John Nicholas

IMD Business School, Lausanne

“Comfortable on stage, on the page, or on a run – living intentionally while having fun.”

Hometown: Grew up in Cape Town, South Africa (now based in Munich, Germany)

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love a good challenge and getting outdoors. I once ran 80km through Munich, visiting the eight famous local breweries on the way, combining endurance, adventure, and Bavarian culture in one go.

Undergraduate School and Major: Stellenbosch University (South Africa) – BCom in Actuarial Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: ZAQ Actuaries, Director

What has been the best part of being in a small class with this group of classmates? Because of the class size and Lausanne’s small-town vibe, you get to form deep connections, both with classmates and the faculty. I came in thinking I had all the friendships I needed – then I met people who proved me wrong. By working out together every morning and studying together every evening, I’ve formed lifelong bonds with people I’ve only known for a few months.

Aside from classmates, what part of IMD’s MBA programming led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? When I was researching business schools, I knew I wanted to attend a one-year program at a top school. At the same time, I wasn’t just after the credentials; I was looking for something transformational. When I spoke to previous students, one thing was clear – IMD’s Leadership Stream was the thing everyone remembered. This part of the program stood out to me, and it’s one of the reasons I’m so grateful to have come to this school. I’ve already done a lot of personal development through coaching and writing, but thanks to IMD’s High Performance Leadership Lab with George Kohlrieser, the personal development elective and group coaching, I’ve gained new insights into how I think, lead, and relate to others and it’s given me even more confidence about my life and career going forward.

IMD is known for academic rigor. What is one strategy you used that would help a future IMD MBA better adapt to the workload early on? I would say learn to work 80/20. I’m still getting better at this (the perfectionist in me has kept me up many late nights), but the classmates I look up to the most are very good at knowing when an assignment is “good enough” and when the marginal gains of continuing to improve your work start to diminish. Since there’s so much work, you need to keep moving; laboring over one assignment holds you back from shifting onto the next one with the right energy and mindset.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: In 2023, I left a secure corporate career and took a bet on myself to become a self-employed consultant and part-time writer. It took courage (I always saw myself as risk-averse), and the first few months were tough, but I gained freedom, flexibility, and more ownership over my work and time. It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience.

Describe your biggest accomplishment at IMD so far: Launching the Careers & Character podcast with my classmate Konstantin Dreyer. We’ve interviewed over 20 classmates, professors, and guest speakers, and it feels as fresh as it did when we were first getting started. It’s been a great way to reconnect with creativity after pausing my writing for a while. Podcasting is more fun and dynamic than writing, plus it teaches you to actively listen and ask the right questions.

Where is your favorite hang-out in Lausanne? Why do you (and your classmates) gravitate there? The Le Montriond Beer Garden is just up the road from campus. After a week of lectures, group work, and high-pressure presentations, it’s where we decompress, debrief, and laugh hard. We like to call it informal group therapy – part reflection, part celebration.

What has been your best memory at IMD thus far? This is a tough question, between cycling around Lac Leman, to hiking the Swiss Alps, to cold plunging in the lake, I’d say the whole Future Lab experience in Singapore was a standout. I especially enjoyed the Data Analytics Week, where we went from people who had never coded before to Python pros and website designers. There was also something special about transporting the whole class of students halfway across the world and letting us live under one roof for a month. An unforgettable bonding experience.

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

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