changing world. I have faced these questions throughout my career and will use this resource to push my thinking further.

Finally, London Business School is famous for its focus on and connections in financial markets. With London as a key financial hub, the school is the perfect place to increase my knowledge of financial systems and to meet investment decision makers.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at London Business School? I am looking to use the MBA as a pivot from startup strategy into larger scale business and public sector challenges in emerging markets. In this regard, the Impact Consulting Club is a fascinating proposition. The club couples valuable connections in the consulting space with hands-on pro-bono support to early and mid-stage organisations. I was really inspired by the club’s work during COVID-19, helping support the NHS.

Other clubs that excite me are the Social Impact Club, which runs a seed investment fund with an exceptional track-record, and the Africa Club that hosts the Africa Business Summit, an annual event that has helped shape European-African business discourse.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: In 2019, I left London to lead the strategy and growth of a young startup in Nairobi, Kenya. The company had aspirations to solve the inequities Kenyans face in accessing affordable, good-quality emergency medical care. In Nairobi, thousands died every year either getting to hospital or ambulances were infamously unreliable.

We realised that the problem was not the supply of ambulances or equipment, but the way these assets were distributed. I helped build a model that aggregated private ambulances onto one system, providing one point of contact during an emergency, reducing the cost of accessing care by 80% and response times from over two hours to 15 minutes.

Helping design and implement this strategy was massively rewarding. Healthcare inefficiencies in developing markets can often be solved through simple business models that intelligently distribute assets. Our system has saved thousands of lives whilst becoming a long-term, profitable business in Kenya.

How did COVID-19 change your perspective on your career and your life in general? Developing an ambulance service in Kenya during a major public health crisis was a unique challenge. When COVID-19 first arrived in Kenya, I expected patient numbers to massively spike, but initially the pandemic actually reduced hospital admissions as fewer people were on the roads. Instead, we began to see unexpected impacts, principally the impact of government measures designed to protect the public from the virus. Nightly curfews made accessing hospitals extremely challenging and the economic effects of lockdowns and travel bans significantly reduced people’s healthcare budgets and safety nets. The experience of dealing with these issues opened my eyes to the often unintended effects of government policy. It confirmed my intention to play a meaningful role in helping government, business, and the social sector drive improvement in service delivery for African citizens across the continent.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? Working at startups allows you to make rapid change, fast. Over the last six years at what3words and Flare Emergency Response, we created systems that have improved a large number of people’s lives. But, there are many problems that startups — whether due to size, funding or underlying market conditions — cannot solve. The MBA will enable me to use my strategy and business management experience to help larger organisations solve big problems in the public and private sectors in traditionally underserved markets.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Oxford, Saïd Business School

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into London Business School’s MBA program? I believe London Business School is looking for people who are inquisitive about other cultures and perspectives. The study group structure at London Business School is intimate and the school wants to know you will be able to listen to others and learn from divergent views.

London Business School also takes a holistic approach to its recruitment. If your GMAT score is not exactly what you hoped for, I would still encourage you to apply. More important is that you can clearly define why this is the right time for you to join the London Business School community and why your voice matters now.

DON’T MISS: MEET LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2023

 

 

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