Josie Davis

INSEAD

“Positive, chatty, sporty girl looking to leave the world a bit better than she found it.”

Hometown: Cape Town, South Africa

Fun Fact About Yourself:

I travelled through Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe with three Norwegian exchange students I met at university, camping on the roof of our car in the middle of game reserves. We were all as clueless as one another and had a few too many close encounters with elephants, hyenas, and lions.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Cape Town, Finance

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Coller Capital, Associate

INSEAD 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 year? The world today is so interconnected. It is imperative to have an understanding of the linkages and different perspectives that influence the world around us. Developing such a well-rounded view of how businesses around the world work and what impacts them would be almost impossible without interacting with people from diverse backgrounds and understanding points of view outside of your usual realm. In my last job, we had an incredibly international team, and I saw the value in the diversity of thought this brought.

I look forward to meeting new people and interacting with them through both the course work and other experiences outside of class. I believe the relationships I build over the next year will be invaluable.

Why did you choose a one-year program over a two-year program? How do you see an INSEAD MBA giving you an advantage in the marketplace? To state the obvious, it is more time- and cost-effective than a two-year program and still ranked as one of the top MBA programs globally. But besides that, I’ve met and worked with many INSEAD alum, and the feedback has been that while fitting the course work into 10 months is intense, the shorter timeline makes everyone jump at every opportunity and make the most of every minute.

In terms of advantage in the marketplace, INSEAD’s approach to ensuring diversity of each class translates to a truly global network across many different industries. As someone who isn’t sure where she’ll end up in the world yet, the expansive network was a positive influencing factor for me.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of INSEAD’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The integration of sustainability into the curriculum was definitely a draw for me. I would love to have a positive impact on the world through the work that I do. However, through my work experience to-date, I am aware of the skepticism that surrounds integration of sustainability into business, as well as the challenges faced by dedicated impact businesses and impact investors. I’m looking forward to learning more so that I can be part of building a more sustainable world and bringing more people on board with this!

What course, club or activity excites you the most at INSEAD? I’m looking forward to joining the INSEAD Africa club. I grew up in South Africa and would love to contribute towards a positive impact on the African continent. This club aims to increase awareness of business and impact opportunities in Africa and enhance the understanding on how these businesses operate – something I’m eager to learn more about and in turn pass on this knowledge to others.

I also think sports play a large role in bringing people together and are a great way of socializing and forming connections. I am looking forward to joining the tennis club and challenging some of my classmates on the court!

What has been your first impression of the INSEAD MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best INSEAD story so far. “It was the best year of my life” and “I’m so jealous of you starting, I wish I could go back” are some of the quotes I’ve heard most often from INSEAD alumni. Though they mention the intensity of the course work; it’s a fleeting anecdote before moving on to all the incredible experiences they had and the lifelong friends they have made. Hearing their stories and the enthusiasm with which they speak of their experience is what prompted me to apply for an MBA in the first place.

I’ve been blown away by how many close friends they have carried from their MBA to where they are today, whether they graduated one or 10+ years ago. The impression I have is that the INSEAD alumni are one of the closest-knit group of people out there, both in terms of friendships and professional connections. This thought has also been shared with me by other business school alums…

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Early in my career, I came across the concept of ESG and its growing importance in investing. As the youngest person at the company, I presented this to the Chairman and Founder and was given the go-ahead to develop an ESG reporting framework for the firm’s funds. Despite leaving years ago, ESG remains a focus for the firm today, and they have a dedicated ESG function in place. I am proud to have spearheaded this development.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? I’m going into the year with an open mind and see myself pivoting into something new. I am looking forward to diving into the PLDP and career coaching aspects of the course to help guide me with this. At the moment, a strategy or BizOps role at a startup sounds exciting to me, but we’ll see where the next year takes me!

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into INSEAD’s MBA program? Speak to alumni and listen to their thoughts, experiences and advice. Hearing their stories will help you craft your own and get you even more excited about the opportunity. Also, be sure to highlight what experiences make you unique and the value this will bring to both the program and your fellow classmates. This is an incredibly important aspect of the application for all business schools, but particularly INSEAD given their focus on diversity.

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