UK Strategy Challenge: Collaborating with Charities

Posted by Matt Ostrower, Managing Director and Associate Director of Research, Morgan Stanley, London

The UK Strategy Challenge is a new initiative for Morgan Stanley in London. The Firm has held successful programs in New York for over 5 years, and now we have grown our reach. I am honored to be taking part by mentoring the team working with Magic Breakfast, a charity that delivers free, healthy breakfast foods for children in UK primary schools who need it most. The team of five working with Magic Breakfast has been hard at work understanding the strategic problems facing Magic Breakfast, and also using their skillsets to provide solutions to help the charity continue its rapid expansion.

For all the teams, regardless of the charities they're working with, the eight weeks is a challenge that takes them out of their comfort zones and tests them in ways they might not have been before. On a professional level, it gives them an opportunity to develop their capabilities and challenge their skillset, offering insights into the work these charities do and the impact they have on the community. It is a humbling, eye-opening experience.

As well as working on the high-level strategic problems facing the charity, the team has been on the ground taking part in one of the many breakfast sessions the charity runs in London, helping to set up and feed the children and enjoying games afterwards – the kids' energy was infectious, and suffice to say, left the team feeling somewhat exhausted!

As we approach the half-way mark of our UK Strategy Challenge, my team has been presented with an array of challenges – a changing project mandate, a charity faced with an enormous new workload, and a bunch of as-yet unanswered questions – but they're doing an incredible job adapting and producing insightful conclusions. It has been inspiring to get to know and learn from the people at Magic Breakfast and also the talented and motivated Morgan Stanley employees on my team. I look forward to unveiling the recommendations they reach for this incredible organization!

For more information on the Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge, please visit: http://www.morganstanley.com/strategychallenge/.