FEATURE INTERVIEW
Q : If you think back over the last ten years , what have been your proudest moments ?
When the Hult sign went up on the Boston building definitely stands out . We started out occupying just half a floor , and virtually every student asked us why our name wasn ’ t displayed outside . Unfortunately , due to local regulations , there could only be one sign up on the exterior façade . As the rest of the building was used as EF ’ s American headquarters , it , of course , made sense for their name to be up there . But to be able to oversee the growth of the school to the point that we were able to justify taking over the entire building , and then to get our Hult sign up there , was a very proud moment . Every time I look up at it , especially at night when it ’ s lit up , I am incredibly humbled by what we have managed to achieve over that last ten years . It really was the culmination of a decade of hard work by everyone involved .
What else ? I am always super proud when we host the Hult Prize finals in New York with President Clinton . It is such an inspiring evening that leaves everyone with a renewed sense of hope and optimism . Whilst obviously much of the work in creating the prize has been down to Ahmad Ashkar and his team , the competition just wouldn ’ t be possible without the support of the entire school .
I ’ m not quite sure if pride is the right word , but I do feel very privileged every time I ’ m up at Ashridge . It is such a beautiful campus that I can ’ t help but think that I ’ m very privileged to be able to work at such a location .
Q : Why should alumni stay connected ? What would be the value to them to maintain the network that they built as students ?
Hult is unique in giving lifelong learning opportunities through electives and executive education programs . What you will increasingly notice , and certainly as you get toward my age , is that in the old days , you went and took a degree and that was enough to last you for the rest of your career . But life isn ’ t like that anymore . Things are changing much , much quicker than they used to . My father didn ’ t have to reinvent himself . He was an engineer , and he was an engineer for the rest of his life . But I think people from my generation have to reinvent themselves once or twice . You will probably have to reinvent yourself three or four times , or at the very least learn to adapt .
What we ’ re trying to do at Hult , and I don ’ t think we ’ ve managed to package it very well yet , is to fundamentally keep providing education to our alumni after they graduate in order to help them with their careers . I think the number one reason why alumni would want to stay in contact with the school is to simply take advantage of those opportunities for their own development . You probably don ’ t see this within the first five years of starting your career , but I guarantee that by the time five or ten years have passed , you ’ ll need some skill-refreshing . Life could be taking you in a whole new direction that you simply hadn ’ t foreseen , so you will likely need some further education to stay relevant in the workplace . We want Hult to be able to provide all of our alumni with exactly that focused help .
10