Antonie Jagga
National University of Singapore – The NUS Executive MBA
Age: 38
“I am a hardworking, goal-oriented individual who loves working with people and solving complex problems.”
Hometown: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (current), born in Pretoria, South Africa
Family Members: Parents and brother in South Africa, spouse and children in Australia
Fun fact about yourself: Despite working in a very demanding job, balancing personal and professional commitments, and keeping up a good social life, I am absolutely obsessed with music – from EDM and hip-hop to rock, indie, dubstep, and classical. One of my favourite things to do is to find 30 minutes to put on an old record on my vinyl player and reflect on the week gone past.
Undergraduate School and Degree:
Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, United Kingdom, Fellow 2011
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa – BSc (Hons) Actuarial Science, 2008
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa – BSc Actuarial Science and Mathematical Statistics (cum laude), 2007
Where are you currently working? PwC Australia, Partner, Insurance Leader, Actuarial Leader
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:
Volunteer for the Actuarial Society of South Africa. Principal Examiner for F107 Banking Fellowship Principles and Assistant Examiner for F207 Banking Fellowship Applications. (2014 – 2023)
Volunteer for the Singapore Actuarial Society (2017 – 2022)
Volunteer for the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (2012 – 2019)
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I’m most proud of our project group’s performance in the “Managing Change and Disruption” module. We all faced significant time constraints due to a number of individual commitments. However, we came together and produced what I thought was an excellent project submission and presentation in a short period of time. This was achieved through open communication, efficient allocation of tasks, and some pretty creative problem-solving. This experience definitely highlighted the importance of teamwork and knowing your peers.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I’ve been fortunate enough to work in South Africa, Singapore, and Australia. I’ve always been proud of being able to work with different clients; supporting the implementation of complex new regulatory standards; building actuarial and statistical models to be used in providing strategic advice; and seeing the successful outcomes at the end of it. While in Singapore, I was responsible for leading our risk consulting practice across Southeast Asia, and I was particularly proud of sponsoring the partnership admission of one of my team members based in Thailand. More recently, I’ve been asked to take on the firm-wide insurance sector leader role in the Australian firm, something that I didn’t expect so soon after joining, a role which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? The NUS EMBA program is taught by an exceptional faculty, with a significant focus on academics, covering a wide variety of subjects. This, plus the diverse student body from various global professional backgrounds, made the program an ideal choice for me.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? I’ve always prided myself on being organised and disciplined. I make use of my diary to organise my schedule, ensuring that I purposefully allocate enough time to each area of my life that requires attention. One thing that I had not planned for in signing up for the NUS EMBA was moving countries from Singapore to Australia and taking on new leadership roles at work. From this experience, I realised that something has to give. In my case, that something was sleep. During the course segments, I found myself waking up at 3am, work until 8am, going to class until the evening, following by group work and social activities. This meant that I had to really focus to get through everything and ask for help from others, whether it be calls to prepare for classes, working late and on weekends to prepare our group projects, or asking for additional support at work from a colleague.
What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? Leave your business card at the door. Once you’re in the class, you’re there as a student, to learn, and share. Everyone is accomplished, everyone is senior, everyone is smart, and you’re not going to get the best out of the programme by assuming you’re the smartest in the room.
What was your biggest regret in business school? That it went by too quickly. I regret not spending that extra hour after class talking to classmates, not staying that extra hour after dinner or drinks socialising, and not arriving a day earlier or leaving a day later at the segments. We are all part of such a busy life, rushing between home, school, and work, and I regret not stepping back and realising that the EMBA is a very short part of our life journey. That being said, I have made some lifelong friends, and I’ve committed to making the most of these connections.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire? There were so many standout classmates, but if I had to only pick one it would be Long Zhangqin. She is genuinely such a good person. She is hardworking, loyal, humble, and is a rare servant leader. Despite being extremely senior in her organisation, working on some very important projects during her EMBA, she always made time for her classmates. She openly shared her knowledge, and she personally sacrificed her time for others. Whether this be in doing extra research for a project, booking dinner venues, driving colleagues across the island, exchanging foreign currency, or hosting dinners and events.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? The structure of the NUS EMBA program was especially appealing to me. The programme is set up to make use of weekends for pre-module classes, and then having full-time in-classroom learning for two weeks that’s complemented by self-study and assignments. This meant that I could plan my work schedule and travel in advance, and make the most of learning from my peers in a face-to-face environment. A large amount of the learning happens outside of the classroom, over coffee breaks and lunches, when we’re travelling together, going for social events, working on assignments, or even just sending messages over the week to talk as friends. In addition, the academic rigour of the programme was appealing. This included graded assessments, meant that this degree was a worthwhile investment in myself, especially considering that it meant I had to balance a busy work and personal life.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? Ultimately, I want to leave a legacy that I can be proud of. I want to look back knowing that I always did my best, that I worked hard, was dedicated and reliable, and did my work by staying true to my own personal values. I enjoy taking on leadership roles and developing others. Seeing others flourish and be successful is something I enjoy.
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