Anthony Adhinata Tjong

Cambridge Judge Business School

“An enthusiastic, curious, and action-oriented problem-solver with a passion for learning new things.”

Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia

Fun fact about yourself: I am a big fan of board games! I even met my fiancé when I was looking for a logo designer for my boardgame café business back in 2019. The board game café ultimately went under, but at least I still have my partner with me.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Finance

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Before coming to Cambridge, I worked for the regional treasury team of Philip Morris International, handling Asia Pacific affiliates.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2022? I did a brief internship at a Southeast Asian private equity firm called Creador.

Where will you be working after graduation? I plan to pursue a leadership development program or consulting role outside of Indonesia.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: Team Leader of The Argonauts (for INSEAD Product Games 2022), Member of Finance SIG

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? The achievement that brings me joy during my time here in Cambridge has been reaching the finals round for INSEAD Product Games 2022 with my team: “The Argonauts”. We were tasked to design a product leveraging NFT technology to solve one of the world’s prominent issues. When I first met my fellow team members, I was very skeptical about how we would function as a team considering the fact that each one of us comes from a different professional backgrounds, nationality, and culture. The start of the project was quite rough: we had vastly different great ideas, and we couldn’t agree on a single idea that we wanted to pursue as a group. Over the course of a few weeks, we managed to come up with an idea: an NFT-based Healthcare App that would give people access to their health records anytime, anywhere. As a group, we worked so hard on this project, and I was so surprised that the diversity of backgrounds did not stop us from becoming a solid team. We were so happy when we heard back that we had made it to the finals! Even though we didn’t manage to secure first prize in the competition, we have found great friendships along the way!

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? When I was still planning to pursue an MBA education in 2021, I was working in Philip Morris International (PMI) Asia Regional Treasury Team. The road to getting into Cambridge has been very tough because I need to juggle multiple things in parallel such as professional work, studying for GMAT, writing essays for my MBA applications, and maintaining relationships along the way. Thankfully, I was constantly bombarded with support from my partner, family, friends, colleagues and managers at PMI. The sheer excitement and happiness when I realized that I managed to juggle all of those things successfully and finally receive an acceptance letter is something that I will remember for a long time.

Why did you choose this business school? Cambridge Judge Business School’s MBA Program is known for its student diversity. With more than 90% of its students being international students, Cambridge is one of the best places in the world to develop an international network and meet brilliant people from all around the globe. I have always strongly believed that both your fellow MBA classmates and faculty members play an equally important role in your learning experience. On top of that, the highly collaborative environment of Cambridge has also played a huge part in why I ultimately chose Cambridge.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Simon Webster’s Entrepreneurship through Acquisition takes the spot of my favourite MBA professor! He has been very friendly and resourceful when it comes to explaining the ins-and-outs of establishing a search fund and running a company as CEO afterwards. His stories about the ups and downs of his personal experiences have been very helpful in keeping the class engaged throughout the course.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favourite course here at Cambridge is definitely Management Praxis by Prof. Keith Goodall and Prof. Matthew Jones. As someone who used to work for an international organization, I used to have trouble adapting to a multicultural team. The Management Praxis course has taught me a lot of things about working with different personalities and cultures. This course has also taught me to always think about “What you see is not what others see” when dealing with other people in general.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? I really love the various formal dinners that we have here at various colleges of the University of Cambridge. The formal dinners are unique to each of the colleges, and each one of them offers a unique experience! These formal dinners have provided me with the opportunity to meet people outside of the MBA Program, and it is very pleasant to learn about their experiences.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Do not overcommit at the beginning of your term! It is very easy to be swept by the multitude of networking events, career events, and various competitions available immediately at the start of the term. I was overwhelmed by the palpable FOMO vibe at the Michaelmas term that I barely had time to socialize with my fellow MBA people. I would definitely advise MBA prospects to spend more time socializing and travelling with their MBA classmates in the first term.

What is the biggest myth about your school? I initially thought that most MBA cohorts would be very competitive in nature, and I couldn’t be more wrong. Even though I am constantly surrounded by brilliant and motivated people here at Cambridge, the cohort is very supportive of one another. I feel like people truly want each other to be successful in whatever goals they are pursuing. I am glad that Cambridge managed to foster such a collaborative environment for its MBA Program.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? As a Harry Potter fan, I feel that Cambridge reminds me of what Hogsmeade would look like if it were occupied by muggles!

What is one thing you did during the application process that gave you an edge at the school you chose? Instead of immediately referring to the MBA rankings on various websites to decide which schools to apply to, I put an immense effort into understanding the nature and culture of each MBA program. I believe that each MBA program is looking for certain types of people that they believe would make a good fit for their cohort, so do your research properly on each school! Talk to current students and faculty as well!

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? This is a hard question to answer. I have met so many amazing people here at Cambridge, but if I were to choose that, I would pick Mariana Pérez Ayala, an ex-consultant of Mastercard Colombia. Mariana and I worked together on the Cambridge Venture Project in the Michaelmas term, and she was one of the most resourceful and capable leaders I have ever worked with on a project. She drew from her previous experience at Mastercard to guide our CVP group to a satisfactory result. I am sure she would be a valuable addition to any team out there.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? I want to reach the C-suite position in one of the fortune-500 companies and work outside of Asia Pacific.

What made Anthony such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2023?

“It was a pleasure to have Anthony Tjong in the MBA Class of 2022/23.  He asked insightful questions that helped to illustrate the topic I was teaching on the day.  Anthony was an engaged and enthusiastic student, and this helped to bring any class to life, and this was a benefit to both myself and his fellow students. I am sure he will be a great success in his chosen career path.”

Simon Webster
Cambridge Judge Business School
External faculty, Entrepreneurship through Acquisition MBA Elective Professor

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