U.S. Grad Unlocks Sustainability Career With MBA From Copenhagen Business School

Choosing to study for an MBA in a global center of sustainability has given U.S. national Chris Tyler a stronger driving passion and defined his professional ambition.

With extensive international work experience and inroads into business leadership already under his belt, a world of opportunity lay open for the 29-year-old. But instead of looking for his next role, Chris, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, chose to move to a different continent to study for an MBA from an institution at the forefront of sustainability education, Copenhagen Business School (CBS). 

As Chris puts it, “The more I looked into CBS, the more boxes it ticked. For years I’d been feeling this kind of professional tug toward sustainability, and I quickly discovered that in the US, sustainability-focused programs are thin on the ground. For the MBA at CBS on the other hand, sustainability is a key strength.”

That decision has led to a specialist role at a renowned Danish company and paved the way to achieving his ultimate goals.

Limitless Opportunity

Chris secured his job as a Management Consultant for a large Danish engineering consulting company shortly after finishing his MBA. He found out about the opportunity thanks to a connection made through one of his professors and met the candidate specifications because of the sustainability expertise he gained on his course. He specializes in advising clients how to boost their corporate sustainability and merge it with commercial strategy.

Says Chris, “We assist clients in leveraging EU sustainability directives to drive sustainability performance; advise on mergers and acquisitions; and provide renewable energy, e-fuels, and carbon capture guidance. I get to learn about all sorts of industries. It’s really eye-opening to see how different companies feel about the EU and by extension, the global push to sustainability. And of course, studying at a business school that’s a leader in sustainability education has given me the solid grounding I needed for success in this area.”

With the experience and expertise delivered by his MBA, Chris is optimistic that the sky is now the limit. “One day, I’d like to work for a sustainability-focused fund. Thanks to the deeper understanding of sustainability and a real-life glimpse of it in action that studying at CBS has given me, I feel like routes have opened into sustainability-oriented business leadership roles that really interest me. That’s massively exciting.”

Trotting The Globe

Before enrolling, Chris had already worked and studied in overseas markets. During his double major in East Asian Studies and Business Administration Studies at Washington & Lee, Chris relocated across the Pacific from the USA to Shanghai during an undergraduate summer.

After graduating, the interest in East Asia he’d developed led him to return to China, and it was in Beijing where his career initially took shape. Roles in higher education and consulting were followed by a move to Bangkok where Chris got a foot in the door of business development. While there, he started thinking about the direction of his professional path.

Says Chris, “MBA programs in Europe appealed to me because of their relative brevity. Studying in the U.S. would have meant taking two years out, but in Europe, I could be back in the workplace within the space of one.” An urge to compare European working culture to what he’d experienced in the US and Asia sealed his decision to head north.

Destination Sustainability

With over 90 business schools across the continent to choose from, plenty of narrowing down remained to be done. But research quickly tipped Copenhagen Business School as a frontrunner.

Executive education isn’t the only area where Denmark’s interest in sustainability is clearly apparent. The Danish Government is striving to achieve net-zero and sustainable initiatives can be found on company agendas across the country. Add to that a highly English-literate population, generous work visa arrangements and positive reviews of Copenhagen from personal connections, and CBS became Chris’s clear institution of choice.

“The CBS’s MBA also really stood out because its internship opportunity would give me the immediate immersion in the European workplace that I craved. And even better, that workplace would be in Denmark, a country renowned for its sustainability-mindedness. CBS’s emphasis on leadership development was also highly appealing, as were its mentoring program and networking opportunities.

Chris adds, “I should also mention the course’s minimum three years’ work experience entry requirement. It’s given me an important advantage over other graduates competing for global vacancies in sustainability business leadership.”

Taking The Helm

After securing his place, Chris was soon on his way from Southeast Asia to Northern Europe. Personal highlights from his studies included the MBA’s Leadership Discovery Process. “The module culminated in a trip to Sweden where everyone on the program went out into the wilderness. Over three days, we were assigned teams and given tasks. All of us had to assume a leadership role.

“Applying skills you’ve honed in the woods in a corporate setting sounds like something that’s never going to happen. But in my current role as a Management Consultant specializing in sustainability, I find myself drawing on the experience all the time.”

Worldwide Connections 

Chris also mentions the quality of the advice he received from his personal mentors, and how faculty, guest lecturers, company visits and peers provided ample opportunity for building personal and professional relationships.

“Like me, my personal mentors were non-Danish nationals. Their advice helped inspire me to pursue sustainability professionally and was useful for achieving that first step into employment at a Danish company.

“My course-mates were super diverse. Peer-to-peer exchange is a core aspect of CSB’s learning methodology, and through it, I gained interesting new perspectives into overcoming complex business challenges across a range of professions and industries. I now have friends from all sorts of backgrounds and on most continents. It’s incredible to be able to say that.”

Lighting The Way

In terms of understanding, personal development and network building, Chris’s MBA experience at CBS proved transformative. But the takeaway of greatest value to him was the clear defining of his career ambition, born of a combination of his studies and getting to apply what he’d learned on his internship.

Says Chris, “According to people I know who’ve enrolled on them, MBAs in the U.S. are mostly transactional. Whereas studying at CBS was an in-depth return to academia. The specialization in sustainability was really informative. My knowledge of the subject is now much better rounded, and that deepening of understanding really fueled my passion for it. 

“I became fluent in the corporate language of sustainability, then, during my internship, I put my new knowledge to the test. The experience also gave me an up-close, real-world view of sustainability within supply chains, EU regulations, corporate compliance and on boards. Insights that have proved invaluable in my current job.”

“With my clearer sense of career direction and job in sustainability-focused business leadership, I definitely got everything from CBS that I came looking for. And the chance to see some of Europe on the weekends made the whole experience even more special.”

Find out more about Copenhagen Business School here: https://efteruddannelse.cbs.dk/en/mba/programmes/full-time-mba