2016 MBAs To Watch: Felix Lutter, ESADE

Felix Lutter

ESADE Business School

Age: 26

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Undergraduate School and Degree: Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama, Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance

Where did you work before enrolling in business school? Deloitte, as a Senior Consultant in M&A Transaction Advisory Services

Where did you intern during the summer of 2015? Avedon Capital Partners, Dusseldorf and Amsterdam

Where will you be working after graduation? McKinsey & Company, Associate in Private Equity Practice

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: President of the MBA Finance Club, Captain of the MBA basketball team

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I organised a trek to Germany for 21 participants and visited four industry-leading companies in Munich and Frankfurt. I was proud to show my home country to this international and diverse group. The best moment was having dinner in a traditional German pub with ESADE alumni and hearing that my fellow students really enjoyed their first stay in Germany.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I assumed leadership of a team of four people in a project for a large, listed construction company and compensated for the absence of senior team members by interacting directly with target senior management. This way, I contributed to the successful close of the transaction. The transaction was quite complex since the assets had to be “carved-out” of the mother company and regrouped into three new entities to be sold with combined revenues of over €120m. I gained the respect of the CEO of the transaction target and became the first point of contact within Deloitte for this project.

Who is your favourite professor? Javier Solana, former NATO secretary-general and EU high representative for common foreign and security policy. It was amazing to hear first-hand about events that changed the course of the world. His optimism and belief in world society is inspiring. After discussing all the current conflicts, I still believed him when he said: “Everything is going to be fine.”

Favourite MBA Courses? Corporate Strategy, Competitive Strategy, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Private Equity. These classes helped me apply my analytical thinking and experience in analysing companies acquired when working with Deloitte to practical (and mostly recent) business problems.

Why did you choose this business school? I did it to challenge myself to work in teams from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds with the goal of learning to lead and inspire people, instead of simply managing companies.

What did you enjoy most about business school? The interaction with students from all parts of the world and discussing/reconciling different views on the world.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from business school? I learned to trust my judgment. Others may disagree at first, but if you are patient and communicate in the right way, a good point will be heard and acknowledged.

What was the most surprising thing about business school? I was astonished by the many different ways people could approach a problem and the creative results they produced.

What was the hardest part of business school? Reconciling with limited time the academic study, cultural experiences, and a healthy social life.

What’s your best advice to an applicant to your school? Know what you want from the experience, but be open about how.

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when… I started working and realised that I would be stuck in the same geographic location for a while.”

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be… much less exposed to other cultures and I would not speak Spanish.”

Which executive or entrepreneur do you most admire? David Rubenstein, founding partner of Carlyle Group. He gave a speech to the students in which he basically said that he was a pretty bad lawyer and that’s why he became one of the most successful individuals in private equity. His key message was to find out what you are good at, do it, and then give back to society.

What are your long-term professional goals? My long-term goals are to become a leader who inspires his team. I want to influence the corporate strategy of companies through direct involvement in the management, or through a board of directors, in order to create value for as many stakeholders as possible (including the shareholders, workers, and ultimately society).

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My parents who have been my role models and have provided emotional support and advice throughout my academic and professional career.

Fun fact about yourself: I broke my finger in the early minutes of the first rugby match I ever started in and played the whole game.

Favourite book: For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Favourite movie: Pulp Fiction

Favourite musical performer: Die Broilers (German rock band)

Favourite television show: “How I Met Your Mother”

Favourite vacation spot: Southern Alabama

Hobbies? Meeting friends, basketball, rugby, traveling, reading

What made Felix Lutter such an invaluable addition to the class of 2016?

“Even though Felix is one of the youngest students in the MBA Class of 2016, he is among the top 5% in academic results. Being a brilliant student and achieving exceptional results, both at team and individual levels, Felix was selected to attend the International Exchange Programme at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he proved not only his academic strength and perseverance, but also his intercultural management skills.

“Despite his youth, Felix brought extensive management experience to the programme and enriched the class with his insight from banking and consultancy. Felix also leveraged this knowledge when he was elected president in our competitive Finance Club (where he organised many activities and proved his leadership skills in organising a trek to Munich and Frankfurt, during which the participants had the opportunity to visit global companies such as Siemens, Amazon, Deutsche Bank, and EY).

“Showing a high degree of self-awareness, ingenuity, passion, and positivity toward life in general, Felix is a team player, both in the sports activities he is engaged in, as well as in supporting classmates.

“Being an inspiring young leader, we are extremely blessed to have had Felix in our MBA Class of 2016 and we are looking forward to seeing Felix excel in his consultancy career.”

Franziska Ewald

Programme Manager

ESADE Full-Time MBA

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