Catching up with our alumni: Shabs Rahman
- Alumni
- Business and management
- Careers and employability
Shabs Rahman studied MSc International Business with Project Management and graduated from Kingston University in 2017 with distinction. He is now a global strategist and senior consultant. Shabs Rahman’s 12-Hour Strategic Project Management Framework™ has gained significant traction worldwide, reaching over 5,000 project management professionals across the UK, US, EMEA, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.
Tell us about the start of your career
I started at Kingston University as an IT office assistant in 2014, making sure the printers on the fourth floor never ran out of paper. In many ways, Kingston University has been part of my story from the very beginning.
During my studies I threw myself into every opportunity: research roles, the Bright Ideas enterprise competition where I was a runner-up, the Kingston Gold Award, and two degrees completed at the highest level, a first-class honours BSc and a distinction in my MSc.
After graduating, I joined Merlin Entertainments as a Digital Project Manager, rolling out mobile applications globally across Legoland parks and major attractions including Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. My career then expanded into the global sports and entertainment sector with SG Digital and Endeavour, where I led digital product deployments across new international markets. Each region brought its own complexity. I learned to make fast, strategic decisions with incomplete information.
How did you develop your career as a business strategist?
My career has spanned project management delivery and strategic consulting, working with leading marketing agencies and clients across multiple industries. My consulting work is grounded in the VUCA framework: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous, treating disruption not as a threat but as the operating condition every modern business must master.
I was featured in Business London Press as a Leading Business Consultant Pioneering Disruptive Strategies for 2023 to 2024. My 30 to 60 day implementation roadmaps have contributed to millions of pounds in revenue growth across a portfolio spanning digital marketing agencies, fast-growth start-ups, and established enterprises.
Tell us about Shabs Rahman’s 12-Hour Strategic Project Management Framework™
One of the turning points in my journey was the PMP®, the Project Management Professional exam. Most candidates prepare for months. I prepared for twelve hours and passed above target.
That result came from a leadership thinking system I had developed over years of real delivery. The PMP® is a psychometric, scenario-based examination testing real-world leadership across agile, hybrid, and waterfall approaches, decision-making under pressure, and strategic thinking rather than task execution.
Shabs Rahman’s 12-Hour Strategic Project Management Framework™ is a principle-based leadership thinking system, independently developed and not affiliated with or endorsed by the Project Management Institute. It is built to strengthen decision-making through logical reasoning and critical thinking. When professionals adopt that mindset, passing the PMP® becomes a by-product. The framework has reached over 5,000 professionals globally.
What was most valuable about your Kingston University experience?
Kingston University gave me the environment to take risks safely. That is rarer than people realise. Most people never get a moment like that. My connection to Kingston University has never faded. I remain actively involved with Kingston Business School as a virtual judge and panellist for the Bright Ideas enterprise competition, the same stage where, as a student, I was a runner-up. It is a direct extension of my belief that the right perspective, shared at the right moment, can change the trajectory of a career.
What career advice would you give to students and recent graduates?
Most students focus on playing to their strengths. That is a good start but it is incomplete. What really separates you is how you deal with your weaknesses. Identify them, confront them, and systematically improve them. In the real world, your weaknesses are what get exposed first.
If you struggle with communication, fix it. If you avoid pressure, put yourself in it. If you lack discipline, build systems that force it. Your growth is directly proportional to the problems you are willing to face.
Do not just collect knowledge. Build applied skills. Degrees do not create value. Execution does. Learn to communicate clearly, sell your ideas, and solve real problems. Take action early.
If Shabs' story has inspired you, find out more about studying at Kingston Business School or get involved in the Bright Ideas enterprise competition by emailing [email protected].
