Francis Clay
INSEAD, Asia
Age: 49
“Determined, adaptable, life-long learner, working across cultures and professions.”
Hometown: Originally from Bristol in the United Kingdom. I spent a handful of career-shaping years in Japan along the way and now call Singapore home.
Family Members: My parents, a brother (sadly now deceased), a sister, and two stepsisters. I have become an expert uncle thanks to the on-going bootcamp provided by my two nephews, Artie and George, a niece, Isabella plus three step-nephews and three step-nieces!
Fun fact about yourself: I was an aspiring thespian at school, both acting in and directing some award-winning school plays. My acting roles included the unholy trinity of lunatic, priest, and female nurse. I found directing to be even more rewarding, without the need to wear skirts!
Undergraduate School and Degree:
- University of Sheffield: Japanese Studies, Bachelor of Arts
- Oxford Brookes University: Graduate Diploma in Law
- Oxford Institute of Legal Practice: Legal Practice Course
Where are you currently working? Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Singapore Branch. I am an Executive Director in the Specialised Products Department, Asia Pacific.
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles: Most recently, it has been volunteering as a mentor for trainees and junior leader development in my organisation. I’m also part of the structured finance trainee recruitment assessment panel. I like to keep active to balance out the brain work with cycling, snowboarding and (occasional) squash.
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Networking and mentoring. While this sounds like a side-hustle of going for drinks and coffees, I have found both activities hugely rewarding. Connecting with both seniors and juniors in my organisation and peers in the wider industry together with those in other industries has been both enlightening and grounding. Understanding that your challenges have been faced by those before you and challenges you have overcome are now the challenges of those at an earlier stage of their careers, gives great perspective and makes all our challenges more relatable and less overwhelming.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? It has been adaptable and having the opportunity to combine Japanese language, law and finance into a multi-dimensional career which has provided for me to traverse two professions and live in the incredible cities of Tokyo, London and Singapore.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? Singling out any of the professors feels something of a disservice to the others. However, Professor Henrik Bresman (Leading People & Organisations), Professor Daniel Simonovich (Strategy) and Professor Vinnie Aggarwal (International Political Analysis) were each masterful exponents of their respective trades. Each has a different style, but a common ability to distil and share the complexity of their subject areas through frameworks, practical toolkits, and anecdotes which very much resonated with me.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? I had wanted to attend a top European business school with a strong general management focus. From my very first interaction with the school, it struck me that INSEAD would be the best fit for me to learn and grow both personally and professionally. The diversity of backgrounds and perspectives of the INSEAD student body is incredibly broad and perhaps unique among business schools offering programmes at this level. The quality of the courses and teaching is also first class.
What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? The programme has provided me with insights and knowledge to confront areas for development in both professional and personal settings, whether relating to leadership, management (of projects, relationships and time) or dealing with setbacks. The sacrifices have been worthwhile thanks to being able to achieve more satisfactory results for myself, my team and my business by engaging the tools and perspectives learned on the programme.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? From the point of initiating the application process until now, the tempo of life has certainly accelerated! The juggling is real and becomes incrementally more demanding as the programme goes on. Fortunately, the programme itself supports you to navigate the challenges, making you more resourceful and resilient as a result. I have been using annual leave entitlement to attend classes so respite from work and study has been limited, as has down-time until more recently. My family overseas has been very supportive of my time commitment to office and classroom at the cost of seeing less of them.
What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? Do it! Executive MBAs are often described as transformational experiences. Although soundbites like this may come across as over the top marketing speak, in my experience this really is the case. Taking the opportunity mid-career to embark on a professional education journey with a group of curious, open-minded, and compassionate individuals to learn about yourself and areas of professional development – be it, finance, macroeconomics or strategy – is very special (and most probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity). Be open to everything on offer as an opportunity to learn.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire? The Singapore cohort, individually and collectively, are awesome and very inspiring. The coming together of the group whether in lectures or smaller project work and break-out sessions generates a really special energy and sense of fun, which in turn creates a safe-space for learning and sharing individual vulnerabilities. No shout-outs for individuals to avoid jeopardising this special sauce!
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? The in-person interactions with both professors and your cohort are key, and far more rewarding when carried out face-to-face. This applies to lectures, group work, networking and of course socialising and celebrating (the many!) milestones along the MBA journey. I certainly prioritised the attribute of maximal in-person interaction when short-listing programmes to apply for.
How did you finance your EMBA and what did you do to make tuition and associated costs more affordable? I self-financed my EMBA and was able to use savings and employ some belt-tightening to make it work.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? Being in an environment where I can learn while also supporting establishment of new products, businesses, and ways of working is a real motivation for me. Making time and space to hit new academic and practical knowledge or skills milestones has served me well in my career to-date, so continually up-skilling in this way is something I would like to sustain in the years to come.
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