The ESADE MBA

I am glad to have chosen to study in Section C, the bilingual section.  Before arriving, I was a proficient but non-native speaker, and I imagined that I would speak more and more Spanish as time went by, as I felt more and more comfortable.  During first term, I spoke in Spanish at every opportunity.  And my Spanish improved.  I’ve gone from being functional in Spanish to being more expressive in Spanish—at times, I feel more comfortable saying something in Spanish than in English!

At the same time, I’ve come to appreciate the chance to speak in English, to relate to friends and colleagues in my native language.  My Spanish is there when I need it, so I can indulge in English and the rich nuances of meaning it affords me.

After a hectic Term 1, one might have expected Term 2 to be slightly more relaxed. However there is still so much going on and so little time. From the very first days we had to prepare for the “Winter Career Week” when some very important multinationals would come meet us on campus. Big names such as Clinton Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Luxottica, Nestlè, L’Oreal, LVMH and others were there. Doors of great opportunities opened to many students. Many of us had follow-up recruiting interviews and the preparation for those was – and still is – very intense.

Schoolwise, the two new subjects I prefer are Finance II and Strategy. I believe that understanding the principles of finance and risk valuation is key to becoming successful managers regardless the sector. I am very impressed with professor Luisa Alemani. Today we had our Finance II mid-term exam and most of the class showed a good understanding of the principles taught so far. Strategy professor Luis Vives is equally engaging. In his class we analyze business cases, comment on business decisions while taking into consideration all the various forces surrounding corporations. I am working with an Irish, Canadian, German, Mexican / American and another student whose number of nationalities, I don’t remember exactly…three of them were American / Polish / Dutch. In this term, we are obviously more organized and structured in the way we approach our workload. We all have to fit in our schedule the individual job search, so our time management is much more efficient compared to the previous term and duties are better distributed.

Next week some of us ESADE students will be part of the GSMA Mobile World Congress, the biggest mobile expo in the world, which takes place in Barcelona on an annual basis. This has been achieved thanks to the effort of the ESADE Technology Club and its president, student Daniel Helmhold. I am very excited about this event. More GSMA and club related news on my next post.

Hasta pronto!

Although it is raining today, I have to write something about the “Barcelona advantage” here. Apart from cultural and culinary highlights the weather definitely contributes to this advantage. An example:

• Sunday, 7^th FEBRUARY, 11.30 a.m., breakfast on a friend’s terrace at about 20 centigrade!
• Sunday, 7^th FEBRUARY, 2.30 p.m., starting to go through my readings on the beach …

About the readings or classes in general this term: while the first term leveled the playing field (basic finance, accounting, marketing, etc) this term goes more into depth. Sunday’s readings for example were for Global Context of Management. A class I really enjoy because topics are discussed that I think every MBA student should think about. Today’s GCM class is about income distribution, last week we discussed corruption and next week we’ll find out more about international law when we look at Pinochet’s extradition. I really enjoy discussing these topics with my classmates, which is working out well in this class being split up into three groups (20 each).

And that’s it for this post. There are midterms going on and interviews are happening or are just around the corner …

Last week came the much awaited winter career week; a number of leading companies from various sectors participated.  Here’s a gist of the companies that that I find particularly interested in:

-          Louis Vuitton

-          Nestle

-          Clinton Foundation

-          Disneyland Paris

-          Tradebe

-          Loewe

-          L’oreal

-          Werfen Group

-          Johnson & Johnson

There were a couple of pleasant surprises as well, with participation by Asian companies like Infosys and Wipro from India and the SK Group from South Korea.

Corporate presentations, once again, were very informative and gave us an idea about the corporate culture, business structure, career opportunities and address students’ queries.

The networking café was a success; it gave students the opportunity to interact with representatives from a diverse set of companies. All in all, I think the Career Services’ outstanding efforts paid off, and the career week was an excellent experience.

As I mentioned a while back, the MBA experience has so far been a good learning tool.

This term proves to be even better with classes and lectures that you can relate to and where the reality of business concepts become more practical.

The best experience has been last Friday when we had the pleasure of having Alex Cruz, CEO of Vueling airlines, give a lecture during our strategy class ! It is fascinating to receive up-front actual information and advice from a successful business personality.

Not only  was the presentation interesting and knowledgeable, but most importantly I was thrilled to be in that class, attending a presentation I wouldn’t have thought possible before.

Thanks to our strategy professor Luis Vives,  can’t wait for future lectures to come.

If you drive northwest from the doors of ESADE for about 1 hour, you’ll come to a small town called Manresa.  There, I discovered Moltacte—a discount designer fashion outlet that provides social rehabilitation and employment to mentally ill people.

Moltacte opened its doors in 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis and has managed to survive thanks to its founders’ steely commitment to the social mission.  ESADE professor Alfred Vernis introduced a group of us MBA students to Moltacte in the fall in order to discuss its need to validate and improve the economic aspects of its model and ensure sustainability.

Since then, we have entered into a formal consulting relationship with Moltacte and begun work on a business plan.  We (the students) are managing all aspects from start to finish, from people management to number crunching.  After establishing a good client relationship and clarifying our scope and deliverables, we designed the processes our team would use to complete the project.  Currently, we are implementing the research and assessment phase.

For me personally, Moltacte takes my learning from the classroom to the real world of social enterprise, where finding balance between the economic and social goals requires creativity and tough decisions, where people are the key to results, and where my new MBA tools are only as good as the quality of application.  It’s also a unique way to bond with truly impressive peers in the Net Impact club.

It feels like I just arrived and now it will soon be over for some of us.
I am one of forty candidates that belong to the last generation of the official “One Year MBA”. Now, ESADE has changed the MBA program so that once you have started your first semester and you are all settled in and familiar with the school, you decide if you would like to do the 12, 15 or 18 month MBA. In many ways this new system is better, because it gives you time to evaluate your situation and decide how much time you want, need and can – spend doing your MBA. I wouldn’t change the length of my MBA, it has been a great experience and I have learned more than I expected in these past 9 months.
I am actually looking forward to going back to work.
The following week will be a great opportunity to start looking for a job. The Winter Career Week is from January 22nd to the 26th and companies such as: LVMH, L’Oreal, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle, Johnson and Johnson, Roche Pharma and many others will come on campus and present to ESADE students their company as well as their job opportunities.
Can’t wait!

A little far into the year already for this heading, but I wasn’t able to post any sooner. This term started last Monday and it did so quite abruptly. 5 new subjects plus 1 elective (I’m in the 15 months program) plus the “Doing Business in the Middle East seminar” that makes 7 new teachers and 5 readers in the mailbox. I am really enthusiastic about this term because classes promise to be very interesting. In “Global Context of Management” we split up into 3 groups for most part of the class to discuss different topics that influence long-term management decisions globally. Last week we had a heated discussion about who was responsible and what to do about the financial/economic crisis. I’m guessing climate change tomorrow will be no less interesting …

So after one week I can say, it will be quite a busy term but definitely worth it. Plus, Barcelona keeps on proving to me what a great place it is to live in:

• 2,5 hrs to go skiing in Andorra
• First BBQ of the year on the terrace mid-January
• Lunch on ESADE terrace every day of last week

I can definitely get used to that!

Three weeks of winter vacation ended in the blink of an eye. All of us have returned to Barcelona from our part of the world for the new term and yet more challenges! It is great to see everyone again, so energized, after a short break.

For the new year we get a new study group. With an Indian, a Russian/American, an American, a German, a Brazilian/Portuguese/Canadian in my new group, the group dynamic is going to be very different from my previous group and I certaintly look forward to that!

In addition to the core course, Spanish class and internship hunting, those doing 12 or 15 months program also have elective classes, the next 10 weeks is sure going to be even more interesting!!

After finishing a very intense Term, the holidays period had begun right on time and it has been a good time to unwind and re-energize. It has also been advantageous to retrospect and come up with new resolutions for the upcoming terms.

One resolution that I’m definitely going to apply more is to attend  as many seminars as possible. Two options are already planned and available in January. The adminisration has been active in scheduling two seminars(of around 30 hours spread throughout the term) upon our return back from vacation:  “Doing Business in the Middle East” and “Doing Business in China” seminars. These workshops will give us a chance to receive information that is not easily accessible and especially primordial when venturing in new countries and cultures. 

Since most of my working experience has been in the Middle East, I have decided to consider joining the seminar related to China. Each seminar provides cultural and professional factors that should benefit us when considering applying for jobs in certain areas. 

I’m definitely looking forward to the new inflow of information and how it will evidently turn out into a competitive advantage.

 Time to gear up and get the summer intership search rolling.