Industry Expert Presentation: Julian Blissett, GM of General Motors

Earlier last week we were privileged to be joined on campus by Julian Blissett, the General Manager of General Motors. Julian came in to talk to students across the school about his career pathway. His approachable and straightforward style made all of the students feel instantly comfortable, and Julian started with information about his own education and family background, explaining his education journey from a public high school to college, without pursuing an MBA, which he said he now regrets. As a result, he pushes his three sons to ensure they attain a degree, which he sees as essential for future career opportunities. Currently serving as a General Manager, Julian emphasised that while he doesn't consider educational qualifications when promoting or hiring others, he thinks that a degree is a crucial first step on a career ladder these days.

Julian continued his talk to the students, advising them to seize every opportunity that arises in life. He shared a story from his early 20s when he remembers a senior manager announcing a job opening. So keen was he to progress, that without hesitation, Julian raised his hand, not knowing at that point if the position was even suitable for him. It was this motivated approach that propelled him upwards on the General Motors ladder from initially being an Intern to his current role as General Manager. He took risks, accepting overseas assignments, aiming to ultimately visit every country in the world, while persuading his wife and children to accompany him, effectively balancing family life and work.

During the Q&A session, students asked many questions about management techniques and communication skills. Julian offered two key principles for managing a team: first, good leaders take people to places they don't think they'll get to, and second, clear rewards and punishments are necessary to keep the team motivated. One question from a student caught everyone’s attention. The student, noting Julian's background in mathematics, asked whether he would still recommend studying mathematics to students, considering that AI can now replace humans in almost all computational tasks. Julian's response was clear and incredibly prescient: the most valued individuals in the job market are those who can feed AI with mathematical models.

It was clear that everyone in attendance gained some incredibly valuable insight from this presentation and we’d like to give a heartfelt thanks to Julian for sharing his wisdom and offering his time to support our students as they take their own steps towards clarifying their own thoughts on a career pathway.

Our next Industry Expert will join us on campus on 24th May.  Mr Marc Qian, a lawyer with Shanghai United Law Firm will talk to students on his experience within the legal profession, offering another alternative career pathway to consider.