Darren Hemsley has been promoted to Sales Director of a leading manufacturing company after completing the Executive MBA programme at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
After completing his master’s degree in 2019, Darren was appointed to the position of Sales and Marketing Director with a seat on the board of Litecast Limited, a leading supplier of manufactured materials in the UK construction industry.
He said: “The Executive MBA has acted as a platform for career progression, allowing me to fulfil my aspirations of becoming a director.”
Darren studied part-time through DMU’s blended learning experience, an option that allowed him to continue progressing in his career while completing a master’s degree.
“The part-time blended approach worked really well for me. My career has always been my priority, so ensuring that I could study with minimal disruption to work was imperative.
“The course was intensive, so time management was crucial to balance my workload and study commitments. The tutors at DMU were incredibly supportive though, with a pragmatic approach to our work commitments and deadlines.
“Studying the programme was equally as rewarding and enjoyable as it was challenging,” he said.
Delighted to have graduated with a distinction, Darren commented on how applicable the Executive MBA has been to his current role.
“The course has been so beneficial for both my career and the company. The Executive MBA is a dynamic, forward-thinking course which breaks the mould of a conventional MBA by focusing largely on how the world of business will be going forwards.
“In particular, the Strategy module gave me an opportunity to give a critical assessment of where we were as a business – as a result of this module we’ve re-evaluated the market and who we’re targeting as clients.
“The knowledge I gained about writing business plans has also come in handy for competitor analysis, especially because the business I work for faces strong competition in the sector,” he said.
As part of the programme, Darren was able to put theory into practice through a DMU Global trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he made ‘memories that will last a lifetime’.
Students studying the Executive MBA have the opportunity to undertake a field business project at Chiang Mai as part of the Social Entrepreneurship module, where they examine the realities of social entrepreneurship and innovation, and the challenges that face businesses driving for social change.
Darren said: The trip to Thailand has got to be one of my biggest highlights. We gained practical experience with the Warm Heart Foundation, who aim to provide an education and livelihood to local children. The foundation is completely autonomous, with revenue coming from a series of micro-enterprises. It was a completely eye-opening and unique experience, epitomising social entrepreneurship and relating back to what we were studying on the module.
“The experience also allowed us to bond as a cohort and network with students in other year groups. Many of the people studying the course were young professionals from different industries and sectors. It was great to meet like-minded individuals and learn from their experiences – I hope to remain friends with them many years to come.”
Posted on Tuesday 24 November 2020