Carlos Morantes

Washington University, Olin Business School in St. Louis

“I am a person who fully commits and strives for excellence regardless of the task size or situation.” 

Hometown: Maracay, Venezuela (ages 1-15), St. Louis-Dallas (ages 16-29)

Fun Fact About Yourself: My sister and I are Irish Twins

Undergraduate School and Major: Lindenwood University, Finance & International Business

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Smurfit Kappa North America, Chief of Staff to the CEO

What has been your favorite part of St. Louis so far? What makes St. Louis such a great place to earn an MBA? My favorite part of St. Louis so far has been Forest Park. It is a great spot that offers something for everybody. Whether visiting the world-renowned St Louis Zoo, catching a show at the Muni, playing tennis or soccer, going for a run, or simply enjoying a picnic with friends, Forest Park has plenty of activities to offer.

One of the most compelling reasons to earn your MBA in St. Louis is the wealth of employment opportunities with large multinationals across many industries. Leading aerospace, pharmaceutical, agricultural, industrial, CPG and defense companies call St. Louis home. As WashU Olin business students, we have access to and interaction with these companies from the onset of our program via internships, speaker engagement, consulting projects, and university-company-specific partnerships.

You completed your Global Immersion earlier this year? What was the best part of the immersion experience for you? What was the biggest takeaway you gained? So far, I have completed two global immersion trips: Washington, DC and Barcelona. Barcelona was a personal favorite and a highlight. The opportunity to experience the city and visit monuments and places of interest was special. The Olin team did a splendid job balancing the nature of the trip. We were provided an enriching academic offering while allowing the cohort to supplement the trip’s experience with a mix of pre-determined and student-led discretionary sightseeing opportunities.

My biggest takeaway was the subtleties and nuances that must be considered when evaluating opportunities for international expansion. Understanding the local dynamics and thoroughly assessing the most relevant factors and variables that can affect the business venture is critical.

Aside from your immersion and classmates, what was the key part of Washington Olin’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school, and why was it so important to you? One key aspect that led me to select Olin WashU is the emphasis on data-driven decision-making. In my previous corporate roles, large amounts of data were a principal aspect that management always requested to make the best and most informed decisions. I wanted to attend a business school that focused on this element. Since my first day at WashU Olin and for every single course I have taken, professors encourage and expect that we have the data and facts to justify and support our proposals and recommendations.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at WashU Olin? The platform seminars have been a fantastic tool to better explore different careers. The quality of the speakers and the insights from industry experts have been invaluable in gaining perspective on potential career avenues. I attended all the finance seminars during my first semester and learned about topics like wealth management, investment banking, corporate finance and alternative investments.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Having served as the chief of staff for the North American CEO of a multinational corporation has been my biggest career accomplishment. This position allowed me to experience how an executive management team builds a strategic roadmap, carefully analyzes decisions from all stakeholders’ point of view, balances priorities, and allocates scarce resources to internal departments.

Describe your biggest achievement in the MBA program so far: Achieving a high academic performance (top 20% of my class) in virtually all my courses while juggling being a husband and a father has been my biggest achievement as an MBA student. This includes being selected as a Board Member for the incoming 2024 Graduate Business Student Association (GBSA).

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? My favorite memory so far was during the global immersion in Barcelona. During one of our days off, we rented a boat that took us sailing in the Balearic Sea. The weather was great, and the view of Barcelona from the ocean was stunning.

DON’T MISS: MEET WASHINGTON OLIN’S MBA CLASS OF 2025