Meet Digital Business Master Class Alum Cynthia Blay

Cynthia Blay works as a Manager in KPMG's Deals Advisory practice in the UK, where she specialises in M&A and transaction advisory within the Sale and Purchase Agreement team. 

‘I'm a Chartered Accountant with a career spanning Big 4 transaction advisory, corporate finance, and corporate development. I'm currently completing a Weekend MBA at Imperial College Business School, and I joined Aalto's Digital Business Master Class (DBMC) as an exchange student.’

In the following, Cynthia shares her experiences of the Master Class summer course of 2026.

Why did you decide to take the Digital Business Master Class?

I wanted to understand digital technologies, the trends shaping them, and how companies are adapting their models and strategies to compete. With the advancement of AI, I want to be at the forefront of understanding new tools and be equipped to lead in this new era. The course brochure really sold it to me: a curated two-week programme combining theory with practical application. I couldn't take a digital business course at my home university due to scheduling conflicts, but the DBMC combined all the critical topics into two weeks of intensive, immersive learning.

Aalto itself was also a big factor, given its strength in computer science and AI, and I wanted to explore Finland and meet new people with similar interests. My professional world is deals: valuing businesses, assessing strategy, understanding where value is created and destroyed. Increasingly, that value is digital. This was a chance to step out of the spreadsheet and into the room where digital strategy is actually built, working hands-on with a real company and a real customer problem.

Has the course helped you with new insights for your studies or your career?

Absolutely. Several of the courses gave me tools I could apply immediately. The data visualisation course has changed my approach to how I present data, teaching me to focus on the key message rather than the numbers alone. The course on AI ethics and governance was very useful for understanding the considerations large organisations face as they adopt the technology. Platform business was completely new to me and opened my mind to new business models and possibilities. And design thinking really highlighted the importance of co-creation, with frameworks such as the double diamond and the 5 whys proving to be critical insights I'll keep using.

The project also gave me something the lectures alone couldn't: the experience of building a strategy from customer insight upwards, testing assumptions with real survey data rather than working from frameworks. That, plus seeing how differently people from other disciplines approach the same problem, is what I'll carry forward.

Why do you think this course is important for students/professionals entering today's digital business landscape?

Because digital is no longer a sector; it's the operating environment for every business. Whether you're in finance, healthcare, insurance, or retail, the questions are the same. How do you reach customers where they actually are? How do you build trust digitally? How do you translate technology into commercial value? The DBMC teaches you to answer those questions under real constraints, with a real client, a real deadline, and a real audience. That's a very different, and far more valuable, experience than a case study.

What was the best part of the course?

The people. Meeting new friends from around the world and working on a live project with Nordea made the experience memorable. Presenting our final recommendations to the client was a real highlight; after days of research, survey analysis, debate, and late-night deck-building, standing up and defending a strategy we genuinely believed in made all the intensity worth it. And the trip to Suomenlinna was unforgettable.

How did you experience your project?

Our team, "Unit Linked Journey," worked with Nordea Life Assurance Finland on how to attract young Finnish adults to a unit-linked insurance product. It was a great opportunity to work with the largest Nordic bank and to learn from the EY consultants supporting the case. I've worked at EY myself, but in a different role, so seeing the consulting side up close taught me a lot.

The project was far more intense than I expected; we spent over 100 hours working through it. It was a genuinely meaty challenge: unit-linked products are complex, trust in financial institutions among young people is nuanced, and Finland has its own distinct investing culture. We grounded our work in primary research, surveying young adults about their attitudes to saving and investing, then built recommendations around product positioning, naming, and channel strategy. I had a great team, and experiencing different working styles (and learning about my own) was one of the most valuable parts. Coming from an M&A background, I loved the shift from analysing strategy to actually crafting it.

Can you give three tips for aspiring students thinking about applying for the course?

First, just do it. The course combines topics that would rarely be covered in a single module at your home university. Second, if you're working alongside your studies, take the full two weeks off. It's an intense sprint, so throw yourself into the project fully; the value you get out is proportional to what you put in. Third, plan the practical side: pack for changeable Helsinki weather, and I'd highly recommend staying at Noli Studios, which is about five minutes from the university.

To whom would you recommend the course?

To anyone who wants to move from talking about digital transformation to actually doing it. It's ideal for professionals from traditional industries like finance, consulting, insurance, or engineering who want hands-on digital strategy experience, and for students who want to test themselves against a real client challenge before entering the workforce. If you're curious, collaborative, and willing to work hard for two intense weeks, you'll get an enormous amount out of it.

Cynthia Blay was interviewed by Emmi Turunen.