Wednesday 24 May 2006
Warren Hogarth
Three University of Queensland (UQ) Business School graduates will start MBAs at one of the world's best business schools in September this year.
The three high fliers have been accepted to join the two-year full-time MBA program at Harvard Business School.
Mark De Ambrosis of Yeronga graduated with a dual degree in commerce and economics in 2003 and Scott Griffin of Runcorn completed his commerce degree in 2001. Warren Hogarth of Indooroopilly was awarded a dual degree in chemical engineering and commerce in 2004.
A business analyst with McKinsey & Company De Ambrosis said he was taking advantage of the firm's fellowship program.
He said, "One of the reasons I went to work for McKinsey was the great development opportunities they offer."
De Ambrosis said applying to Harvard Business School was a long, intensive process starting with the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT).
"I also had to provide six essays about myself, three essays written by referees, and survive an interview with a Harvard alum."
"The interview was with the CEO of the Australian financial services arm of a global, diversified multinational - it was a bit daunting."
Entrepreneur Scott Griffin said he decided on a family holiday to the US that he wanted to study at Harvard.
He said, "I was 12 or 13 when we visited Harvard and I can clearly remember deciding I would study there some day."
Griffin said the online tax service he launched in 1998 was the largest in Australia.
Also working in the business are Scott's father, who holds a UQ MBA, and his younger brother who has both a commerce degree and a science degree from The University of Queensland.
Griffin also has a UQ science degree in computer science and is currently completing a law degree. He is perhaps the only student to have gained approval for a triple degree allowing him to study commerce, science, and law concurrently at UQ.
Warren Hogarth was a Fulbright Scholar in 2004 at Princeton (USA) where he won the University's prestigious business plan competition. Hogarth said he had two provisional patents for hydrogen fuel cell technology he is developing as a PhD student.
He said, "I hope to work in venture capital or investment banking when I complete my Harvard MBA."
Convenor of the Queensland Chapter of the Harvard Club of Australia UniQuest CEO David Henderson said Harvard Business School received 8-10,000 applications annually and accepted only around 800 students.
UniQuest is the University of Queensland's main technology commercialisation company.
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