A senior technology leader and lifelong learner, Sally was not seeking a career reset. She was looking for focused, rigorous learning, exposure to modern leadership and business thinking, and access to global perspectives. Just as importantly, she wanted to understand how other senior leaders were running organisations, making decisions and leading people.
“I wanted the structure and professional recognition of postgraduate study,” she says. “But I was equally interested in learning alongside peers and understanding how other leaders were navigating complexity in their own contexts.”
What surprised her most when she joined the University of Sydney Business School Executive MBA was the nature of the cohort itself. The diversity across industries, roles and geographies was striking, but so too was the alignment in values.
“There was a real willingness to learn, to challenge ourselves and to be vulnerable,” Sally reflects.
People were there because they wanted to grow and have a positive impact, not just on their organisations, but on others.
That sense of community did not end at graduation. Sally continued to engage with MBA and EMBA alumni events and professional development workshops, seeing them as a natural extension of the learning experience. It was at one such alumni event hosted by the Business School that she heard IBM Managing Director Nick Flood speak.
Although they did not meet in person on the day, Sally reached out afterwards. What followed was a series of conversations defined by openness, preparation and mutual respect.
“Before meeting, Nick had taken the time to genuinely understand my background and my aspirations,” she says. “That level of preparation showed respect for my time and made the conversation feel purposeful.”
At the time, Sally was co-founder of a successful global consultancy. However, she had a clear desire to return to a senior, technology-focused leadership role within a larger organisation. Through continued dialogue and introductions across IBM’s leadership team, the right opportunity eventually emerged.
Looking back, Sally sees this experience as a clear example of the network value created through the MBA and Executive MBA alumni ecosystem. Not as a transactional network, but as a living professional community built on curiosity, generosity and peer-to-peer learning.
The University of Sydney Business School brings together people from roles and industries I had never even encountered before, and that exposure fundamentally changes how you think about what’s possible in your career.”
She is also candid about the effort required to realise that value, particularly for busy professionals balancing work, study and life. “It’s easy to let work and life get in the way of attending alumni events,” she says. “But how much is your learning and your career worth to you?”
Today, Sally continues to lean on her EMBA cohort and alumni network, not only for professional insight but as lifelong friends. More than any single piece of program content, she credits the Executive MBA experience with delivering something enduring. “Confidence,” she says. “Confidence to ask, to speak up and to be brave.”
When asked to finish the sentence, “The network changed my career because…”, her answer is simple. “I was brave enough to ask for opportunity.”