Winners from this year's Volunteer Thank You Awards
Over the last academic year, over 300 alumni volunteered with us and contributed to over 100 events, resulting in over 600 recorded hours of volunteering dedicated to supporting the next generation. Nearly 300 students took part in 74 business projects, sponsored by 66 of our employer partners, enabling them to gain real world experience alongside their academic studies.
In addition, this year, the Alumni Ambassador Scheme was launched, resulting in 11 alumni joining to support prospective students and offer holders feel informed and excited as they consider joining the Department of Management community.
Volunteer Thank You Awards 2026
Our full list of Volunteer Thank You Award winners 2026:
Student Impact Award:
Alvaro Pastor was nominated by students for his mentorship. One student said “What really stayed with me was how generous he was with his time afterwards, offering personal advice and encouraging me to think seriously about pursuing opportunities in a field that I am passionate about. That level of personal investment made a real difference to my confidence and direction this year with my studies, module selection, and career goals.”
Business Project Sponsor Award:
Accenture was commended by students and faculty for their sponsorship of CEMS Business Projects as a CEMS Corporate Partner over the last two years. Their projects allowed our students to work on creating best practices to drive innovation and growth to enterprise reinvention within Accenture. This year, Accenture also went above and beyond to host a skills seminar to help our students across programmes prepare for their Business Projects.
Work Shadowing Award:
Convex Insurance is recognised by our MSc HRO programme for hosting exceptional work shadowing opportunities for our students as part of the HRO Shadowing Scheme. Our students had the opportunity to visit and gain career insights into the HR profession and insurance industry. Convex Insurance is also a long-standing sponsor of the HRO Links Business Project programme and sits on the HRO Advisory Board, contributing to the development of the programme from an employer perspective.
Career Contribution Champion:
Richard Hahn has been an exceptional and longstanding volunteer whose impact continues to grow each year. This academic year, he led a skills seminar, supported students through mock interviews, and contributed to our interview event. Having been nominated for an award for three consecutive years, we were absolutely delighted to present Richard with the trophy in recognition of his sustained dedication and generosity.
Rising Star Alumni Award:
Majda Naaman graduated in 2024 and has already made a fantastic contribution as a volunteer with the department. She recorded the highest number of volunteering hours among our recent graduates this year, taking part in our Welcome Week panel, hosting coffee chats, and supporting our graduate scheme event. Her enthusiasm and commitment have made a real difference to our student community.
Alumni Volunteer of the Year Award:
Prasad Shinde was delighted to receive this award after being nominated for four consecutive years. Each academic year, Prasad goes above and beyond, delivering his own case and collaboration session for our students, which consistently receives excellent feedback. He has also generously supported our Summer School sessions and coffee chats. His commitment and enthusiasm have made a lasting impact on our student community.
This award was presented by last year’s Alumni Volunteer of the Year Award Winer winner, Alvaro Pastor, who said: “Even the greatest champions do not get there alone. Someone believed in them, challenged them, and stood beside them along the way. To me, that is what mentoring is all about. Moreover, supporting someone else doesn’t just help the person receiving the support; it also makes us better, kinder, stronger as organisations, as communities and as societies. Because in the end, if we’re not there for each other… what are we there for in the first place?”
Excellent Employer Event Award:
Louis Vuitton is recognised for this year’s Excellent Employer Event Award for offering a private store trek at Harrods for our students, giving them a unique opportunity to meet and network with their employees, and learn about their career paths and opportunities in an immersive behind-the-scenes experience. Slaveya Florova, Human Resources Advisor at Louis Vuitton said, “I feel very honoured to be part of this selection with other significant employers and to be collaborating with LSE… to support young talent to find their purpose and to find their steps in their future careers.”
The Full Circle Award:
Gaia Ginevra has been an engaged alum volunteer for several years and this year has come full circle by taking part as an employer. She hosted a skills seminar exploring the evolution and future of artificial intelligence with colleagues from AWS for our students to learn about practical applications of AI to various industries and gain hands-on experience of creating their own AI application.
Outstanding Long-Term Contribution:
John Beadle has been a valued member of the Department of Management volunteering community for over a decade. As a longstanding member of the HRO Advisory Board, he has contributed both as an employer partner and as an alum. We are especially pleased to recognise John as the recipient of our very first Outstanding Long-term Contribution Award, reflecting his dedication over many years and well beyond the five-year minimum required for nomination.
A big thank you to all our volunteers, alumni, employer partners, and students who have supported us this year whether through events, business projects, collaborating with faculty or creating digital content.
If you’ve been inspired by the incredible work of our alumni volunteers and would like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. Please express your interest in volunteering with us as an alum.
For our employer partners interested in hosting an event or getting involved in our business projects, you can find more information on our website or feel free to get in touch and let us know.
Thursday 18 June 2026