Miho Izumi

Chief Manager 
GPC Gateway Pte Ltd

Why did you choose to do an MBA?

I was the youngest employee in my company selected to be based outside of my home country of Japan, to manage the business with almost 50 people under me, from across 10 different departments.

Although I was given this opportunity at work, I felt that I had reached a plateau in terms of people and business management and so I decided to pursue an MBA. A further motivation to take on an MBA was because I was looking for a career change in Consultancy and wanted to become a better advisor.

Why did you choose to do your MBA with Alliance Manchester Business School?

One of the key reasons why I decided to pursue my MBA with Alliance Manchester Business School was because of the flexibility and portability of the programme. I knew that I wanted to be able to continue working whilst pursuing my MBA and the Manchester Global MBA was able to do just that for me.

I also liked the fact that this programme was able to provide me with a global perspective on business management and that it would also allow me to travel to any of AMBS’ 6 global centres for electives and residential workshops. Global networking was important to me as well because I saw building lifelong global connections as an important part of advancing my career.

Describe your MBA experience with Alliance Manchester Business School.

My MBA journey with Alliance Manchester Business School was definitely a memorable one. When I first started the programme, I found out that I was pregnant. However, I knew that this wouldn’t be an issue as this MBA was flexible enough to allow me to plan my MBA studies and classes to fit around my personal life, commitments and work schedules. The blending learning approach was extremely beneficial to me throughout my pregnancy as I was able to keep up the pace with online tutorials, lectures and bulletin board discussions.

During my MBA, I had the opportunity to travel to Manchester for several residential workshop and I must say that I loved my time there as I was exposed to people whom I would have never been able to meet in Japan and Singapore.

All in all, I was able to meet many wonderful people throughout my MBA journey that have helped me through not one, but two pregnancies during the course of the programme, and am very thankful for their support in being part of this great achievement.

What did you enjoy most about your entire MBA experience?

In my opinion, the biggest takeaway from the programme has to be being able to meet people from very diverse nationalities and professional backgrounds. This has helped me extensively in my career and life. I like that Alliance Manchester Business School also organizes regular alumni events where I am able to reconnect with my fellow classmates and even meet new alumni.

How has your career progressed since doing the MBA and how did our programme contribute to this?

The Manchester Global MBA allowed me to secure my dream job of a Business Advisory Consultant. The MBA also helped me to change my way of thinking! I now see things from a much wider and global perspective which is an important part of client advisory.

To summarize, I am very happy with what the Manchester Global MBA has helped me achieve in my life and career. Thank you, Alliance Manchester Business School!