Ori Stern

London Business School

“I’m a team player who admires professionalism and efficiency, always looking for added value.”

Hometown: Kibbutz Lavi, Israel

Fun Fact About Yourself: For most of my teenage years, I worked as a cowboy!

Undergraduate School and Major: B.A. in economics and social sciences

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Sourcing Manager at Viola Ventures

What makes London such a great place to earn an MBA degree? London is an exciting city with endless possibilities and opportunities and is one of the most diverse cities in the world. London’s rich tapestry of peoples and cultures makes it truly unique.  When you add the fact that London is an important strategic global business hub, it makes London a winning setting for shaping the next generation of business leaders.

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? I hope that LBS’s diversity will expose me to new ideas, fields, and opportunities that I hadn’t previously known about or considered.  Israel is a culturally and ethnically diverse country, so I’m familiar with the value different backgrounds and perspectives can give a team and I’d like to expand my familiarity of other cultures and industries. I’m especially excited about the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and understand which attributes are global and which are local. I have no doubt that I have plenty to learn from such a diverse, talented peer group.

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 flexibility of the LBS program and the many opportunities to work with top business organizations, such as those participating in the LondonCAP (London Core Application Practicum), make this program the perfect mix of theory and practice to help me to pursue my goals.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at London Business School? I can’t wait to take a part in the Global Business Experience courses. On these courses, LBS students travel to different destinations around the world to learn first-hand about specific industries and unique ecosystems in those countries. I am especially looking forward to visiting Stockholm to learn more about sustainability and innovation.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I was promoted to head of a department that had been underperforming and experiencing many difficulties. 80% of employees expressed a wish to leave! I was assigned to do an overhaul. The first thing I did was to redefine the department’s core values, create a vision, and set clear goals. I built a recruitment and retention program that tripled the number of applications and increased employee retention to 90%. I also created a new management training program that later became the flagship program for all departments. I think the biggest accomplishment was regaining the trust of management and the board and thus managing to quadruple the department’s budget, which I used to invest in R&D, new markets, and partnerships.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? Recently I reread Almanack by Naval Ravikant. The book details Naval’s infinite wisdom in his collection of excerpts from Twitter, podcasts, and essays. He combines them in a brilliant “guide to wealth and happiness”. I find the book not only inspiring, but also extremely practical including many tips on life and business skills.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? I have worked as an analyst, product manager, brand manager and department manager for several years in the same field and have gradually come to the understanding that I want to change industries and experience new kinds of business challenges. My ultimate goal is to build something of my own. I hope the MBA experience will introduce me to new opportunities and provide me with the business and leadership skills that will help me on my journey.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into London Business School’s MBA program? Whether you get accepted to LBS or not, the journey toward the MBA is challenging and will teach you a lot about yourself, your abilities, and your future goals. So either way, I believe it’s worth it.

DON’T MISS: MEET LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2024