Mayo Matesun

Your time at Imperial College Business School

Why did you choose to study your programme and why specifically at Imperial College Business School?

After studying politics and economics at Bachelor’s level, I wanted something much more practical. I searched for a Master’s programme with courses immediately applicable to the business world. After looking at the course content in the MSc in Management at Imperial College Business School, I knew it would be suitable for me. I picked up new skills in Accounting and Corporate Finance, Marketing and Strategy – which were indispensable during my internship interviews and assessments and on the job.

What was the most important learning point you took with you from the Business School? And the most surprising thing about the programme?

A huge learning point for me was that teamwork creates powerful results. I was privileged to have fantastic teammates who taught me so much, and together, we were able to produce some solid presentations. The most surprising thing about the programme was that classes were much more fun than I had envisioned prior to joining the School. Most of my teachers and lecturers had a great sense of humour and were easy to talk to.

What advice would you give to a prospective student considering studying the same programme as you?

It’s useful to be clear about why you want to do this programme. Examine the course content in detail and determine if the skills acquired would be relevant to your future plans. This helps considerably in staying motivated when the course gets challenging – especially if you haven’t done maths in a while or are unfamiliar with economics. Once you start the programme, try to stay on top of the work everyday and quickly tackle topics that are unclear so you don’t feel overwhelmed when exam season comes (which happens really fast). You’re likely to make good friends and London is full of fun things to do, which makes it incredibly easy to procrastinate. Time management is golden as there’s almost always an assignment due in - which is good practice for most jobs, anyway.

Tell us about your current job

How has your programme contributed to your career success? 

The corporate finance and accounting courses equipped me for my interviews. The courses were taught in a way that was easy to understand as I had no prior accounting knowledge. This helped me to ace my exams and gave me the confidence to apply for a wide range of jobs and internships. The Business School’s career coaching also delivered some great mentorship. I recall one session we had on ‘resilience’, which helped me to deal with the large number of rejections associated with applying for roles in a competitive job market.

How do you plan to use the skills and knowledge you gained during the programme within your career going forward?

I have a good foundation to sharpen my skills in a wide range of industries, including finance, marketing and business strategy, and I’m currently taking some professional courses to build on knowledge acquired during the programme. I hope to work in organisations where I can add tremendous value and contribute to the career success of others. I believe the concept is called ‘lift as you climb’.

What do you enjoy most about your current work?

The people are divine! I’ve really enjoyed working at Keyhaven Capital – it’s a uniquely diverse firm with a wonderful culture. I’m gaining some insight into how investments are made, the ingredients of successful businesses and generally understanding the operations of the private equity industry.

What are the most exciting/difficult challenges facing your sector currently?

Right now, I think the global pandemic is affecting acquisition pipelines – strong businesses that otherwise would have returned high multiples of cost are underperforming due to the impact of COVID-19. On the other hand, the pandemic presents an exciting opportunity for innovative, disruptive firms to shine, and I think that investors are now looking for COVID-proof companies with agile business models that can generate good returns. Please note that I am expressing my personal opinion and do not speak on behalf of Keyhaven Capital.

What is your proudest achievement in the job so far?

My proudest achievement in the job would be creating investment overviews for partners and sharing my analysis on potential acquisitions with them. I really enjoy speaking to the senior members of the team, as they have rich industry knowledge and so every conversation is laden with learning!

Alumni community

In what way is remaining connected to your alumni network important to you?

Remaining connected to my alumni network is important to me as everyone is poised to do great things in different parts of the world. There are countless opportunities for win-win collaborations and I generally value keeping in touch with course mates who have become friends.

Although I did tutor a small group of students in Business Economics during the programme. I thought it was important to volunteer my time and experience because it would help them succeed academically (and one can only imagine the domino effect of that!). It also helped me to consolidate my own knowledge as you can only teach what you truly understand.