Mavra Khan

Why the INSEAD MBA?

INSEAD has been my dream school ever since my freshman year – and I was inspired by an INSEAD alumna who was my boss during my first internship. At the time, I was with a student organisation called AIESEC that sowed the seeds of my love for different cultures and INSEAD seemed like the advanced version of that. Of course, I also wanted to do an MBA to further enhance my business skills and to make a career shift.

What were your plans after INSEAD?

I was interested in moving out of banking and exploring opportunities in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) marketing. I love the sector and I want to be closer to the brands and core business. Marketing these brands to real customers is what excites me!

How has your career switch panned out so far?

Now I am working with Amazon in London as a marketing manager for the sports and outdoors department. I took up the role as the company and industry is growing and allows me to learn a lot – also putting me in a good position to return to FMCG in the future.   

How has INSEAD’s MBA helped you in your career?

The INSEAD MBA is the only reason I was able to make the switch in function, geography and industry. It has also given me the network which allows me to be more effective at the job and make London feel like home. The programme gave me the confidence that equipped me to take up a very challenging role outside my comfort zone. 

Tell us about your experience with INSEAD’s Career Development Centre.

I loved the career counselling sessions with my advisor. He enabled me to start thinking about my career from the very beginning of the programme – and the discussions with him challenged me to push myself further in my plans for after INSEAD. The “sector briefings” run by the Career Development Centre also helped me to connect to like-minded people and helped me learn about sectors I could potentially be interested in but didn’t know anything about.

You got married soon after graduation (congrats!). Any advice to women out there who are trying to balance love/family with career?

I did get married soon after INSEAD. My husband is based in Pakistan so for now, we meet every few weeks all over the world. My advice to all the super women out there would be to take your loved ones along in the decision-making process and at least test out a difficult situation. Some things are worth testing out and quitting if they don't work, rather than always wondering if they could have worked.