Alumni profile: Ulrik Binzer
MBA student at Harvard Business School
Graduated 2003
Ulrik graduated from the IB programme in 2003 and is now studying for an MBA degree at the prestigious Harvard Business School. Before starting his studies at Harvard, he worked as an analyst at McKinsey for two years and then as an associate in the private equity fund Golden Gate Capital. Ulrik’s advice to potential IB students is to “Think big and work hard and everything will be possible”.
Why IB?
I chose the IB programme because it was considered the most academically challenging and prestigious business undergraduate business degree program in Scandinavia. Studying international business also felt natural as I had lived abroad before high school and saw myself doing so in the future. Finally, the small class size was a key determinant as I felt this would allow me to get to know all of my fellow students well.
How IB prepared me for an international career
The rigorous first year, especially all of the quantitative and theory heavy class were essential in preparing me for my first job at McKinsey. Specifically, I still consider the knowledge I acquired through the micro, macro and international economics classes as the key pillars in my business knowledge foundation today. The other equally important aspect of the IB programme was the quarterly structure and the heavy emphasis on team projects. Although all those projects we did were a ton of work, the team and people skills I acquired through the sometimes painful project meetings were very important in preparing me for the realities of the business world
Most vivid experience from the IB programme
Sitting in a team room with my organizational behavior project team the night before the deadline and re-writing the conclusion because we through the editing process had come to realize that we had gotten everything completely wrong.
The Typical IB student
In my opinion there is no such thing as a “typical IB student”. That said the IB program admits some of the smartest business brains out of Danish high schools.
After IB
Think big and work hard and everything will be possible. That said, to be successful in achieving your goals in life it is important that you try to think a couple of moves ahead such that you are prepared to grab the opportunities once they arise – in general the really good opportunities only come about a couple of times in your lifetime and you don’t want to miss those few important busses…
Joachim Meyer Andersen
Last updated by Andrew Arnold 19/05/2009
Banking on a good career
Robin graduated from IB in 2009, where he also took part in the GLOBE programme. Alongside his MSc studies he now works at Saxo Bank as a Research Analyst in the bank's strategy group. He contributes to the bank's research reports and has had several research notes published.
"Studying IB does not only introduce and prepare you for an international career, it also opens doors and gives you opportunities to enter the professional field along with your studies. It is not unusual for students at IB to have jobs. Not just any student job, but positions at true multinational firms that enable you to practice what you have learned in real work-related environments."
A good international mix
"The thing I liked the best about IB was the mix of internationals and Danes - I have lived abroad most of my life so knew I would feel more at home in such a setting," says 2007 graduate Andrew Townsend.
"IB allowed me to meet many more nationalities and cultures than I expected, for one, and, for two, i was given the chance to work in groups a lot more than I was used to from the British system. The case studies were always a blend of local/international/and global firms giving you a perspective of how things interact in the markets."
'Think big and work hard'
That's the advice from IB graduate Ulrik Binzer. He graduated from the IB programme in 2003 and is now studying for an MBA degree at the prestigious Harvard Business School. Before starting his studies at Harvard, he worked as an analyst at McKinsey for two years and then as an associate in the venture capital firm Golden Gate Capital.
An ideal preparation for an international career
Thea Sørensen graduated from the International Business programme in 2007. Since then she has gone on to join Nokia's graduate programme, and has worked in Copenhagen, Beijing and Helsinki. "Practically, I learned a lot from studying in the multicultural environment that is IB. Already having an international network before I graduated made it easier to go in to a career in Nokia," she says.
