Alum of the Month

Chris Holman

June 2013

London Program

August 2007 Intake

What and where did you study before your Mountbatten internship?
Business Administration at the University of Oregon.

What made you apply for the Mountbatten programme?
I studied abroad my junior year in Italy and backpacked around Europe at the same time. From that experience I was hooked on traveling. At the time of my graduation I knew that I wanted to find an international opportunity and after discovering Mountbatten it was the perfect next step.

Describe your sponsor company and your role within it.
My company was a startup tech company that catered to the IT services industry in the UK. During my time I quickly accumulated a fair amount of responsibility and managed some of the company's largest accounts. I learned a lot about running a growing business and was actively involved in a number of different areas.

What was the highlight/most memorable moment of your working experience during this year?
I met a number of other interns who I still consider some of my best friends to this day.

What was the social highlight/most memorable moment during this year?
Attending Royal Ascot in the Royal Enclosure. It isn't everyday that you get to bet on horses with the Queen!

Please share a little wisdom/philosophy that you acquired during your internship.
Spend as much time as you can getting to know the other interns, some of these people will be friends for life. Network as much as you can within your job and elsewhere, you never know where an opportunity might appear. Travel as much as you can.

If you could change anything about your internship, what would it be?
That my work was located a bit closer to the City since most of the interns were in banks, this would have made it easier to meet up afterwards.

What happened after completing the year - what did you do next?
I decided to take the long way home, partly with other Mountbattens. I traveled to Southern Africa (various countries) with a MB, Backpacked India solo, and toured Southeast Asia where I met up with a number of interns who were completing the MBA in Bangkok.

Where are you now in your working life and what do you do?
Once I returned home I was working in Chicago for 1.5 years when I received an offer from the company I worked with in London. They offered to sponsor me so I moved back to London and have been working with them to grow our company for the last 3 years.

Do you have any future plans that you would like to realise & what are they (career & social)?
I have just been accepted into one of the top MBA programs in the world, the IE International MBA in Madrid where I will be enrolling the fall.  Unfortunately that means goodbye to London, but I will be taking a new step towards advancing my career.

Is there any other information that you would like to be included?
I currently operate a website that sells unwanted London bus blinds. They are sold as the raw material so the customer can add their creative flare to them or they can be professionally refurbished, framed and shipped anywhere in the world. All bus blinds are 100% authentic and really provide you with a piece of your favorite area of London. The website is www.londonhood.com and can also be followed @mylondonhood. We have been featured in the Mountbatten newsletter and have shipped products to Mounbattens as far away as Alaska!