Introducing this year’s Oxford Pershing Square Scholars - our future global leaders

Wed, 25 October 2023

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Introducing Blake, Capucine, Edwina, Jordan, Moshood and Prateek.

Since it was established in 2014, the Oxford-Pershing Square Graduate Scholarships has provided awards covering both the Master's and the MBA degrees, with Scholars able to pursue any of the 1+1 MBA partnering programmes, in combination with our MBA.

Six talented professionals have been selected for the 2023-2025 Oxford 1+1 MBA intake at Oxford: Blake Connell, Capucine Le Meur, Edwina Liu, Jordan Calverly, Moshood O. Audu and Prateek Garg. They will complete their Master's this year, before commencing the MBA at Oxford Saïd in September 2024. We are delighted to welcome them to our Oxford-Pershing Square community, joining on-course MBA scholars Zelda Hollings, Adam Hegedus, Dao-Quyen Tran (also pictured), Kate French and Ifeoluwa Olokode.

The Oxford-Pershing Square Scholarship is awarded to truly exceptional individuals who can demonstrate their potential and commitment to finding scalable and sustainable solutions to world-scale social challenges.

In return, students benefit from a range of on-course opportunities such as attending prestigious conferences, termly events, and scholar community activities, a spring 'trek' to New York hosted by the Pershing Square Foundation, mentorship opportunities, and much more.

Access to quality education is transformative for individuals and societies. Thanks to the vision of Bill Ackman and the Pershing Square Foundation, Oxford Saïd has been able to admit bright young leaders from across the globe.

Soumitra Dutta

Peter Moores Dean, Saïd Business School

Commenting on the importance of the Pershing Square Foundation, and the Scholars, Soumitra Dutta, Peter Moores Dean, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford said:

‘Access to quality education is transformative for individuals and societies. Thanks to the vision of Bill Ackman and the Pershing Square Foundation, Oxford Saïd has been able to admit bright young leaders from across the globe and enhance not only their lives but also the communities they come from. We are grateful for your support and generosity.’

Learn about this year’s six scholars and what being at Saïd Business School and the support of the Oxford-Pershing Square Foundation means to them, below.

Blake Connell

From: Australia

Current Most Recent Role: Senior Manager, Legal (Commercial and Technology) at Transport for NSW

Partnering Subject: MSc in Public Policy

A lawyer and self-confessed technology nerd, Blake wants to help governments create effective and inclusive online services. He has worked for the Australian and NSW State Governments, and led a national charity. At Oxford, Blake will focus on digital government best practice.

Having been selected for the programme, Blake said:

'I am equal parts humbled and excited. I am humbled because this scholarship means I get to spend two years focused solely on my academic passion of digital government - the magnitude of this opportunity is not lost on me. And I am excited because I get to join a community of brilliant people who are driven to solve intractable social problems. Bring on the discussions and debates! I have no doubt that at the end of this two-year experience, armed with new ideas, skills and friendships, I will be better equipped to pursue my professional ambition of helping governments harness technology ethically and effectively.'

Capucine Le Meur

From: France

Current, most recent Role: Process and Project Engineer at Veolia

Partnering Subject: MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management

Capucine is passionate about mitigating the global water crisis by providing climate adaptation solutions to water-scarce areas. The 1+1 MBA coupled with her experience in wastewater treatment in Qatar and greenhouse gas emissions management will help her address today’s urgent issues.

Having been selected for the programme, she said:

'I am immensely grateful to the Pershing Square Foundation for granting me the opportunity to pursue the 1+1 MBA. Pairing in-depth water sector knowledge with business and leadership skills will empower me to drive systemic, meaningful change in the field of water governance, with a focus on tackling issues of transboundary water management and water security. I cannot wait to engage with the vibrant Oxford community — interacting with cutting-edge researchers and policy makers in the Oxford Water Network, working with MBA classmates in the Impact Lab and befriending peers from all walks of life will make for two very enriching years.'

Edwina Liu

From: Canada

Current, most recent Role: Special Projects Manager at SunCulture

Partnering Subject: Master of Public Policy

Edwina is passionate about scaling climate adaptation solutions. She has previously launched programs to help smallholder farmers in East Africa access solar irrigation pumps, served on the frontlines of informal refugee settlements, and advised on decarbonisation at McKinsey.

Having been selected for the programme, Edwina said:

'I am incredibly grateful to the Pershing Foundation for this opportunity to combine my Masters of Public Policy and MBA at Oxford. I can't wait to be surrounded by a truly diverse cohort and explore the ways in which the private and public sectors can collaborate to scale climate innovations. Most of all, I am excited to immerse myself in communities - within both programs, at Oxford, through the college system, and beyond - that are not only motivated and talented, but also fundamentally optimistic about the future state of the world.'

Jordan Calverley

From: The United States

Current, most recent Role: U.S. Sustainability Manager at McDonald's Corporation

Partnering Subject: MSc in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment

Jordan is committed to accelerating efforts to address the climate crisis. She previously worked in renewable energy and corporate sustainability, most recently as McDonald’s US Sustainability Manager. She will leverage the 1+1 MBA to continue advancing corporate climate action.

Having been selected for the programme, Jordan said:

'I'm incredibly honoured and excited to have been selected as a Pershing Square scholar. I've committed my career to accelerating corporate action to address the climate crisis, and I plan to leverage my time at the Smith School and at Oxford Saïd to prepare me to maximise my impact in the future. The scholarship will allow me to focus my time at Oxford, and after graduation, on the most meaningful opportunities. I'm looking forward to meeting the other scholars, alumni, and mentors, as well as engaging with the broader Oxford community.'

Moshood Audu

From: Nigeria

Current, most recent Role: Public Health Advisor at Palladium

Partnering Subject: MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine

As a medical doctor and health strategy consultant, Moshood has been at the forefront of devising and executing transformative strategies, policies, and initiatives to enhance access to Health Care, with a particular emphasis on Childhood Routine Immunisation for underserved and marginalised communities in Africa. Now, as he embarks on his academic journey at Oxford, Moshood aims to delve deeper into the intricate relationship between healthcare and business. He is committed to exploring innovative approaches that foster multi-sectoral collaborations for the deployment of effective solutions to the complex challenges surrounding healthcare access and financing.

Having been selected for the programme, Moshood said:

'I am delighted and honoured to be selected for an Oxford Pershing Square Graduate Scholarship. This scholarship provides me with the invaluable opportunity to immerse myself in a vibrant network of leaders committed to pioneering innovative solutions for some of humanity's most pressing issues. I am eagerly anticipating my participation in the Social Impact Lab, where I intend to leverage my wealth of experience in addressing developmental challenges in Africa to make a meaningful contribution. Additionally, I am enthusiastic about actively engaging with and contributing to both the Oxford Africa Business Alliance and the Healthcare Club during my time at Oxford. I am incredibly excited to absorb the wealth of knowledge and experiences that the diverse Oxford community has to offer. I am confident that my time here will equip me to make an even more significant impact in the realm of healthcare and beyond.'

Prateek Garg

From: India

Current, most recent Role: Founding member and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Open Source Pharma Foundation

Partnering Subject: MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine

Prateek is a serial social entrepreneur, focused on solving giga-scale problems. At the Open Source Pharma Foundation, he spearheaded a low-cost open-Intellectual Property innovation model for pharma, which helped push four open-IP candidates into Phase 3 clinical trials for Covid-19.

Having been selected for the programme, Prateek said:

'I couldn’t be more grateful to the Pershing Square Foundation and Oxford Saïd for believing in me and awarding me the scholarship to help me combine my studies in International Health and Tropical Medicine with an MBA. For the longest time, I’ve worked passionately at the interface of global health and medicine and business, so the 1+1 program was a near perfect fit for me. And Oxford Saïd’s emphasis on social impact, augmented by Skoll Centre’s Impact Lab, is certainly unmatched. Combined with the fact that it encourages scholars to challenge the very fundamentals of capitalistic assumptions around businesses, for instance via Capitalism in Debate, Saïd MBA curriculum is precisely what I need in my quest to create a model for a double-bottom-line humanitarian pharma that prioritises clinical impact rather than shareholder returns. More precisely, I envision to continue developing an open-source multi-tiered business case for drugs and vaccines repurposed by employing an interplay of innovative - business, finance and intellectual property rights - models. I hope to encourage both myself and other entrepreneurs all over the world to take up the challenge of their neglected tropical disease of interest, and further the cause.'

Our previous cohort of Oxford-Pershing Square Scholars recently enjoyed the annual 'trek' to New York, where they participated in meetings and workshops with leading innovators and change-makers. The trek was hosted by the Pershing Square Foundation between 26 – 30 June 2023.

Stana Orihelova, Scholar Engagement Advisor who accompanied the scholars, said:

'The trek to New York was the result of many months of planning and hard work and an outstanding opportunity to be part of and a very inspiring week in New York. Thank you to the Pershing Square Foundation for their on-going support, a warm welcome in New York and for a truly outstanding itinerary, and to all the inspiring organisations that we have had an honour to meet.'

Katherine French (Oxford-Pershing Scholar 2022-2024) who attended the Trek also said:  

'This trek proved to be the highlight of my year so far! All the companies, and Pershing alums we met with were so inspirational, and I came home from it ready to dive into the MBA! This week left me with stronger friendships with my cohort, new ideas for my future, and a stronger belief in my ability to change the world for the better.'

Find out more about our scholarship programmes.