Development and Alumni

Alumni Network Case Studies

Successful Graduates from the Royal Docks Business School

Rufena Haque
2012 Human Resources Management
Current Occupation: PA to Clerk and Chief Executive at the Sir John Cass's Foundation

I remember being on the tube and I saw a UEL poster with a picture of the Docklands campus and Canary Wharf in the night, the text read something along the lines of "it makes sense to study business in the heart of business". I researched UEL and found it had a great reputation for HR, so I decided to visit the campus on an Open Day. When I went to visit the campus, the location and view drew me in. I knew immediately that UEL was the University I wanted to attend. At the beginning of my 2nd year I contacted the employability team at UEL to assist me in completing an admin/office internship. It was Mark Watson who forwarded me the vacancy at Sir John Cass’s Foundation. Although at the time the position was only for a month, I still applied to gain work experience. I was than short listed along with 13 other candidates from other Universities within London, interviewed and offered the position. I later found out that it was my positive attitude and adaptability that gave me the edge over my rivals. When the PA vacancy arose, I put myself forward for the position. By this time my internship had been extended and I had been with the Foundation for 17 months. During this time I gained fundamental experience and used this time to fully understand the Foundation and its activities and had worked within different areas of the Foundation increasing my knowledge and responsibilities. My HR degree came in use when I was given the responsibility for the entire recruitment process for new Governors. I believe in five years time I will have settled into a HR role as a result of my experience at Sir John Cass’s Foundation. I intend to have completed my Masters and be CIPD qualified in order to put myself in a better position to reach my long term goal of starting my own HR consultancy business.  If I could offer one piece of advice to other UEL students and graduates it would be, “Take advantage of all the opportunities available to you and explore any positions that may not immediately fit your long term plans as you never know where it may lead. That way you’ll always have open options rather than limiting yourself. I have learnt that so many roles and careers in differing professions all intertwine and come together with many of the skills required being directly transferable between professions.”

Olawole Evans Asoro
2008 MBA Financial Services
Current Occupation: Branch Manager, Access Bank plc, Lagos, Nigeria

Before studying at UEL, Olawole had established himself within the banking sector. He started out in January 2006 with Zenith Bank Plc before moving onto Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in June 2007. These banks are well respected in the Nigerian banking industry. However, he felt the need to sharpen his managerial skills and deepen his leadership reflexes. After considering a few MBA programmes, he decided to take enrol on the MBA Financial Services.

Olawole graduated with a distinction and returned to Nigeria immediately afterwards.   By December 2008, he resumed as a Branch Manager with Access Bank Plc, another strong and vibrant financial services provider in Nigeria with a UK subsidiary (Access Bank UK).  “No doubt, my MBA education has paid off and is still paying off! My exposure, leadership skills and global experience has been the distinguishing factors between me and my colleagues, many of whom have decided to also pursue an MBA at UEL! Whatever I am today, I owe it to God and to UEL.”

Olawole chose to study at UEL for several reasons.  Firstly, because it is a modern university, secondly, its location in London and lastly because he wanted to study an MBA with a bias in Financial Services.

Olawole found the lecturers to be friendly and they showed a genuine interest in his academic wellbeing – “my research supervisor was particularly helpful.  I am truly grateful to them all.

The facilities and infrastructure at UEL are excellent. And more importantly, the faculty is world-class. I am proud to be associated with the university”.

Fatoumata Koulibaly
2003 BA (Hons) Business Studies
Current Occupation: Writer

Fatoumata has had her first novel published.  The book entitled 'Never Ask Me About My Family' is the story of a mother and daughter trying to find stability amidst the maelstrom of their times.

The story begins in the 1970s in post-colonial West Africa. Salimatou, a poverty-stricken woman, lives in social milieu dominated by traditional attitudes and values. Against a background of escalating familial conflict, hardship and despair, she embarks on an affair with Sekouba, a young and handsome government official. It is an affair that finally forces her to take control of her life. Pitting her wits against relatives and Sekouba's powerful family, who ostracise her, condemn her liberal ways, Salimatou's strong instinct for survival leads her to become, in turn, the lover of a wealthy man, and then a successful business woman.

Aida, the illegitimate child of Salimatou and Sekouba will be faced with similar problems to those that earlier beset her mother. She must eventually find the strength and maturity that will enable her to overcome the troubles that threaten to engulf her. And when tragedy strikes, she knows that as a survivor, she must be the one to decide her own destiny.

Fatoumata was born in the Republic of Guinea and grew up in the Ivory Coast. She entered the UK in 1994 to study English then graduated in 2003 after achieving her Business Studies degree at UEL. Along with her multilingual skills (French, English & Spanish), Fatoumata was engaged in various temporary administrative work both in the private and public sectors. Returning to Guinea for a short time, she realised that a change of career was in order and left her Marketing Assistant job at Redbridge College and went on to join a Beauty Therapy and Holistic Massage course. Eventually, she hopes to set up a Youth Training Programme in Guinea. Fatoumata is also the co-founder of La Fraternite Guineene Association. An association which address British-Guinean relations, economic development, Guinean Diaspora, and regional integration in Guinea.

Fatoumata says about her time at UEL “I hold dear my memories of UEL. Returning to university after a 3 years gap in study (1998-2001) was never going to be easy. However, I received ample support from tutors, student union and library staff in order to complete the course with success.”

In her spare time, Fatoumata enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading and traveling.

Martin Slark
1992 MBA
Current Occupation: Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of Molex Inc, UEL Honorary Graduate

Martin P. Slark, was appointed Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Molex Incorporated on July 1, 2005. He had served as President and Chief Operating Officer since July 1, 2001. Prior to this position Martin was Executive Vice President of Molex Incorporated from 1999 to 2001; President of the Americas Region from 1994 to1999; and President of the Far East South Region from 1988 to 1994.  He became a Director of the company in 2000.

He began his career with Molex in 1976 and has worked for the company in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. He was responsible for starting the Molex entities in Hong Kong, China, India, South Africa, Malaysia and Thailand.

Whilst Martin was working as President of Molex’s Far East Region, he enrolled at UEL to do his MBA by flexible distance learning, graduating in 1992. “UEL was offering a flexible, part time MBA program, which was very attractive to me because my job requires constant traveling. The MBA coursework, while demanding, seemed to offer what I wanted and fitted my schedule, with most of the courses held in the evening and on weekends. It certainly helps to have business experience in order to really benefit from an MBA. It is also interesting to learn from and share experiences with people in other fields of business."

“I believe studying for the MBA broadened my outlook, and enabled me to sharpen my analytical skills. Working in any organization, you become very close to the problems. The MBA helps you to step back and analyse the situation. I also learned a lot about aspects of business that, as a trained engineer, I had not been so involved in, such as organizational management and marketing. I learned a great deal from teachers and fellow students and 14 years later many of them are still my friends."

He is on the Board of the Hub Group, Inc. and is Vice Chairman and Treasurer of the Landmark School, which serves students with language-based learning disabilities.   He is a Fellow of the British Institute of Management, and is a member of the World Presidents’ Organization, The Chicago Economic Club and the Management Development Institute of Singapore.

In 2003, Martin was honored with a Public Service Medal by the government of Singapore. This National award recognizes distinguished international friends who have contributed to Singapore’s development in business, industry, technology and science.  

Martinis married and has two children. An avid runner, he has completed 10 marathons including Chicago, Boston and Hong Kong. He also regularly competes in 5K and 10K races.

Molex Incorporated (NASDAQ: MOLX, MOLXA) is a 68-year-old global manufacturer of electronic, electrical and fiber optic interconnection products and systems, switches and application tooling. Based in Lisle, Illinois, U.S.A., the company operates 58 plants in 19 countries, employs over 30,000 people worldwide and had revenues of $2.55 billion in its fiscal year ended June 30, 2005.

In 2005, Martin came back to UEL to receive his honorary Doctorate of Business Administration (Hon Causa). He regularly visits the UK and attends functions with the Vice Chancellor of UEL and our other university friends.  Molex’s sponsors a prize for best student on our MBA programmes.  The prize is awarded bi-annually to both part time and full time students.

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© 2008