Manfred Schepers, (AC 77-79) is Vice President, Finance and member of the Executive Committee at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London.

 

Previously Manfred was Head of the Bond Market Association, International where he managed the activities of the BMA in Europe and Asia. Prior to joining the Bond Market Association, Manfred was at UBS for 17 years, holding a number of senior positions in Asia, New York and London and was global head of Debt Capital Markets.

 

Manfred started his schooling in South Africa where his family lived until he was ten years old when his family returned to Holland, but Manfred was not to stay for long. Learning about the United World Colleges from his brother’s girlfriend, Manfred was immediately interested and decided to apply. “I told my parents that I wanted to apply to UWC and they said apply if you really want to apply, but you won’t get in because your grades are rubbish” recalls Manfred.

 

“So then I went off to Wales to study at Atlantic College, after just six years in Holland.  A typical Dutch education is a local co-ed school, so this was a real privilege. Coincidently, my Deputy Head teacher at school was very supportive of my decision to go to UWC as his son was there at that time.

 

“UWC differed from my Dutch school in quite a few ways.  On the physical side, UWC was more in tune with me.  I was not a very competitive child. I enjoyed physical things, but not competitive sports. In Holland, like here in the UK you have your organised games, such as football and hockey. UWC offered me a fantastic alternative that I would never have got in Holland - life boats, beach rescue, sailing, it was magnificent.  Plus there was this fascinating international aspect. I think partially because we had lived in South Africa, and I guess partially because I was not the ace hockey player, I was interested in other things around me. So once I was at UWC, it was impossible not to be hugely affected by it.  It does not suit everyone, but it was great for me.

 

“In many ways the IB programme was easier for me – in Holland I would have had to study more subjects. At UWC I studied Dutch, politics, physics, economics, English and maths.  My struggle was not so much with the academics, but more with everything else that was available.  At one point my parents were asked to come to the UWC because I was basically doing no school work.  I was leading the sailing instruction and spending every afternoon on the water and as a result I was physically shattered all the time.  So they took my wetsuit away; some kind of punishment! So from an educational standpoint it was different, there was less pressure on formal academic education and more on other different aspects of learning.

 

“My decision to go to UWC has had a gigantic impact on my life.  When I was at Atlantic College I became aware of the opportunity to study at the London School Economics rather than the obvious choice of returning home to study in Rotterdam.  Obviously, I would never have studied at LSE and gone on to work in the City if I had not gone to UWC.  This is the impact UWC has. UWC is a real stepping stone for both people from developing as well as developed countries.

 

“Following my time at LSE, I stayed in London, and worked in banking in the City. It was an interesting time; as the international capital markets developed I spent time in Tokyo and Singapore and had the opportunity to work with countries such as South Africa and Russia as they emerged from apartheid and communism. The creation of the Euro and European capital market played an equally important part of my time in Banking.

 

“My role here at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is an amalgamation of my time at UWC, LSE and in banking. Having been to UWC, studied development economics and worked extensively in emerging markets, it  was a logical step to take up my current position at the EBRD.

 

“Predominantly, UWC has given me the ability to operate effectively across cultures and nationalities and specifically developing countries. This is what UWC does best.  When you have spent personal time with people at an age when your prejudices are not formed it created a sensitivity that has enabled me to operate in all these countries. So that is the uniqueness of UWC, it catches children in their formative years, when they are largely without prejudice and helps them establish prejudices that are positive, better prejudices than you would create in a mono-cultured environment.”

 

“A UWC education is well thought of in Holland and the scholarship opportunities are well promoted.  Of course now, it is much more deeply embedded then when I went.  Nearly 30 years have past so now there are about 500 more Dutch students that have gone through the UWC system, so there are now 500 more Dutch marketers, 500 more positive experiences that are talked about amongst friends.“