School of Management students are getting exclusive access to business leaders from our alumni community, following the return of our Executive in Residence programme.
After relaunching in January, these individuals will visit the School of Management for a day of networking and individual surgeries with current students, giving them the opportunity to ask questions, seek advice and benefit from real-world insight into different business sectors.
The programme kicked off with alumnus Simon Rowlands. Simon is a founding partner of global private equity firm Cinven and recently founded Africa Platform Capital, a private equity firm focused on the consumer and healthcare sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. He completed his MBA in 1986 and has more than 25 years’ private equity experience. Simon is Chair of the School of Management Advisory Board and supports the school through the Simon Rowlands MBA Scholarship.
Simon said: “I am delighted to participate in the Executive in Residence programme at Cranfield. I spent a wonderfully challenging year at the School of Management studying for my MBA. This is where the foundations of my subsequent career in private equity were established.
“For me, it is interesting to spend time with current students as the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs. The MBA teaching at Cranfield is an intense period of transition for participating students. I look forward to hearing ideas and insights, and hope I can add to the Cranfield experience in a small way with tangible advice.”
Professor Lynette Ryals, Director of Cranfield School of Management and University Pro Vice Chancellor, said: “We are delighted to be launching our new Executive in Residence programme. We are immensely proud of our more than 18,000 alumni and the valuable contribution they make to business and society around the world. We are fortunate that they have always been generous with their time, eager to support us through their voluntary presence at various events, and this is no different.
“The Executive in Residence programme will give our MBA and MSc students exclusive access to some of the world’s top business leaders. They will be able to speak to them in an informal group setting, as well as benefit from individual, tailored advice, insight and mentoring in one-to-one surgeries.
“At Cranfield, we are known for our approach to nurturing and growing the next generation of leaders in management. By combining the expert knowledge of our academics with real-world experience and insights from our brilliant alumni, we strive to offer our students the best of both worlds.”