Saïd MBA To Row In Oxford Cambridge Boat Race

Said MBA student Storm Uru will row in the Oxford Cambridge classic boat race

More often than not, getting an MBA is a fairly grueling experience–particularly in the first year curriculum when business school professors love to throw so much work at their students they can’t possibly do it all. Yet for Storm Uru, an MBA at Oxford University’s Saїd Business School, his homework isn’t enough to deter him from a passion he brought with him to the MBA program.

Uru is training a minimum of six hours a day so he can row in the forthcoming Oxford Cambridge boat race. As he puts it, “My schedule is fairly taxing at the moment but I find my commitments complement each other. The same approach of extensive preparation, mental stamina and a drive to succeed help me both in the classroom and on the river. There’s a lot of overlap in what it takes to be your best in both sport and business.”

Overlap? Not sure it all that rowing will help him in Financial Accounting, Statistics or Operations Research. No matter, Uru will row in the Oxford Blue Boat in the bow seat in The 160^th Boat Race, sponsored by BNY Mellon, on 6^th April 2014. The school found this to be so extraordinary that it even issued a news release on the fact today (March 24).

WON A BRONZE MEDAL IN LONDON 2012

A New Zealand Olympian and winner of a bronze medal in London 2012 in the lightweight double sculls, the MBA student is part of an experienced crew boasting no fewer than three Olympians.  “I am absolutely delighted to be in the Blue Boat and to represent Oxford at the highest level,” added Storm Uru in a statement. “I came to Oxford to pursue a world class MBA and combine it with my passion for rowing. At Saïd and in Oxford I am able to do both with some of the best in the world. I am hoping to make Oxford and New Zealand proud on the 6^th. Beyond that, I hope that the skills and insights I have learned on the MBA combined with the tenacity and determination I have built up through rowing at this level will prepare me for my future career in business and I am greatly looking forward to the opportunities ahead.”

Said Dean Peter Tufano also toted out the sports metaphor in support of Storm Uru’s rowing.  “It is an outstanding achievement to have won a place in such a highly competitive race whilst working towards a world-class MBA, which makes considerable demands of its participants,” he said. “Elite sports and successful business people have much in common, and the calls made upon those at the upper levels of both fields can be similar. Like the School’s other rowers before him, Storm has demonstrated a steely determination to give of his best to the boat crew and simultaneously to contribute fully to the MBA programme. In both contexts, he has been supported by his peers: business, like rowing, is a team activity – and all the stronger for it. The skills and strength of mind Storm has shown in his race preparation and throughout the MBA will stand him in good stead for his business career.”