The Application with Christer Holloman
It was Christer Holloman’s passion for LEGO that inspired his career in business. Even though the toy company told the 8-year-old Christer that he was too young to run a LEGO store, his enthusiasm for launching his own company remained undimmed.
And so when he was doing his Oxford Executive MBA over a decade ago here at Saïd Business School he took advantage of the Entrepreneurship Project to build the actual business plan for Divido, the ‘buy now, pay later’ fintech company, that he later co-founded. ‘It truly was a roller coaster’ Christer tells Associate Dean Kathy Harvey as he reflects on the struggle to raise the first tranche of funding, the fight to keep his job and his pride in what the company achieved.
Christer exited Divido in December 2022 and is now angel investor in other startups focussed on the transition to green technology and sustainable energy. It is a sector that really excites him and where he is looking forward to making an impact.
And if he spots an opportunity he never lets it pass by, which is why we know have the Oxford Pride Alumni Network (OxPAN). He had reached out to the University asking if there was a reason why there wasn't a pride alumni, and when they said that they were just waiting for someone to take the initiative he jumped right in. OxPAN is now connecting, empowering, and celebrating an estimated 35,000 LGBTQ+ Oxford graduates living and working around the world.
The Application is a podcast that tells us about our alumni – their background, what was the driver that caused them to apply for the Oxford Executive MBA (EMBA), what the turning points in their lives are, what their identity is and the tension that often embodies so much of our professional lives.
This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the programme and to mark this milestone, Kathy Harvey, Associate Dean, has stepped back behind the microphone with a number of our alumni to reflect on their journeys before, during and after their Executive MBA.
The Oxford Executive MBA is a transformational programme, that will challenge you to explore the answers to complex business issues. Learn how to innovate, how to lead responsibly and how to navigate change to transform your own business practice.
