Mentor of the Year 2022

Each year, alongside their programme, our Durham MBA (Full-time) students are offered the support of a mentor to help them navigate the demands of MBA study and prepare for the transition to the workplace.

The mentoring programme is a cornerstone of the programme, in which each student is matched with mentors from the business and alumni world to provide guidance and support.

This year we’re delighted to announce MBA Alumni Dr Paul Aldrich as the winner of Mentor of the Year 2022.

The mentoring experience

Commenting on his mentoring Dr Aldrich said, “I have been a Visiting Fellow at the Business School for a number of years and providing mentoring to students is a key part of this role. Supporting them at a critical moment in their life journey is immensely satisfying. I have found it doesn’t take much time to have significant impact and would recommend the experience to other Business School alumni.”

His mentee, Evon Chan, recognised the contribution Dr Aldrich had made to his MBA experience. "At first, I wondered why Paul was assigned as my mentor as his current job profile did not align with my professional plan. As the programme progressed, I realised that this was a positive thing because I'm able to learn from his perspective and have become a well-rounded person, benefitting from both personal and professional growth. We recently met up in London for coffee, and talked about society, the economy and even the weather! Overall, having him as my mentor has made me feel this mentor-mentee programme is the most useful and beneficial programme of all."

Supporting students at a critical moment in their life journey is immensely satisfying.

Contributions to the School

Stephanie Osborne, Alumni Relations Manager, congratulated Paul, "We are deeply fortunate to have Paul as both an MBA and DBA alumnus. He has a deep understanding of strategic people management and how to implement it most effectively in different sectors and countries. We are most grateful that he continues to support the Business School as a visiting fellow, hosting alumni events and as a mentor to our current MBA students. He embodies the exceptional and generous nature of our graduates."

Paul joins previous illustrious winners

Raghava Manglik, Paul Hollick, Cecilia Luras, Travis Callaway, Stephen Tunnicliffe, Kamales Lardi, Frank Wege, Claire Rose, Hotung Lee and Elizabeth Scott.