Business School students win prestigious award for inspirational leadership

Two MBA students have won the Edie Hunt Inspiration Award by the Forté Foundation for developing and encouraging outstanding female leadership.

Alberta Asafo-Asamoah and Aoife Considine, students on Imperial’s Full-Time MBA programme, have been declared the joint winners of prestigious annual award which is offered by the Forté Foundation and recognises women who have gone above and beyond to help advance other women into business leadership positions, through their business school or community. The Imperial students are the first to receive this award outside of North America.

Aoife and Alberta received the award for their dedicated efforts to grow “ImperialMBAWomen”, a student-led network of women, designed to integrate women across Imperial’s MBA programmes (Full-Time MBA, Global Online MBA, Weekend MBA, and Executive MBA) and provide greater opportunities to network and grow beyond a professional setting.

The students were presented with their award virtually at the annual MBA Women’s Leadership Conference hosted by Forté on Saturday 19^th June, and attended by members of the Foundation’s global network.

For Aoife, receiving the Edie Hunt Inspiration Award has provided the opportunity to reflect upon her professional growth and the positive impact the ImperialMBAWomen network has been able to create for others. Aoife is also the recipient of a Forté Fellowship scholarship for her studies.

She said: “I’ve been humbled and delighted to receive such support from Forté. I remember watching last year’s winner receive the Edie Hunt Award and thinking how impressive she was, so receiving the award this year feels like a wonderful accomplishment, and has helped me to realise how far I’ve come professionally since enrolling on my MBA. Being nominated, and awarded alongside Alberta has made this even more special as it’s allowed us to be able to celebrate our accomplishments together.”

Alberta is planning to transition from a career in the banking sector to impact investment to support fledgeling SMEs across Africa through her MBA. She believes the award will prove advantageous in helping to secure greater credibility in the eyes of investors and potential clients alike.

Alberta said: “For me, this award celebrates the journey that I’ve been on so far and inspires me to continue growing professionally. I think it really helps to have the backing of organisations like Forté and to have this award on my record, especially when trying to build my professional network further and boost my credibility and values in the eyes on potential investors. People want to work with people who are active, have leadership skills, are passionate and who they can trust to see something through. This award is a reflection of the platform provided by Imperial and the community at large and I'm glad to be a recipient alongside my fellow ImperialMBAWomen colleague, Aoife.”

The Forté Foundation’s mission is to shake up the status quo in business by helping propel more women into fulfilling, significant careers across all industries, through access to business education, professional development, and by linking them to a global community of successful women.

To accomplish this, the Forté Foundation partners with forward-thinking business schools including Imperial, providing fellowships, scholarships, leadership training and conferences to help further boost female professional development.

"The Edie Hunt Inspiration award is a tremendous accolade and demonstrates the outstanding contribution, leadership and commitment of Alberta and Aofie who have excelled in supporting, and enhancing opportunities for their fellow female MBA colleagues." Leila Guerra Vice Dean (Education) Business School

Leila Guerra, Vice Dean (Education) at Imperial College Business School said: “At Imperial we’ve dedicated ourselves to putting diversity at the forefront of our strategy and, for many years, have had a strong commitment to attracting more women to our programmes, accelerating their personal and professional transformation. Partnerships with organisations such as Forté have been instrumental in helping us further our cause, and build a truly inclusive community of future business leaders.”

She added: “I am delighted to see the initiative and efforts of two of our students being recognised by Forté. The Edie Hunt Inspiration award is a tremendous accolade and demonstrates the outstanding contribution, leadership and commitment of Alberta and Aofie who have excelled in supporting, and enhancing opportunities for their fellow female MBA colleagues.”

Imperial College Business School is one of 56 global business schools that help make up the Forté network, which also encompasses 53 undergraduate universities and 63 leading global corporations such as Amazon, Deloitte, JP Morgan, PWC amongst others.

Elissa Sangster, CEO of the Forté Foundation said: “At our core, Forté believes in empowering women by providing them with the resources they need to dream big. So often, that support comes from the power of networks – providing opportunities and arenas for women to move higher by encouraging and lifting each other. This year’s Edie Hunt award selection was so challenging because we had 77 unique submissions – all great examples of that sentiment – women supporting women. What really stood out about Alberta’s and Aoife’s nominations was how they both embodied that spirit in their personal and professional endeavours individually and then collectively demonstrated it in the Imperial College Business School community. Given the tremendous efforts of both, we just had to give the Edie Hunt Inspiration Award to both students.”