The Executive MBA for me was an incredibly rewarding journey full of knowledge-building, self-discovery, defining experiences, and building lifelong friendships. I utilise the learnings from the programme every single day: to navigate ambiguity, solve complex business challenges, and lead my teams.
Working in Formula 1 (F1) had always been my childhood dream. But after working in aerodynamics at three different F1 teams, I wanted to put the brakes on to reflect on what I wanted to do in the next stage of my career. I decided to embark on the Executive MBA at Oxford to learn more about the business world, and the part I wanted to play in it. I was interested in developing my business management skills to complement my technical engineering background. I also was excited to explore other industries to help me figure out where to take my career next.
Critically, the programme helped me discover my purpose. I realised it was important for me to make a positive impact on society through my work. After graduating from Oxford, I worked for a sports nutrition startup that was born from our Executive MBA entrepreneurial project. This was rewarding, exciting and challenging, but ultimately I wanted to move in a different direction. I spent time working for a major global e-tailor to deliver operational process and performance improvements during the Covid-19 pandemic, but I still hadn’t quite found what I was looking for.
During the programme, we visited a major electric vehicle company in China. Remembering that and the energy surrounding our visit, everything now seemed to be saying to me, if you’re interested in doing good and connecting with your past experiences in the automotive industry, you should look at electric vehicles (EVs). I’m pleased to say that I landed a role at the Silicon Valley-based luxury electric vehicle company Lucid Motors. Fast forward to today, and I can genuinely say joining Lucid was the perfect career move for me. I’m proud to be contributing towards the development of electric mobility to help drive a low-carbon future. This speaks to my purpose, which the programme helped me confirm.
Originally I joined Lucid’s motorsport programme in a technical project management role - so connected with my past but nestled within the EV space. Later they asked me to lead and operationalise the performance of an engineering team, which I did. Then they asked me to look after another team, then another team, and I went from manager to senior manager and now director of powertrain engineering operations, all within the space of a year and a half. In my current role, I lead a group of circa 100 engineers, technicians and project managers working on the heart of Lucid’s EVs, the powertrain.
A career journey is seldom a straight line, but my experiences, including through the Executive MBA, has taught me two key lessons.
Firstly, follow your passions. It’s important to take the time to understand what matters to you.
And lastly, don’t be afraid to raise your anchor and try something new - whether it’s embarking on a new degree or course, or making a career switch.
