For the high flyer, it can be hard to find the time for an MBA. 60-hour weeks spent living out of international hotels can be impossible to square with educational commitments. And sixteen month career breaks aren’t always looked on favourably by employers.

Michael Linss, 40, found a way out of this dilemma through distance learning with the Open University. Speaking from his South Carolina home on a rainy morning, he explains how starting the online MBA in 2007 made it possible for him to earn the qualification despite constant business trips and even a change in continent.