Stephen Quantrill / GSB MBA ’94, Executive Chairman of McRae Investments // I’m a huge supporter of the enrichment and stretch of the GSB experience – including the foundation the MBA provides your career and the bonds and friendships that endure. The GSB MBA is a dynamic melting pot for extending and understanding yourself better and gaining skills in teamwork and symbiosis; it is a vibrant proxy for demanding board and management environments later. The academic programme is intense and deliberately designed around teamwork, and I’d urge students to give more than they take – putting in 150% while encouraging your team’s high performance in a high-pressure environment are critical skills for success. In my experience, people that go on to do better than others also learn early that they don’t have all the skills and knowledge. So it’s about learning and understanding how other people’s contributions can improve your own success, and you can benefit theirs. As a business leader, you learn to value that people see things differently, so you adapt to listen better and make more robust decisions together.

Mukona Khalushi / GSB PGDip ’17 and member of the GSB Alumni Board, PGDip Subcommittee // I wanted the PGDip fundraising to be more effective and realised that it’s a bigger job – you need more ideas and a committed team. That’s how the idea of the alums subcommittee started. You need PGDip alums who relate to the course and the outcome of the course, who get together with others just as excited to be joining forces. I know what the PGDip did for me – it helped me see myself beyond my limit, it helped me grow as a leader, I’m more visionary now. Yeah, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Fundraising is about community; it gives people the opportunity to invest in others, impact other people’s lives and go beyond where they can reach. There could be someone who is going online right now, they want to study for a PGDip but don’t have the funds. Having an option of financial aid still motivates them to apply – so if there are funds available, that is an opportunity for that individual.

Vishal Patel / GSB MBA student 2022 and GSB Foundation scholar // I knew full-heartedly that I wanted to go to the GSB, so when I received the email that I got the scholarship, I was beaming with joy that I actually could attend the school I wanted to go to, come down to Cape Town and to fully immerse myself in this experience. The one thing I was amazed about when I came to the GSB – and I kind of heard stories about it but never put much thought into it – is that the alumni network is very strong. It is incredible how willing GSB alumni are to step up to the plate and say, “Listen, I’ll be keen to participate.” or “How can I help?”. The school is the best on the African continent, but it’s also this rich body of people who are willing to interact, share and help. So knowing that I’m part of a bigger network out there that takes my MBA journey and brings it post-MBA, that’s quite exciting and I’m looking forward to it.