MBA Journal Writers Go Global

Journal writers come and go, but this year's batch has a distinctly international bent. All four are attending non-U.S. programs

By Francesca Di Meglio

Every year the writers for Bloomberg Businessweek's MBA Journals share stories of their business school experience with our readers. Sometimes the stories are heartfelt, like the journal writer who shared his graduation day feelings in the aftermath of his father's death. Sometimes they are inspiring, like the stories of projects conquered and jobs won. Often they are practical—tips for managing time or impressing recruiters. Always, however, they offer readers the chance to be a fly on the wall at top business schools around the world.

When the air turns crisp and business schools get back to, well, business, a new crop of MBA Journal writers begin to confess their fears, hopes, and dreams. This year's group is small—just four writers, down from 10 for 2009—and they are international, like many B-school students these days. All four are attending business schools outside the U.S. Only one comes from a traditional finance job.

What all the new writers have in common is a desire to inspire and help readers navigate business school—from the application process to graduation. They'll begin doing that next week: The first of the new writers' journals will appear starting Monday. Without further ado, meet the new MBA Journal writers:

Howie Chan

Program: IMD (IMD Full-Time MBA Profile)

Chan, who will be attending the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, in January, started his career in 2004 as a scientist for Medtronic (MDT), a Minneapolis medical technology company. After showing interest in the business side of the operation, he worked his way up to product marketing manager, a post Chan has held since 2008, according to his résumé.

A couple of years into his work, he started to hear business school calling his name. Having grown up in Singapore and having lived in the U.S. for 10 years, Chan was certain he wanted to enroll in a European business school.

"I wanted to live in Europe and experience life there," he says. "I would like to do that for a few years. I want a global career."

Chan chose to apply only to the one business school that stood out for him: IMD. He found the program to be cozy—the whole class consists of just 90 students—and after talking with students and alumni, Chan said he was satisfied with the types of leaders the school produced. He also wanted a one-year program. A campus visit won his heart, he says.

"I was really interested in a [business school] that created leaders to inspire a culture," says Chan.

Advice to MBA applicants: "Be yourself in the interview. Try to convince them that if they don't pick you, they're losing out."

Interesting facts: Chan, 30, served as a full lieutenant and operations officer in an artillery battalion of the Singapore Armed Forces from 1998 to 2000, and he maintained a blog about the business school application process as he went through it.

Stephanie Erb

Program: University of Toronto Rotman School of Management (Rotman Full-Time MBA Profile)

When Erb arrived at her dream job in publishing—working in Sydney, Australia, as a development editor in the higher education division of McGraw-Hill (MHP) for Australia and New Zealand—she realized there were other areas she wanted to explore.

"I thought there's room for creativity in business," says Erb, who is a first-year student at the Rotman School. "They're not mutually exclusive."

The birth of her niece and a desire to be closer to her family in Toronto played a role in Erb's decision to look into business schools in Canada, she says. Erb says she worried about whether someone from publishing could cut it in business school. After sitting in on an orientation, where many others shared their fears about the quantitative skills they'd need to pick up in B-school, Erb says she felt at ease.

"Many people at business school come from diverse, interesting backgrounds," she says. "I am not alone."

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