10 years of the Auckland MBA Alumni club

MBA alumni, current MBA students, and MBA teaching staff past and present came together in November last year for a special end of year event to celebrate 10 years of the Auckland MBA alumni club.

The Auckland MBA Alumni club was formed in 2012 by a group of MBA alumni, and is still going strong 10 years later.

Governed by an independent alumni board, Auckland MBA Alumni (AMBAA) facilitates forums for fellow graduates to continue the MBA experience via professional growth and personal engagement.

The current board comprises Lorraine Thomson (Chair); Chen Wang (Vice-Chair), Darryn Fieldsend (Treasurer), Elizabeth Drayton, Rachael Brand and Martin Knazovicky.

A blonde woman wearing a pink dress speaking at a lectern

AMBAA Chair Lorraine Thomson emceed the occasion.

A man speaking at a lectern with a young woman standing next to him

The inaugural Chair and Vice-chair, Trevor Nash and Leny Woolsey, spoke about the beginnings of the Auckland MBA Alumni club.

An Asian man speaking at a lectern

The MBA Director, Associate Professor Mike Lee, spoke about the future of the MBA and where it is heading. We had a moment of silence and raised our glasses to much-loved MBA teacher Dr Daniel Vidal, who passed away on 11 October 2020, after battling cancer. Described as “A beautiful mind, a free spirit, consummate teacher and mentor to his family and students, and intellectual challenge to his peers”, his legacy lives on in all the memories of the MBA students he influenced and inspired.

An older man speaking at a lectern

The current teacher on the MBA, Economics Professor Robert MacCulloch, gave the keynote address, “Kiwinomics faces breakdown”.

Close-up of a young Asian man

To round off the evening, AMBAA presented the inaugural Auckland MBA Alumni Award, which went to Darren Guo, Managing Director 2121 Group and CEO of organic grocer, Huckleberry, who unfortunately was not able to attend on the night.

It was a wonderful evening, and we look forward to many more MBA alumni events in 2023.

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Join the MBA Alumni LinkedIn group.

 

See photos from the event below: