Hong Kong Campus From BlackRock to Academia: Satoshi’s Booth Journey

When Satoshi Ogoe, MBA ’24 (AXP-23), joined Chicago Booth’s Executive MBA Program Asia, he knew he’d get an outstanding business education in a global environment. What he didn’t expect was that he’d be inspired to launch a new career.

Satoshi, who was working at BlackRock in Tokyo when he enrolled at Booth, read a lot of scholarly and case study papers as part of his EMBA coursework. Along the way, he fell in love with research and decided to pivot to a career in academia. Today, he’s an associate professor of finance at Osaka Metropolitan University.

Here, he describes his journey to Booth and his pivot to a new career. 

What prompted you to pursue an MBA at Chicago Booth?

Before joining Booth, I worked for BlackRock in the Tokyo office. Although BlackRock is a highly international organization, and I regularly communicated with colleagues in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, and London, I didn’t have any experience working in other countries. I wanted to develop a deeper understanding of international business and gain firsthand experience in a truly global environment, and I knew I would get that at Chicago Booth.

I also wanted to be a part of an internationally recognized MBA program. I had already earned advanced degrees in finance from a Japanese university, but Booth offered something different: the opportunity to study at a world-leading business school with professors who are at the top of their fields.

Why did you choose a US-based business school?

Many US schools have a deep understanding of business school operations and programs. Executive MBA programs are designed for professionals with significant experience who are aiming to become executives, and a school with a strong history can provide a level of stability and learning that is especially beneficial.

But my decision was not simply about studying at a US-based school. I was looking for a school whose policies, culture, and educational philosophy aligned with my interests and career goals. Booth’s long-standing emphasis on rigorous, theoretical approaches to business education particularly appealed to me. I also valued the opportunity to study alongside people with diverse professional and cultural backgrounds.

What was your academic experience at Booth like?

Booth was very demanding. The professors were exceptionally accomplished, and my classmates were extremely smart and came from a wide range of backgrounds. I struggled at times, but that challenge was an important part of the experience.

In fact, the classes at Booth directly influenced my future career path. The coursework gave me the opportunity to engage not only with academic papers but also with case study papers, and I discovered that I loved doing research and educating business professionals. Eventually I decided to change careers, and after graduating from Booth, I left BlackRock and moved into academia. First I joined Kyoto University, and this year I became an associate professor of finance at Osaka Metropolitan University.

What experiences did you find particularly meaningful?

The Capstone Class in our final semester was especially powerful. It involved a business game that required us to apply knowledge from finance, accounting, operations management, strategy, and other areas.

My team included students from several different countries and backgrounds. Everyone was intelligent and highly motivated, but we had different ideas about how to approach the business challenge. We ultimately lost the game, but the experience taught me an important lesson: Knowledge alone is not enough. If team members cannot communicate or understand one another's perspectives and agree on a strategy, it is difficult to succeed.