Some new members of the University of Manchester Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) MBA Class of 2028 are here to share their professional and admissions journeys in this edition of our Real Humans: MBA Students series.
To start, Silvia Mercedes Porturas Flores arrives from Lima, Peru, with more than a decade of experience across banking and fintech. After beginning her career at Banco de Crédito del Perú and later taking on strategy, growth, and business management challenges at fintech Culqi, she chose the MBA as an opportunity to add a global perspective to her experience leading transformation projects and multidisciplinary teams. Then, Eric Han brings a rather different perspective from the world of professional sports. Originally from New Zealand and based in London since 2018, he spent four and a half years managing social media and digital channels in professional tennis, including roles with the ATP Tour and International Tennis Federation, before joining the social media team for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
We also meet Jennifer Awirigwe from Nigeria with a background spanning treasury, asset management, fintech, and entrepreneurship. She is the founder and CEO of FinTribe, a financial education and wealth-building platform created for African women, and sees the MBA as a way to prepare both herself and the organization for their next stage of growth. Next, Leen Abu Farsakh, from Amman, Jordan, spent four years in strategy and execution consulting with EY-Parthenon before fulfilling a long-held ambition to study in the UK. Her professional and personal experiences across three continents, including work on major projects in male-dominated industries, give her a perspective grounded in navigating different cultures and complex environments.
Lewis Hill recounts making the leap to business school after roughly a decade in scientific research. A theoretical and computational physics graduate, he has built an international career in photonics and optical physics, most recently as a Senior Scientist at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light. He begins the MBA alongside another major transition: becoming General Manager of the UK Photonics Leadership Group. Then, Natcha Tritrakoolsin talks about her experience in both food manufacturing and FMCG operations, most recently serving as a Product Supply Manager and Warehouse Process Engineer with Procter & Gamble Thailand. Her work has positioned her between business and operations teams, teaching her to consider strategic questions around cost, cash, service, and value alongside the practical realities of processes and execution.
Finally, Tristan Cabral arrives at AMBS following two unconventional careers: eight years in nonprofit leadership development and strategy, followed by five years as a feature film and television storyboard artist for companies including Nickelodeon, Netflix, and Disney. Changes in Hollywood and the growing influence of AI on creative work prompted Tristan to consider how he could combine his strategic background with his passion for storytelling in a new professional chapter.
Together, these seven students illustrate the breadth of experience within the Manchester AMBS MBA Class of 2028. Read on for their stories.
