Meet the HEC Paris MBA Class Of 2019

Ly Nguyen 

HEC Paris 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less:  A Vietnamese girl with a Russian soul. Constantly vacillating between relentless idealism and pragmatism.

Hometown: Hanoi, Vietnam/ Moscow, Russia

Fun Fact About Yourself:  An investment banker and a photographer in disguise at once. Every time I take a camera it feels like if I just took a dance class for the first time. Photography enables me to live through an experience more meaningfully and alleviate the feeling that Vladimir Nabokov described as “the impossibility of assimilating, swallowing all the beauty in the world.” My photo project about Japan was published for the first time in September 2016 issue of L’Officiel Voyage, a travel magazine.

Undergraduate School and Major: Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Finance

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Investment Banking Associate – Credit Suisse

Research Analyst – Renaissance Asset Managers

Equity Capital Markets Analyst – Renaissance Capital

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: As part of a small team, I advised Russia’s largest fixed-line operator on a transformational US $7 billion dollar plus deal that led to the creation of the next major mobile player in Russia. This deal changed the whole telecom landscape in Russia. Though not quantifiable, I consider my greatest professional achievement overcoming knowledge gaps in business areas on projects requiring learning new industries and functions in just a few days as well as finding time to devote to my family and personal interests while working long hours.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants?

Admissions Test: I opted for GRE test because I was more familiar with its format (at university I tutored my friend in math who was applying to a Ph.D. in History at Yale).  Although it might sound trivial, being more methodical can help you to dramatically increase your score by avoiding careless mistakes. Working on our own mistakes is always a good idea. So by analyzing my errors, I boosted the score more significantly than by practicing another 100 problems (and making the same mistakes).

What helped me the most was understanding weaknesses in my performance and learning techniques that allowed me to minimize careless mistakes. For example, not trying to memorize everything in my head (and actually using draft papers) during the 4-hour test saved both my nerves and time.

Essays: I usually like creative tasks like essay writing. However, with MBA essays, I struggled with some kind of writer’s block. “Greatest life achievement” or “most spectacular failure” types of essays were extremely tough, as they require a lot of retrospection and self-analysis. I was afraid to sound pretentious or pathetic while failing to be candid and insightful. I managed to find a cure to this block when I decided to express my ideas, hopes, and feelings without regard to templates and perfect model essays. I consider my best essays to be the ones in which I wasn’t afraid to be myself.

Gathering recommendations: I contacted my references well in advance, shared with them templates, and let them know deadlines. Although both of them were very supportive and enthusiastic, I thought it was important to underscore that an MBA reference letter was not a performance review but rather an advocacy “tool.”

Admissions interview: In addition to classic interview part, HEC MBA applicants are also required to make a short presentation on any topic. Choosing the right topic is challenging. I wanted it to be entertaining (not too specialized or technical), yet relevant to the business school application process. So I chose a topic I was passionate about: ballet with an added “business” twist. The title of my work was “What Sergey Diaghilev and his ‘Ballets Russes’ can teach us about running a company?”

What was the key the factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I was looking for a leading program in Europe that would enable me to make a successful career transition from investment banking. In addition, being a student at Institut Francais in Moscow, I have always been drawn to French culture, so I wanted to explore career opportunities in Francophone countries. That’s why the HEC Paris MBA is a perfect match for me. HEC Paris’ brand recognition and outstanding reputation in France, as well as its strong links with French companies, their leaders and recruiters mean there is no better place for me to study given my career aspirations. I hope to benefit from HEC Paris’ high-quality alumni network where many former students work at top French companies. Another strong point of HEC MBA program for me is that it offers certificates in different industries (Oil & Gas, Luxury Management etc.) and specializations.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? I’ve come to business school to explore careers. So, I guess that success for me would be finding and following a new professional direction. I hope an MBA at HEC Paris will help me to build my network in France and get a greater understanding of the ecosystem I am going to work in. I relish the chance to have access to a wide range of professionals and be inspired by other people’s work. Overall, I see the MBA as an opportunity to build a wider platform of solid business knowledge and tools to take my management and personal skills to a new level.