Assyl IKHSAN
INSEAD
Age: 38
“I am passionate about sustainability, a life-long learner, and my family is everything to me.”
Hometown: Kazakhstan
Family Members: I have a big family and we are very close: I have a daughter; 3 siblings who are my best friends; their kids are my daughter’s best friends; and of course my parents who have been providing a massive support to me throughout my life.
Fun fact about yourself: I managed to overcome my fear of dogs and cats thanks to my daughter about 7-8 years ago – she’s a big animal lover and we even got a puppy 2 years ago!
Undergraduate School and Degree: Oxford University, BA in Economics and Management
Where are you currently working? Executive Director, Transition Finance at Standard Chartered Bank
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles: Volunteering as a mentor in my organization and other groups such as Women in Commodities and STEM events; Volunteering as a Green and Sustainable subcommittee member at Singapore Fintech Association
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Mentoring – both formal and informal, at my organization and outside – I just want to help others as I have had so many both formal and informal mentors throughout my career that played a positive role in my life. Knowing how helpful it was for me, I want to give back and help others as much as I can. Sometimes it can be as small as just sharing my story of how I dealt with certain situations that could help someone else with their next career move or a certain life situation.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I think being able to switch industries multiple times and build on my previous experiences made me adaptable and resilient. This was driven by my desire to learn new things and general curiosity about various topics. I have been lucky as my bosses and colleagues have been supportive and provided opportunities for me to learn, which helped me to make the unplanned moves to different industries. I am very grateful to my line-managers and colleagues who have made it possible for me.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? (I have so many, but to-date Prof Oh (International Political Analysis), Prof Dutt (Price and Markets) and Prof Fang (Corporate Finance) are my most favourite ones. I think it is their passion for their respective subjects and their engaging, funny, straightforward styles (which are all very different) are the main reasons why they are my favourite.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? Diversity.
What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? It’s the leadership coaching – it helped me to navigate through various tough situations at work. Very often, I would question and doubt myself and internalize a lot of the stressful moments. However, coaching and the leadership courses helped me to widen my perspective and have a growth mindset whenever I am faced with challenging situations at work. I think I still have a lot to learn, but having a wider perspective helped me to overcome some of the limiting beliefs and doubts about myself.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? To be honest, there is no secret solution to juggle all parts of your life – it is challenging and something has to get de-prioritised when you focus on one thing, be it work, family, or studying. I guess one story I can share is how I decided to combine the 2-weeks in France in July with family time and convinced my family to join me and make a trip out of it.
What was your biggest regret in business school? I hope I could socialise more. Again, it is a trade-off between socialising and spending time with family and friends.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire? There are many but if I to choose one, it would be Christophe Vivien. He has a vast professional experience, strong work ethic, contributes to class with insightful comments, and eagerly helps his classmates. At the same time, he also has a fascinating life story and a very humble presence.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? Flexibility, Content, and Network.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I want to create an impact. I would love to do something to give back to society. I think one of the reasons why I am in transition finance is because I feel connected to the overall purpose and would like to apply my skills and knowledge in sustainability space.
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