Barnaby Spink

Read Barnaby's story

What experience did you have prior to studying the Weekend MBA? 

Prior to joining Imperial College Business School, I was a British Army Officer for seven years. I served in the Queen’s Royal Hussars cavalry regiment, equipped with Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks. At 24 I was a Troop Leader, where I was responsible for the leadership, training, and career development of 16 Soldiers and the maintenance of four tanks. Then I became an Intelligence Officer, charged with analysing enemy actions and briefing them into the headquarters. Finally, I was appointed the Adjutant of the Regiment where I managed the welfare, discipline, and culture of a 500-soldier strong organisation. This final role would see me lead cultural change initiatives around my Regiment and regularly advise senior leadership on the running of the organisation. 

Why did you choose to study the Weekend MBA at Imperial College Business School? 

Imperial’s focus on entrepreneurship really grabbed my attention. I want to develop my own business in the future so the Weekend MBA will give me insight into the early years of that journey. Imperial’s global reputation in STEM subjects highlights exciting opportunities in entrepreneurship and the programme structure has given me the opportunity to continue working for my final year in the army. 

The main factor for applying to the Weekend MBA was to help convert my achievements in the military into a civilian perspective. Key to this is familiarising myself with business vernacular and understanding a wide array of business fundamentals. 

What are you enjoying learning about the most? 

My favourite module so far is Decision Analytics. This was a surprise even for myself, but it comes down to the fact that I was learning a skill I could see myself using in the working world, not to mention a skill I had never touched in my military career. It presented me with an opportunity to close a skill gap, and with my enjoyment of it, opened up a whole host of electives I had not considered. 

My key takeaway of the programme so far is that so much of what we do in interrelated, meaning that the learning we do in one module supports that of another. This is fantastic because it means our understanding of the content accelerates as we move through the programme. 

"At Imperial, I have joined the Consulting Club. There has been an interesting array of events with a wide range of companies where I have had plenty of opportunities to build my network."

What makes an Imperial MBA unique?

I have enjoyed a number of the Personal Leadership Journey lectures, designed to further us as rounded leaders in business. I found a recent presentation on Personal Branding by Joseph Liu particularly engaging. The one problem with the MBA is that there are so many opportunities that you can never attend all of them, so it is important to focus your interests. 

I also chose the Entrepreneurial Journey as one of my electives so I have been able to see some of the work that is being developed in other parts of the university through the Imperial Enterprise Lab. It has been fantastic to learn about some of the genuinely ground-breaking work that is coming out of the College and have an opportunity to be involved in that work. 

How are you planning to use your MBA for your future career? 

As I am leaving the army, my aim was to move into strategy consulting to enhance my profile and demonstrate my ability to transfer my skills in leadership, teamwork and management into the corporate environment. At Imperial, I have joined the Consulting Club. There has been an interesting array of events with a wide range of companies where I have had plenty of opportunities to build my network. The Careers team provided me with a great deal of support as I was going through my initial interviews for my post-military career. This included practice interviews as well as insights into the interview process. Having not interviewed at a company for several years, it gave me that crucial first insight into what employers were looking for. 

Since joining the Weekend MBA, I have secured a role at a major strategy consulting firm, ready to embark on the next phase of my career. I intend to use what I have learned on the MBA to enhance the service I offer to my company and benefit the whole firm.