5 Minutes with MBA Graduate Dina Kotsopoulos

Dina was looking to gain confidence and a competitive edge from her MBA. She not only received a promotion, but is a lot more resilient and can adapt to different situations, all of which she credits to the MBA and how it made her challenge herself.

Can you tell us about your current role?

I work for the BT Financial Group, which is a subsidiary of Westpac Group. I’m a national manager of cash and investment products, so I manage the cash and investment portfolios and make sure that we’re maximising returns for our customers and shareholders so that they can retire well and meet all of their financial goals.

What motivated you to study an MBA?

Financial services is a really competitive industry, and we’re always looking for ways to differentiate ourselves. For me, the MBA was a way to stand out from the pack. I have a passion for learning, so I was very much interested in the content of the study, and I wanted to gain some confidence in my everyday life as well as in my professional career – this was a perfect way for me to do that.

Why did you choose to study with AIB?

I’m located in Sydney, so I began by looking at MBA programmes there. What I found was that they weren’t really flexible; they weren’t going to fit in with my everyday life. Once I picked up some information about the AIB programme, it became really clear to me that it would be a good fit, and that was the key reason. In addition, there was a really supportive environment, online tools and it was affordable.

How have you been applying your MBA in your role?

In a lot of different ways actually. The content was around leadership and strategic thinking, financials and operations, and that’s what I do every single day. So I’ve been able to practically apply everything that I’m learning to lead my team a lot better than I was before, understanding different parts of the business and how they all melt together. I probably wouldn’t have had the ability to understand all of those things and how they connect if I didn’t do this study.

How do you see the MBA helping your career in the future?

The MBA has helped me already in my career. A couple of months ago I received a promotion at work, and it was a role that I was angling for for such a long time. I think the reason that I was successful in getting that role was because I was able to demonstrate that I was committed to learning, and had that discipline around continuously challenging myself. The MBA absolutely opened up those doors for me.

I think moving forward, what the MBA will give me is that sense of courage, resilience and confidence in my ability to do anything, whether it be in my professional career or my personal life.

Have you considered what an MBA can do for your professional confidence and credibility? Request the MBA information pack to find out more. 

This article has been constructed by Megan Baker from an AIB interview. The very best has been done to accurately reflect the thoughts and opinions of the participant.