Skip to main content
University of Oxford Saïd Business School 25

Top menu

  • Oxford Answers

Main navigation

Main menu
  • Research
    Research
    • Research overview
      Research overview
      • Research seminars
      • Research strategy
    • Research areas
      Research areas
      • Accounting
      • Finance
      • Health Care
      • Impact
      • Innovation
      • International Business
      • Management Science
      • Marketing
      • Major Programme Management
      • Organisation Studies
      • Professional Service Firms
      • Strategy
      • Technology and Operations Management
    • Centres and initiatives
      Centres and initiatives
      • Ownership Project 2.0: Private Capital Owners & Impact
      • Oxford Future of Finance and Technology Initiative
      • Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative
      • Oxford Future of Real Estate Initiative
      • Oxford-Hyundai Motor Group Foresight Centre
      • Oxford Initiative on Rethinking Performance
      • Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre
      • Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation
      • Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation
      • Private Equity Institute
      • Responsible Business
      • The Skoll Centre
    • Networks
      Networks
      • Oxford Institute of Retail Management
  • Oxford experience
    Oxford experience
    • Coming to Oxford
      Coming to Oxford
      • College experience
      • Living costs
      • Partners and families
      • Visas
    • Scholarships and funding
    • Life at Oxford
      Life at Oxford
      • Learning at Oxford
      • Exploring Oxford
      • Activities, clubs and groups
      • Oxford Union
    • Career development
      Career development
      • Your career journey
      • Our expertise
      • Employment reports
    • Blogs
  • Alumni
    Alumni
    • Alumni community
      Alumni community
      • Benefits
      • Careers support
      • Events
      • Get involved
      • Lifelong resources
    • Elumni community
      Elumni community
      • Benefits
      • Elumni - keep in touch
    • Support us
      Support us
      • Donate online
      • Fundraising priorities
      • How to give
      • Impact and recognition
  • Events
    Events
    • Events listing
    • Past events
    • Distinguished speakers
    • Engaging with the humanities
    • Future of business
    • Oxford smart space
  • About us
    About us
    • The School
      The School
      • Our history
      • Senior leadership
      • Our community
      • Diversity and inclusion
      • Sustainability
      • Global Leadership Centre
      • Rankings, achievements and accreditation
      • Financial literacy in emerging markets
      • Corporate partnerships
      • Art at Oxford Saïd
    • Our people
      Our people
      • Faculty
      • Associate Fellows
      • Academic visitors
      • Recruit our graduates
      • Work for us
    • News
      News
      • Media coverage
      • Media office contacts
    • Venue hire
      Venue hire
      • Park End Street
      • Egrove Park
      • B&B accommodation
      • Rates
    • Climate Change Challenge
  • Programmes
    Programmes
    • MBAs
      MBAs
      • MBA
      • 1+1 MBA
      • Executive MBA
    • Degrees
      Degrees
      • BA Economics and Management
      • DPhil Finance
      • DPhil Management
      • MSc Financial Economics
      • MSc Applied Financial Economics
      • MSc Global Healthcare Leadership
      • MSc Law and Finance
      • MSc Major Programme Management
    • Executive Diplomas
      Executive Diplomas
      • Artificial Intelligence for Business
      • Financial Strategy
      • Global Business
      • Organisational Leadership
      • Strategy and Innovation
    • Executive Education
      Executive Education
      • Bespoke business solutions
      • In-person programmes
      • Online programmes
    • Youth programmes
      Youth programmes
      • AI and Machine Learning Pioneers Summer School
      • Future Climate Innovators Summer School
      • Future Entrepreneurs Summer School
      • Oxford Saïd Teen Summer Academy
    • Programme finder
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. From the military to an Oxford MBA
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. From the military to an Oxford MBA
Oliver Ormiston in Afghanistan

From the military to an Oxford MBA

Thu, 1 August 2019

Published


Related news

  • Student

Four MBAs with military backgrounds discuss their career journeys and why they came to Oxford.

Each year, a small but consistent percentage of MBA and Executive MBA candidates will come to the School from the military, security and defence sectors. But what makes a soldier decide they need lessons in business, and can an MBA really be as useful in NATO as it is in the corporate boardroom? 

2018 MBA Oliver Ormiston served for 17 years in the British Army. He rose to the rank of Major and was deployed on five operational tours, including Helmand province, Afghanistan. ‘My service coincided with a time when the British Army was running pretty hot,’ he said.

Oliver Ormiston briefs Gavin Williamson
Ormiston briefs former defence secretary.
Oliver Ormiston briefs Gavin Williamson
Ormiston briefs former defence secretary.

His experiences during these tours encompassed everything a civilian might imagine of army service: action, excitement, danger and loss.

This wide breadth of life experience allows Ormiston to bring a unique perspective to the MBA classroom. ‘While my experience of work might in some ways be narrow compared to the other candidates, my experiences in life have been extremely broad,’ he said.

However, a potential disadvantage of army service is a lack of exposure to diverse work forces. ‘To put it in perspective,’ said Ormiston, ‘at the peak of my service I commanded 116 men and one woman. I was conscious that there are other thoughts and opinions out there that I just wasn't being exposed to.’

In contrast, Ormiston is now studying for his MBA within a cohort that encompasses 62 nationalities. ‘The greatest learning experience for me has been working with people with completely different viewpoints,’ he said. ‘And I don’t mean simply disagreeing over something, but the fact that, because of differences in cultural backgrounds or experience, someone might see an entirely different problem to me. It’s a challenge, but that’s why I am here.’

Juliana Mardon
Juliana Mardon

2016 EMBA alumna Juliana Mardon has worked for NATO for almost a decade after serving seven years as a French Navy Officer, and now holds the position of Budget Officer for the civilian alliance’s Science for Peace and Security Programme. ‘I enjoy working in defence because you can see the results of your actions very quickly – it’s very rewarding in that way,’ she said.

Mardon believes there are both strong parallels and distinct differences between an organisation like NATO and corporate companies. ‘At NATO we still have budgets and are subject to financial regulation, in the same way a company would be,’ she explained. ‘But unlike a corporate company, we are an organisation that is governed by consensus between our member countries. We also have to be mindful of the geopolitical environment, which as we have seen in recent years, can change very rapidly.’

Like Ormiston, Mardon enrolled at Saïd Business School because she had reached a crossroads in her career. ‘I needed to make a decision – whether to look for a higher position in finance, or to branch out,’ she said.

‘The way the EMBA is setup, you are exposed to many new ideas and fields, and it helped me discover some areas of business that I would never have known about. Now I’m very interested in moving into cyber security in relation to finance, which is not something I would have considered without coming here,’ concluded Mardon.

Christian Nattiel
Christian Nattiel

Christian Nattiel is a 1+1 MBA student, Rhodes Scholar and an Infantry Officer in the US army. Enrolling at Oxford and studying amongst cohorts that contain a diverse mix of backgrounds and opinion has been both enriching and challenging for him. ‘I had to reintegrate into civilian life,’ he said. ‘And once you’re outside the US military, you find that not everyone believes in the same ideals. I’ve met people at Oxford who strongly disapprove of my country’s actions, and people who are pacifists and reject even the idea of a standing army altogether.’

On the MBA programme however, the lessons Christian has studied have helped him to view military organisations from a new perspective. ‘Our Global Strategy module with Dr Marc Szepan has been particularly helpful, and I have a much better understanding now of the relationship between free markets, the rule of law, foreign policy, and where the military fits into this careful balance,’ he said.

One thing the army does not teach you is a commercial mindset. That’s what I found most challenging, initially.

Jane Wainwright

2018 Executive MBA

2018 EMBA Jane Wainwright served the British Army as an Intelligence officer for over a decade, during which time she supported the closing down of Operation Banner in Northern Ireland – a historic moment for the British Army. ‘We would look at physical and protective security – such as ensuring our soldiers were protected in operational theatres. There was also the “spooky” element of our work: intelligence gathering and so on,’ explained Wainwright.

Wainwright stated that although many army veterans move into the security sector, the Intelligence Corps is the only regiment that handles security as part of its full-time duties. At the end of her service, the private security industry was therefore a natural fit. Wainwright now holds the position of Director - Security & Data Protection at PwC, the world’s largest professional services firm.

The close links between the military and private security firms meant the transition was relatively straightforward for Wainwright, but it was not without its challenges. ‘One thing the army does not teach you is a commercial mindset,’ she said. ‘That’s what I found most challenging, initially. It’s not that you don’t understand the aims of the business, it’s that you must transition quickly from an authoritative, hierarchical organisation to something quite different… To put it another way: you need to learn how to go gently round to the back door, and not just kick the front door in.’

While Wainwright quickly adapted to civilian organisations, she was wary of becoming ‘siloed,’ and wanted to gain a greater understanding of the mechanics of business. After enrolling on the Oxford EMBA, she found the programme both confirmed her instincts on best practices while expanding the options available to her.

‘When it comes to topics like leadership, the EMBA has taught us that there are many alternative approaches that we might have been previously unaware of,’ she said. ‘Learning about these different routes to success is exactly what I came here for.’

Oxford Saïd offers an application fee waiver for military applicants.

More about the Oxford MBA

Related news

  • Student

Footer menu

  • Contact us
  • Find us
  • Media
  • Jobs
  • Website policies
  • Shop
  • Donate
  • Recruit graduates

Follow us

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • WeChat
  • Blogs
  • Advance HE Opens in new tab
  • EFMD Equis accreditations Opens in new tab
  • Global Network for Advanced Management Opens in new tab
  • Global Business School Network Opens in new tab
  • AACSB Opens in new tab

Website and privacy policies © Saïd Business School 2025 All rights reserved

Back to top