Graduation Year - 2002

Fiona Mackenzie
Program	EY 2002
Present geographic location?	In Dec 07 I move back from Auckland to Sydney.
What are you doing with your life at present?	Shirlaws Business Coaching. Over the past 2 years I have co-founded the business in New Zealand and am in the process of returning to Australia. We work with organisations big and small, and support them with a combination of consulting and coaching to make a real difference and have fun in the process.
Life/ Career highlight?	Finishing my EMBA on 5/11/02 and having my daughter Felicity 9 days later! Exceptional project management in action.
Why did you decide to do your particular degree?	I love business and have a passion for strategy so an MBA was essential.
How do you feel your AGSM experience changed you as a person?	I realised that I can tackle absolutely any business opportunity.
Why did you choose to study at AGSM?	It's the best, isn't it?
Favorite memory of AGSM and why?	The first morning of the residential in the AGSM buildings. I got up early, it was all quiet ... the calm before the storm. The sense of anticipation was magic.

Louisa Vincent
Program	EY 2002	Louisa Vincent
Present geographic location?	London, UK
What are you doing with your life at present?	My new role (Aug 07) is Director, Institutions, at Lazard in their London office, where I head up the insititutional client business. This includes the relationship management, marketing, new business pitching, client take-on, performance reporting and cross selling to all insitutional, charity, pension fund clients.
Life/ Career highlight?	While I am sure you would love me to say it was doing my EMBA, I think the highlight of that was getting to the end of it!
Why did you decide to do your particular degree?	I wanted to understand how the corporate jigsaw puzzle came together - why a business operated and functioned the way it does, how it works. Coming up through the sales/marketing field, I always felt there was stuff going on in the background that I couldn't see and wanted to understand those dynamics. Also, I knew that as I didn't have an undergrad degree, I would eventually need some academic framework to help me progress.
How do you feel your AGSM experience changed you as a person?	It succeeded in giving me a much greater understanding of how businesses work, why certain things happen and the theory behind the practice. I learned that TV is entirely optional (and five years on have never really taken it up again!) and that it is amazing how you can fit so much into a 24 hour period when pushed! I now really value all those things that Roger Collins said about the importance of lifelong learning, and I am trying to do my bit with my ongoing close involvement with the Alumni group here in the UK.
Why did you choose to study at AGSM?	This was a decision that was made for me by the merger of the Sydney GSB and AGSM, and I was very unhappy about it at the time! However, my EMBA year was fantastic and I am now very glad that I did have the AGSM experience.
Favorite memory of AGSM and why?	I loved the residential components - those cramped little rooms, staying up way too late at night trying to make sense of endless flow charts over a bottle of wine, the study group (after the initial storming was over!), and, quite frankly, the graduation day, ceremony and ball.

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