Hi all,
I am an IT consultant with 17yrs of experience (6 yrs IT Team lead experience).
I worked in India (2yrs), Middle East(4yrs), France (2yrs), US (2yrs) and UK (7yrs).

My educational backgroud is .. M.Sc (Physics), PG Diploma (Computer Science), PG Diploma (Business Admin) .. all from India.

I already have the following IT industry certification
Prince2 - Project Management
MSP - Programme Management
ITIL - Service Managment
TOGAF - System Architect
CISA - Security Management
CoBIT - Quality/Process Managment

In order to gear to the Senior Managment (eg: CIO/VP/GM/CEO) in UK/India, I am planing to do a "Solid" MBA.

Could you please advice me on choosing the right programme?

+ Cost/Fee not an issue
+ I am London based but flexible to move to do the right course.
+ If required, I can do GMAT/TOEFL
+ If it really makes huge difference I can quit job to do fulltime.

All I need is "full thrust" to break into c-suite.

Thanks.

Impressive profile...

On a lighter note, with such strong skills/experience, I am wondering why aren't you already there where you want to be..
(Hey, you might be suffering the same "too techie syndrome" as me! ;-)

I am sure top people here like Duncan, Ralph, Ezra would give a better, well-informed direction than me.

At the same time beware of the promotions of few PR guys from the likes of Warwick here as well.

Good Luck! and keep posting your MBA adventure..

On a lighter note, with such strong skills/experience, I am wondering why aren't you already there where you want to be..

The obvious programme for you full time is the Sloan Fellows programme at London Business School: email them and say that I suggested that you get in touch. Part-time is the more traditional choice: when it comes to Executive MBAs in London, I would look at London Business School and Chicago. Also look at the Insead-McGill IPPM programme.

I'd suggest you avoid the premium-vanity MBAs, where you pay a lot but don't get much classroom time.

George,
I like that term "too techie syndrome"!. I think my problem is more of being an independent for a long time than just being too techie.
Bit more background info.. I am an independent consultant (running my own one-man company) and contracting with many financial/retail companies at various IT roles over the past 8 years.
I am bit tired of being an IT cowboy and would like to move to a senior permanent roles ( not just because my contracting market drying up :).
So would like to do solid MBA (and pay from my own Ltd company).

Ezra/Duncan,
Thanks for the quick response. I shortlisted the following EMBAs - in no particular order.
Please share your views on which one will have a strong say on my profile for exec market in UK/India.

LBS - EMBA
Oxford Said - EMBA
Cambridge - Judge - EMBA
Imperial EMBA
Cass EMBA
Chicago Booth - London - EMBA
LBS - Columbia - Global EMBA
TRIUM - EMBA

Duncan,
Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy is looking very interesting as well. I will read more about it.
How does it compare with similar leadership or general management diplomas offered at Oxford and Cambridge?
Sorry for being too naïve of this MBA world.. Do you mean premium-vanity MBA, the likes of TRIUM?
Thanks.

Cheers all!

Hi Rajesh,

The Sloan Fellowship programme is a elite masters' degree, so it's very different from the open access diplomas at Oxbridge. They are something like vanity degrees, with little content and classroom time but a premium brand.

In terms of your list of schools, I would leave out Cass: it's just not a global enough brand for you.

Duncan,
After reading more about the Sloan programme, I realised that it's a great choice. Though it is an M.Sc programme, it is for people with 12+ yrs experience. I think it has the "Bang for the buck", it could be the "thrust" that I needed than traditional MBA. For a "life changing" experience, intensive and full time course is an ideal choice.

Thanks and hats off to you for showing the direction.


Quick question on TRIUM .. their cohort seem to be ..
- Average age 40
- 15 years of experience
- Broad range of sectors and industries
- More than 30 nationalities represented

Any comments on it?

I think Trium is very light in terms of coursework, assessment and time in class in comparison to similar EMBAs. Of course the pricing alone means that they will attract high-quality people, who will have great outcomes regardless of doing an MBA: in terms of work experience, it's in the top 5 of the FT-ranked schools. But salary growth is slower there than at the most rigorous schools, like LBS, Imperial, ESCP or the Columbia-London GEMBA. In terms of career growth, it's 75th out of the top 100 programmes. So, I think it's more of a retention tool rather than a transforming experiemnce.

Duncan,
Thanks for sharing your view on TRIUM.
I popped into LBS and Booth/London to find more info about the following.

1. University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, London - Executive MBA
2. London Business School - Executive MBA /Sloan MSc

As it was not a class day, Booth was empty just an Admin rep and security. I could not get much. But LBS was very lively and had a chance to speak to few people.
It looks like Sloan is a great programme. I thought it is similar to MBA curriculum and alternative to Exec MBA, but found that even people with MBA are studying there fulltime.

Is it more advanced than Exec MBA or a complementary to MBA or to build up career after MBA?

As the first step, I have started my GMAT preparation and aiming 650+.

Cheers.

Hi Rajesh,

Yes, Sloan is certainly suitable for people who have MBAs done MBAs in their 20s and want to build up. But's it's important to say that while Sloan is accredited as an MBA-type programmes (for example by AMBA) it's specialised in leadership and strategy. Sloans have access to all the LBS electives, but the focus is preparing mid-career managers for leadership roles.

Duncan.

Hi Duncan,
Thanks. Yesterday I attended the EMBA info event at LBS.
It is definitely very international and people struggle to speak in English even. I spoke to many. Lot of them not having enough experience and in their early career.
I am not entirely sure that this sort of cohort I am interested. I spoke to few alumni as well but not very convinced.

I will try the next event for Sloan, Chicago Booth and compare.

Cheers.

Rajesh, you need to remember that the information events are open to everyone: most applicants don't get accepted, so you need to focus on what the students are like. Ask the EMBA team for the profiles of a recent EMBA class, and ask to sit in on a class. Having take that degree myself, I can say that no-one has any trouble speaking English in the class, and none of them are early in their career. They are all experienced, responsible managers.

Correct. I guess many won't even pass the TOFEL/GMAT. I get the point that it is open for everyone.

That's a great idea, I will ask for a chance to sit in one of the live EMBA class and get the first hand experience.

Cheers.

Hi Duncan,
Last weekend I have been to Imperial EMBA event as well.
It is also seem to be a very good school. I spoke to Mr. Ebrahim Mohamed, Director of the Imperial College Executive MBA Programme for more than an hour. Very friendly gentleman.

I am getting an impression that there is a lot of affinity for technology people towards Imperial and may be Cambridge. Lot of people who attended are from technology, engineering background, where as people attended LBS event are from every field.

People looking into CTO/CIO/IT Director etc prefer Imperial/Cambridge over LBS/Booth? Or it presses the right button for technology leadership recruiters?

Conversely, CEO/CFO/GM/Director kind of recruiters prefer Columbia/LBS/Booth/Oxford?

Even though the course curriculum are pretty much the same in all these schools. Is that flavour-ism or favour-ism true among employers?

Here is my current list.

Part time:
LBS - EMBA
Chicago Booth - London - EMBA
Imperial EMBA
Cambridge - Judge - EMBA
Oxford Said - EMBA

Full time:
LBS - Sloan


Cheers

Looking at MBA in the UK, the top schools will be (in declining order):
CEOs -- LBS, Open, Insead, Cambridge, Cranfield, Henley
CFOs -- LBS, Insead, Warwick, Cambridge, Henley, Cranfield
CIOs -- Open, LBS, Henley, Cranfield, Warwick, Imperial.

When you look at the FT's EMBA data for careers progress, LBS leads by a long way, followed by Boothand Imperial. Cranfield and Warwick are average.

Imperial and Cambridge are great for tech at the undergraduate level, but of course far fewer CIOs than CFOs or CEOs will have MBAs. To get traction with MBA-level recruiters, you need a school with great careers services that actively manage relationships with MBA hirers. LBS is, by far, the king of that in the UK. You can use the FT full time ranking to see how effective the schools are at placement: LBS, Cranfield and Imperial are very successful; Judge is okay. The other schools are not so strong.

Booth, of course, is a tiny part-time school in the UK, and one which has not been in the UK for long. Without any full-time course it cannot have the pull it needs to maintain strong relationships with recruiters. I am sure that graduates in the UK cannot have the same outcomes as those in the US.

Looking at MBA in the UK, the top schools will be (in declining order):
CEOs -- LBS, Open, Insead, Cambridge, Cranfield, Henley
CFOs -- LBS, Insead, Warwick, Cambridge, Henley, Cranfield
CIOs -- Open, LBS, Henley, Cranfield, Warwick, Imperial.

Rajesh,
Good to know that you have found what you are looking for. Best of luck with your LBS.

Duncan,
It is interesting to know that Open Univ has good credibility.
Though I don't like the name "open" in my degree :-).

I have got a question on this Sloan programme.
Is that something that someone like me who are doing their MBA (on-line) can do in parallel?
For example, I could pause my online MBA and do the Sloan (full-time) then complete MBA.

Any meaning in that or just sounds silly?

Thanks

Yes, the Open University is a unique sort of school. It's a well designed programme which works hard to overcome many of the weaknesses of distance learning. It has triple accreditation, and it has a great business as a provider of training to businesses. It's seen as being quite on a par with physical universities. In terms of students' own ratings, it comes top in many rankings of student satisfaction.

That said, of course it doesn't have the selectivity or premium resources of a more expensive school. It doesn't have a well resourced careers service or a powerful alumni network. The value of the course is very limited compared to that of a ranked business school.

The Sloan programme is *really* full time: much more of a full-time commitment than a full time job. It think the school would insist you pause any other studies.

Thanks Duncan. You have the "top quality" first hand info than anyone here.

What I actually meant in the previous post is that .. is it worth doing Sloan + MBA (online)? or Sloan - itself a powerful programme and makes the MBA(online) irrelevent?

Indeed, the Sloan trumps almost any MBA. On the other hand, you might find it useful to continue with the online MBA after graduating as a way to keep the knowledge fresh in your mind: I guess it depends on the time limits of the other programme and how much time you have. If there some some residential electives available, maybe you could fit in some summer school courses at the other place...