Serene Nah was GE Capital’s chief financial officer for greater China and had bright prospects in the group where she had worked for the past 10 years. However, Nah, who joined the company after an undergraduate degree in business management from Nanyang Business School in Singapore, wanted to accelerate her career and develop new skills beyond finance.

“I was starting to get involved in mergers and acquisitions and big strategic projects. I was very keen to find an [executive MBA] programme that could expose me to more, such as the commercial side and legal side. Also, to meet people who could offer me real-life experiences and contacts in [China].”

Six-figure tuition fees, travel costs and time off to attend classes make an executive MBA a substantial investment. Nah had full employer support for the programme.