Meet The HEC Paris MBA Class Of 2018

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Vejko Brcic Bello

HEC Paris MBA

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Mining-finance specialist during the week, dinosaur or anything my two year old wants me to be during the weekends.

Hometown: Vancouver, BC, Canada

Fun Fact About Yourself: I spent part of my childhood in a forestry camp away from civilization in the Bolivian Amazon.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of British Columbia ‐ BCom in Sustainability and Entrepreneurship

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Associate – Sattva Capital

Director and Co‐Founder – Saleman Exploradores

Advisory Board Member – Condor Resources

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:  I designed and launched a gold trading company in Peru which exported gold to India. Unfortunately, due to deregulation in India, the company had to be put on hold.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants?  Studying for the GMAT is like going to the gym: you won’t see progress after two or three days of studying. You’ll get better with time, discipline and hard work. Take mock exams and work harder in what you know less well. On top of that, try not to put everything else aside while you are waiting to take your GMAT. Applications are lengthy and difficult. Talk to possible recommended contacts early and work on your essays, or at least gather ideas for them, as early as possible. Let people proofread them for you. Finally, financing your MBA is as important as getting accepted. Make sure you have a plan on how you’ll do it!

What led you to choose this program for your full‐time MBA? I wanted to go to a top MBA program outside of North America. Having spent twenty years in South America and ten in North America, I know how valuable it can be to travel to get new perspectives and points of view. Moving to Europe, and specifically to France, is the perfect way to get new ones. On top of that, many aspects of HEC align to what I am looking for in an MBA: it has one of the most varied MBA class profiles in the world, it offers the best ROI available for top MBA programs, and a very large number of graduates accomplish a triple jump (job function, industry and country) upon graduation, something I’ll try to accomplish as well.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? For the last four years, I’ve been working in the mining sector completely focused on the financial side. Although exciting, the scope is very narrow and it has only become narrower with time. Right now, my dream job would be to move in the opposite direction to a job that requires broader perspectives: I would like to spend some time as a management consultant in a major consulting firm.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? That they met someone trustworthy and reliable, inside and outside of class, as a colleague and a friend.

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