Sean Garman

“The MiF has enabled me to challenge assumptions and rewire my inbuilt biases.”

Sean Garman first jumped on a plane from Sydney to London eight years ago, ready to start life in the global capital of finance. After netting his first job as a graduate analyst, he was already moving through the ranks when he joined the Masters in Finance (MiF).

“I wanted to up-skill so I looked through various schools and of course London Business School (LBS) was up there, the number one Masters in Finance globally, so I naturally gravitated here.”

Not wanting to press pause on his career, Sean opted for the part-time programme. “You find out how productive you can be when you haven’t got much time,” he says. For him, the social part of being at LBS was as big as the learning, and he dived right in. “The programme is rigorous with a diverse group of students. Of course, that doesn’t mean you don’t socialise and have fun. Being out with new people broadens your horizons; you understand new cultures and naturally develop new friendships. Having a group of people who get along very well, and who are going through the same thing as you, provides a support base for everyone to have a laugh, relax and unwind.”

Getting the full LBS student experience was top of Sean’s agenda, so he soon joined the Finance, Private Equity and Venture Capital, and Australia and New Zealand clubs, where the “constant stream” of esteemed speakers dazzled him. The calibre of visiting lecturers and professionals at LBS, and the benefits of their experience, was the stand-out part of the MiF for Sean. “One speaker who came in [from Oaktree Capital Management] on the Distressed Investing elective manages a fund there. The cases we discussed in class were actual companies he bought. Listening to his investment and analytical decision-making framework was invaluable. In the Managing Corporate Tunrarounds elective someone new comes in every week to explain how they turned their businesses around and handled various situations. These insights are outstanding,” he says.

During the programme, Sean was promoted to Associate Director at Lloyds. He now works for one of the executives in a much broader role. “It’s absolutely helped my career,” he says, “and on a personal level the programme has enabled me to challenge assumptions and rewire my inbuilt biases with people and situations. It provides an intellectual framework to deal with issues and helps me to get through difficult times.”