Miriam Kiwan

Their diverse business experiences, cultural backgrounds and wide spectrum of viewpoints have been valuable in my personal and professional development so far, as they have helped expand my perspective.

As Miriam prepares to complete her program journey, we asked her what attracted her to TRIUM, her experiences as a senior business woman and her latest project in the MENA region, among her highlights over an exhilarating and challenging 18 months:

The Global Perspective:

Miram was attracted to a number of elements of the TRIUM program, including the joint partnership of three outstanding schools, the rich academic curriculum and the quality of the faculty. However, the key differentiators for her were the seniority of the candidates that TRIUM attracted and the global nature of the program. The focus on entrepreneurship through the Capstone project was also a strong differentiator that makes TRIUM a perfectly well rounded program for global leaders looking to grow.

TRIUM provides the opportunity to learn not only from international academic and industry experts, but also connect and learn from a group of people with a combined 1,000 years of international business experience.

While every module has been a unique experience through the content and the cultural setting it provides, Miriam’s personal highlights were Modules 1 and 2, which both left a very strong impression.

“In addition to connecting with a great and accomplished group of people, the quality of the courses and the faculty at LSE was exceptional.”

Miriam also holds a special place for what she describes as “the bittersweet module,” New York, as it was intense and academically challenging but extremely rewarding at the same time. “As a working mother of two young kids, I had to juggle many priorities while staying organized to meet the demands of the workload before and after New York. It required energy, tenacity, focus but most importantly family support, which was critical during this phase of the program. Despite the challenge, the experience was well worth the efforts, as it left me yearning for more financial knowledge.”

TRIUM Women – building the network:

Reflecting further on the benefits of TRIUM for senior business women, Miriam feels that the program allows participants to shape their experience based on their needs as the program is academically rich and provides the tools that senior executives need for a global perspective; and to navigate uncertainty.

Moreover, Miriam says:

In my opinion, the unique advantage of TRIUM for women specifically is the exposure to a global network of highly successful and experienced cohort that can truly add value to their development and growth within the corporate or entrepreneurial world

The ability to navigate a male dominated program and use the opportunity to learn from the rich experiences and viewpoints that your classmates provide, while learning to positively influence their views in exchange, is a great environment for women to safely develop leadership skills that can serve them in the corporate world and Boards. Miriam goes on to say that for her TRIUM was a trusted lab environment that allowed her to push herself, experiment and try new things while watching and learning from other leaders. The program allowed Miriam to meet global minded leaders that have truly added value to her personal and professional development. For this reason, Miriam joined a group of TRIUM Alumnae to form a TRIUM Women’s Group in an effort to help increase the number of women in TRIUM, as well as provide a platform that improves the support for women’s career progression during and after the program.

I would strongly recommend the program to women looking for an environment that allows them to develop their executive leadership and board readiness skills.

As well as being a parent, working full-time and taking on TRIUM, Miriam is also a class representative for TRIUM’s Class of 2017. We asked Miriam why she took on yet another responsibility. Miriam feels that the role of Class Rep, actually served her well and that being a class representative has been a great opportunity to improve her leadership and management skills. The role gave her the opportunity to better connect with her classmates and the management team at TRIUM while working with both parties to strengthen the program and improve students’ experiences.

“The role also provided the opportunity to improve my negotiation skills, as it required the ability to meet the needs of a strong cohort while strategically prioritizing issues that can influence positive changes for the whole TRIUM community. I was also fortunate to have a great partner, Fergus Hay, as a class representative, who I learnt a great deal from while working with him and watching his impressive leadership style in action.”

Overall, my aim with the role is to add value by helping strengthen the TRIUM brand and community engagement. So far, I am very pleased to see that the constructive feedback provided by the class is already being implemented by TRIUM.

Dubai – TRIUM across the world:

Miriam’s latest project is the MENA Launch in Dubai this December. The event is aimed at creating a platform for TRIUMers based in the MENA region or interested in the region to connect, share their experiences, discuss opportunities and meet business leaders from this part of the world.

I believe that we can either be strong alone or much stronger together as a community. As busy executives spread across the globe, it is difficult for TRIUMers to connect on a regular basis. This event is a small step towards creating a platform for our growing community to stay close.

Speaking at the launch will be Ronaldo Mushawar, the CEO and founder of Souq.com, the largest e-commerce platforms in the region and sometimes referred to as the Amazon of the MENA region. Ronaldo will talk about the entrepreneurship landscape, highlighting the trends, opportunities and challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the MENA. Miriam feels that Ronaldo’s success story and ability to generate the largest round of funding provided to any business in the Arab world is a great source of knowledge and inspiration for anyone looking to set up or invest in businesses in the region.

A panel of TRIUM entrepreneurs will also share their experience and discuss how they see the future of the entrepreneurship ecosystem developing in the MENA region and Korn Ferry Middle East will also be in attendance for those looking for advice on career development. In addition to our TRIUM community in the region and beyond, Senior Director of Global Degree Programs at NYU, Aruna Khanna will be joining the event with potential candidates for the class of 2019.

The MENA launch is a testament to TRIUM’s global network and its alumni community.