NANYANG PROFESSIONAL MBA

How growing into a T-shaped leader unlocked a new career path

When Sahan Udana enrolled in the Nanyang Professional MBA (PMBA) programme with Nanyang Business School (NBS) in 2019, he never imagined it would uncover a new passion and transform his career.

Working at the time as a digital solutions manager with a specialty chemicals company, he was responsible for leading a digital initiative as part of the company’s digital transformation efforts. While he relished the challenge, he became aware of certain gaps in his business knowledge. “I come from an engineering background with experience in manufacturing operations. So, leading what was more like a business initiative made me realise I had skills gaps, especially in business areas such as finance, accounting and marketing,” Sahan shares.

The desire to close these gaps motivated him to pursue an MBA. Working with a global team, Sahan often had to make calls to colleagues in the US and Europe after office hours. A programme that would occupy him in the evening was not feasible, so he chose the Nanyang PMBA which has lessons on weekends.

Applying learning in the workplace

Designed to transform skilled professionals into T-shaped leaders, the PMBA’s broad-based curriculum covers multiple facets of business and leadership. Sahan was particularly keen to hone his people management skills, especially in managing cross-functional and cross-cultural teams. “I really enjoyed the Leading People Globally module, which covered areas such as cultural intelligence, talent management, and negotiation. These provided me with insights to better understand my colleagues and be more mindful when communicating with them.”

Modules such as Technology & e-Business as well as Digital Transformation and the Future-ready Enterprise provided useful insights he could apply to the digital initiative he was leading. As his company was also going through a merger at the time, the knowledge he gained on Mergers, Acquisitions & Restructuring enabled him to anticipate what to expect and support both his management and team through the process.

An experience that broadened his horizons

While every aspect of the programme contributed to Sahan’s leadership growth, the six-month Strategy Projects at Nanyang (SPAN) module sparked a newfound passion for consulting. SPAN was a valuable opportunity to apply everything he had learnt to a real-life business issue for a real client. “I enjoyed working with the client, understanding the pain points, trying to solve the issues that they were having and give our recommendation.”

The experience of SPAN and the PMBA as a whole gave him the knowledge and the confidence to pursue consulting as a career. Since graduating in February 2021, Sahan has taken up a new position as a senior digital consultant with engineering consultancy Beca. “I would not even have imagined doing a consulting job before going through this programme, learning what consulting is, and gaining a passion for it,” he says.

Combining his new skills with lessons learned from his own experience, Sahan is now inspired to help other companies embarking on digital transformation, especially those in the manufacturing industry, to improve their operations and sustainability. His interest in managing business sustainably was piqued in classes on business ethics and governance. He further deepened his knowledge in this area on an optional exchange programme with the University of Cologne in Germany.

Looking back on the PMBA, Sahan believes the experience is so much more than just acquiring knowledge. “It’s more about the journey that you go through, the many workshops and seminars you are exposed to, the opportunity to expand your network and to learn alongside, and from, talented classmates who are all like-minded and in the next step of their careers.”