If you are thinking about boosting your business skills with an executive education programme, then you have no doubt spent some time working your way through various websites and online brochures, all of which promise the very best in leadership, faculty and networks. So how to choose? On January 23, 2008 representatives, alumni and current students from the prestigious University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (Chicago GSB) will be on hand at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers to profile Chicago GSB’s Executive MBA programme and to talk about how to make the executive choice.
Chicago GSB is no stranger to the region, where it has been holding information sessions and editions of its Global Leadership Series since 2004. There are currently 40 current and former Chicago GSB students living and working in the United Arab Emirates, among them Abdulla Almulla (‘96), Founder and CEO of Almulla Holding LLC; Ibrahim El Bitar (’08), Director of Financial Planning and Budgeting for the Dubai World Trade Centre and Mariam Elsamny (’08), Vice President of Marketing for Fullerton Financial Holdings.
Abdulla Almulla had been working in the hotel industry when he joined Chicago GSB’s Executive MBA programme in 1994. He admits he had little idea where his career was headed at the time: “I had experienced a few disastrous investments.” Abdulla recalls. “However, at Chicago we were told we’d emerge being able to sit at any board of directors table. And we did.” After graduation, Abdulla pursued his vision to promote hotel management based on Islamic cultural standards, a niche that he felt had been overlooked by the majority of international hotel chains. He founded Almulla Holding LLC whose subsidiary, Almulla Hospitality, has successfully upheld that vision.
Ibrahim El Bitar chose Chicago GSB for its focus on finance, the ability to study at three campuses on three continents (the school has campuses in London, Chicago and Singapore), and the quality of research. “The Chicago model is built on economic fundamentals and is backed up with very strong research” noted Ibrahim. “The school has been central in building my finance acumen, enriching my leadership and management skills, and strengthening my self-confidence.
In 2006, Mariam Elsamny was one of seven employees nominated by her then-employer to participate in Chicago’s Executive MBA programme. Mariam was struck by the school’s commitment to international diversity (the current class counts 45 different nationalities) a fact she feels to be of particular relevance in the UAE in general and for her current employer in particular: “With so many different nationalities (in the Emirates) working together it is necessary to have experience in dealing with multiple cultures. The same holds true at Fullerton Financial Holdings which is present in multiple markets worldwide.”
The Dubai information session will be held at Jumeirah Emirates Towers on January 23, 2008 from 19:00 - 21:30
Address: PO Box 72127, Dubai, UAE
To register for the event (free, but seating is limited) contact Jenny Eriksson at:
+ 44(0)207 070 2247 or by email: jenny.eriksson@ChicagoGSB.edu
More information about upcoming information sessions can be found at: http://chicagogsb.edu/infosessions
About the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business is one of the leading business schools in the world, consistently ranking in the top ten and frequently in the top five. The school’s faculty includes many renowned scholars and its graduates occupy key positions in the U.S. and worldwide. The Chicago Approach to Management Education is distinguished by how it leverages fundamental knowledge, its rigor, and its practical application to business challenges. The school offers full- and part-time MBA programs, a Ph.D. program, open enrolment executive education and custom corporate education, with campuses in London, Chicago and Singapore. Current enrolment includes 1,100 full-time MBA students, 1,900 part-time MBA students of whom 90 are studying in London, and 110 Ph.D. students. Six current or former faculty members are Nobel Prize winners in economics. Among the school’s many successful alumni are Bart Becht, CEO, Reckitt Benckiser plc, Kateryna Chumchenko Yuschenko, First Lady of Ukraine, and Paul Deneve, President of Lanvin, France. http://www.chicagogsb.edu
