Meet London Business School’s Class of 2019

Sergio Álvarez García-Peñuela 

 London Business School 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: A fun-loving dad and action-oriented reconstructive microsurgeon with a passion for innovation.

Hometown: Madrid, Spain

Fun Fact About Yourself: I don’t like needles at all, so drawing a blood sample from me becomes a bit of a circus.

Undergraduate School and Major: 

Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Bachelor’s degree in Medicine. 

Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, PhD in Medicine.

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Hospital Universitario La Paz, Department of Plastic Surgery. 

Resident in Plastic Surgery, Consultant Plastic Surgeon.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishments have to do with my patients, when I have been able to overcome apparently unsolvable situations and provide good results, and with the residents I have helped train, when I have seen them succeed in applying knowledge and skills I have shared with them.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Get in touch with the people at your target schools: attend an event, meet the admissions team, talk to current students or alumni and seek their feedback. This is what I did, and I found that their help was invaluable in finding which school was the best fit for me and in preparing a relevant application for this school.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? The key factor for me was flexibility. LBS succeeds in providing a bespoke MBA, not only by offering an immense variety of electives and concentrations, but also by allowing students to do more than one internship and seeking part-time opportunities during their second year. This was especially relevant due to my less common background. As a career switcher, I felt that getting as much professional exposure as possible during my MBA was essential for my project and that I could benefit most from such a finely tailored program.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Having grasped my core business knowledge and having spent a wonderful year, learning from my peers and helping them to thrive, I have just completed a great internship. I feel in my gut that things are going great and that I have found what I want to do.