Meet The HEC Paris MBA Class Of 2018

Maria E. Martyak

 

HEC Paris MBA

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: I’m a ballerina-turned-digital-strategist and I am so excited to (finally!) be pursuing my MBA.

Hometown: Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Fun Fact About Yourself: I spent this past Christmas going cage-free diving with sharks. There were approximately 30 tiger and Galapagos sharks swimming around me – it was an incredible experience!

Undergraduate School and Major: NYU Gallatin, Major: Individualized Study, Concentration in Marketing and International Business

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

• LaFleur (Digital Strategy/Digital Marketing Manager)
• Powerlinx (Marketing Manager)
• CSIR Group (Marketing Intern)
• Learn Italy USA (USA Coordinator)
• Independent Marketing Consultant
• Abercrombie & Fitch Corp. (Assistant Manager, Merchandising)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment in my career has to be the amount of learning I’ve achieved on my own. Learning a new way of looking at data to build a targeting methodology, learning the basics of coding, learning new industries and what makes them tick …. It has all come together into this incredible blend of knowledge and practical skills that I can apply to my MBA and beyond.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants?  When I started my B-school search, I immediately went to the published rankings. The easy part was that I knew I wanted a European b-school in order to gain valuable international experience and global exposure. Once I narrowed my list down to 5, I started to visit each of the schools. That was really the eye-opener. Rankings, facts and figures are virtually meaningless if the school isn’t a right “fit” for you.

To be honest, Insead started out as my #1 choice and HEC as my #5, or backup school. However, I made a point of visiting HEC and INSEAD on the same day. It was immediately apparent that HEC was going to be the right fit. Speaking with a development director about my background and interests, learning about the courses and the concentration that would work for me, and touring the campus really solidified HEC as my #1 choice. It goes to show you that published rankings and the information you can find online isn’t the complete picture – you never really know where is the right fit until you begin to immerse yourself in the school environment.

The best advice I can give is: know what you are looking for in a business school, and where you are aiming to go afterward. It’s one of the most important considerations when choosing a school. Look at the unique program offerings, the individual courses you could take, visit the campus if possible, and talk to current students and alumni who have a career path or objectives similar to your own to help gauge if the school is the perfect fit for you.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? The convergence of the luxury goods and technology sectors is an evolving field with exciting growth potential. The digital world experiences change at a rapid pace, and many possibilities for luxury companies within the digital world remain unexplored. As technology continues to break down traditional geographic barriers and allows for a more globally focused online experience, I feel that an entirely new skill set will be required for digital executives to be successful.

I chose HEC as it provides unparalleled access and experiences in both the luxury and technology sectors. After researching the curriculum and resources available at HEC, along with insights gained from the student ambassadors and sector-based clubs, I became confident that HEC had the right combination of curriculum, internship opportunities and professional network to best equip me for success.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? To be honest, I don’t have a dream employer (yet). I want to be able to take the culmination of my skills and experiences to date, and use that to begin to create something that will change the way people work and view digital. In doing so, my dream job would allow me the autonomy and ability to fully develop projects that I feel will revolutionize the way we use technology to reach customers, grow our businesses and interact with one another. Brands are at a “technological turning point” and I want to be at the forefront of creating that change for them.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program?  I want them to say that I challenged them – to push their personal and scholastic boundaries, to explore new people and places, to be better every day.

I want them to say that I motivated them – to get outside of their comfort zone, to learn new things that don’t necessarily apply to their line of work, to try something completely different.

I want them to say that I led by example.