MBA Student Profile: Steven Axon, IMD

Steven Axon tells us how his MBA program at IMD is helping him in his goal to be an entrepreneur.

1. What were you doing before your MBA?

Boutique Management Consulting to the biotechnology industry.

2. What were your main reasons for deciding to attend business school?

To compliment my technical education with formal business training and to help open doors into more exciting career opportunities.      

3. What research did you undertake in selecting your school?

-rankings
-program focus
-duration and intensity ofprograms       

4. What were the main criteria in your selection?

-International school,
-global reputation
-length of program
-career opportunities and
-advancement upon graduation.       

5. Why did you decide to study either in your own country or overseas?

Overseas - To allow for better international career opportunities as well as a more interesting and diverse group of colleagues to study with.  

6. How well do your think the MBA is regarded in your home country?

Extremely well regarded by those familiar with leading global mba's, however relatively unknown to the average person on the street - unlike Harvard.              

7. Have you already been, or do you intend to become an entrepreneur?

I have not been - but do have aspirations to Manage start-ups in the biotechnology industry       

8. Are there any well-known and/or successful entrepreneurs that are alumni of your school?

Numerous celebrity CEO's as well as successful entrepreneurs.       

9. What do you expect to do on graduation and where do you expect to be based?

Working in the biotechnology industry with a focus on corporate strategy & Enterprise Risk Management.      

10. How easy or difficult do you expect it to be to achieve these objectives?

Challenging but certainly feasible. My field is a rapidly expanding - for which there will be numerous and exciting opportunities for those with specific expertise in operating these companies.      

11. Any other comments?

IMD opened up career opportunities that would not have been possible recruiting from Canadian MBA programs. In addition I feel that IMD has a significant international advantage over leading US schools in terms of its education and recruiting.