Since joining the Jardine Matheson group as a management trainee in 1997, David Walker has worked in more industries and countries than an average person over the course of a lifetime.
Despite work experience in the construction, finance, self-storage, and wines and spirits industries, the 36-year-old believes his business judgment can be improved by adding more sophisticated tools and techniques to the experience he has gained.
'My career has been based on practical experience since I began working for the group 11 years ago, so I feel that now is the right time to broaden my business education,' said Mr Walker, who was recently appointed commercial director at Jardine Shipping Services. 'There are a number of MBA courses but the quality-rated Kellogg-Hong Kong UST programme, the calibre of students from across Asia and having the course right on my doorstep made the decision to apply to this EMBA straightforward,' he said, adding that being immediately able to apply what has been learned in the classroom to the day-to-day challenges of a real business was a strong draw.
The British executive is particularly looking forward to the 'wisdom of crowds' - working and learning from the programme's diverse group of executives whose various backgrounds and industry experience will provide a kaleidoscope of ideas and insights that can enhance business thinking and practices.The fact that this year of studying had coincidentally fallen into a global recession was also noteworthy given that decision-making became more pertinent than ever during an economic downturn, he added.
Like many of his classmates, Mr Walker expects the greatest hurdle over the year to be in the ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
'I think it will be tough at the beginning until you work out a good balance in terms of how assignments and work should be prioritised. At the end of the day, I don't believe there is a short cut to this. If you are going to get the most out of it, you have to put a lot in.'