Viktor Hainski

London Business School

“Global citizen passionate about diversity, sustainability, and social impact.”

Hometown: Zagreb, Croatia

Fun Fact About Yourself: I was a published playwright before the age of 10

Undergraduate School and Major: Bocconi University, Economics & Finance

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: BlackRock, Financial Markets Advisory

What makes London such a great place to earn an MBA degree? London is the most cosmopolitan city in the world. It is a place where cultures meet and collaborate, which makes it the perfect meeting place for a diverse cohort of MBA students. There are few other places in the world where you can grab a roti for lunch and jollof rice for dinner on the same street. In London, you will overhear conversations in hundreds of different languages and experience all the cultures of the world in one place. Such a vibrant and diverse city makes for a truly special place to embark on your MBA journey.

London Business School is one of the most culturally and professionally diverse MBA programs. How do you see these global perspectives enhancing the value of your business education over the next two years? We live in an interconnected world, but we have recently seen an increased emphasis on onshoring and producing locally. In a world where local knowledge is becoming increasingly important, an MBA program with classmates from 60+ countries provides students with the ideal platform for operating at a global scale with local know-how. The LBS MBA program allows students to build an insider perspective on doing business everywhere around the globe. If one day, my classmates decide to start a business in Bangkok, Dubai or Santiago, chances are someone from our MBA cohort will be able to help!

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 program at London Business School is unique in a variety of ways. What stood out to me is the program’s flexibility, which allows every student to make the program their own. LBS recognizes that MBA students come from many different backgrounds and the school allows everyone to tailor their program to their interests and career goals. Students can choose from 80+ elective courses, they can go on exchange to one of 30 partner schools around the world and even decide the duration of their program. Having the option of completing the program in 15, 18 or 21 months allows everyone to decide what best suits their professional development. The MBA program is a journey of discovery and LBS has a vibrant ecosystem of student clubs, which allow students to explore a range of personal and professional interests. The club offering at LBS is truly impressive – there are clubs focused on blockchain, food, geopolitics, sailing and music just to name a few. There is even a club for students interested in outdoor adventures called the Expedition Club! The variety of student clubs adds to the flexibility of the program, allowing everyone to pursue an interest that is closest to their heart.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at London Business School? Clubs at London Business School are certainly a highlight of the program, and I am most excited by the platform of student clubs focused on diversity. Diversity is a priority at LBS, and the student clubs reflect the different dimensions of diversity at the school. The Women in Business Club focuses on gender parity and hosts an empowering conference called EQUALL. The OUT in Business Club is the hub for the LGBTQ+ community and organizes EUROUT, Europe’s leading LGBTQ+ business conference for students and professionals. The Black in Business Club empowers the advancement of students of color and supports black professionals in advancing to leadership positions. Finally, the FLII club focuses on socioeconomic diversity and supports students who come from low and intermediate-income backgrounds in unlocking professional development opportunities. Together, the four clubs form a diversity and inclusion platform that empowers the school’s students in celebrating their unique backgrounds.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My proudest achievement is the career that I have built to date. Growing up in a small country like Croatia, I would never have imagined that I would one day be working for the world’s biggest asset manager in some of the firm’s most strategically important businesses. I started my career in BlackRock by managing fixed-income portfolios with over $30 billion in AUM and executing trades on behalf of clients. After transitioning to BlackRock’s Financial Markets Advisory team, I led complex workstreams in strategic client projects, including banks and public sector institutions. I recently led a major workstream in one of BlackRock’s flagship projects focused on infrastructure and decarbonization.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? My goal after the MBA is to build a career which would allow me to maximize my social impact and continue being an advocate for diversity. My biggest aspiration is to catalyze positive change and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable global future. At BlackRock, I worked on some of the firm’s first ESG investment strategies and gained experience with sustainability, which I hope to build on during my time at LBS. After my MBA, I aspire to work in a role which would allow me to drive business growth while also contributing to the decarbonization of the global economy. Additionally, I am committed to supporting diversity of all kinds and I will remain a key advocate for diversity and inclusion throughout my career.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into London Business School’s MBA program? At the start of the MBA program, everyone in the class is asked to present a fun fact about themselves. One of my classmates talked about their dog having 8 million views on Instagram, while another mentioned she could speak to half of the world in their native tongue. While some of the stories were impressive and others funny, what our stories had in common was that we all had a story to tell. When applying to the MBA program at London Business School, the best thing applicants can do is to tell that story. London Business School is an incredibly open-minded place, and the school looks to recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds who will contribute to the breadth, diversity, and identity of the LBS community. Everyone has a story to tell and LBS is just waiting for you to tell yours!

DON’T MISS: MEET LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2025