Meet IMD’s MBA Class Of 2018

Suyun Huang

IMD Business School

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Courageous and enthusiastic life-long learner and explorer.

Hometown: Beijing, China

Fun Fact About Yourself: Capable of eating very spicy food; PADI OWL licensed diver who can’t swim

Undergraduate School and Major:

Undergraduate: Electronic and Engineering, University of Beijing Information and Technology

Graduate: Communication and Information System, Beijing University of Post and Telecommunication

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

EB, SW Development Engineer

Nokia, Senior SW Engineer

Apple, iOS SW Engineer

Yunding, Project Director           

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I was chosen as the first member of Apple Beijing R&D center, after a rigid 8-round selection process. When the pace at Apple slowed down after 3 years, I quit and joined an early-stage start-up. I contributed a lot, and grew quickly there, but I knew from the bottom of my heart that I wanted more. Realizing the gap between my aspiration and capabilities, I chose to pursue a holistic learning opportunity, an MBA program. This is not the normal move people at my age would make. Hence speaking of the biggest career accomplishment, I think for me it’s more about the process than the result itself.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? You need to really do a lot of introspection and retrospection, maybe in a repetitive and iterative way, in order to figure out who you are, where you want to go, and what are your motivation and expectations. Having firm and clear answers to these fundamental questions is going to equip you with the resilience to bounce back when facing tons of challenges to come.

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? Probably lots of you have heard about the philosophy of Steve Jobs regarding ‘connecting the dots backwards’. For me, IMD may be the most critical dot in my whole professional life. I have been working in the tech industry for ten years, including quite a few Fortune 500 companies. But I crave to grow into a more sophisticated leader with confidence and capabilities to tackle complexities and challenges in a dynamic global business environment. IMD is the only business school I have applied to. I personally believe that IMD’s focus and persistence in leadership development, in delivering senior executives for globally renowned corporations in the long run, will help me achieve my significant career transformation.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Landing in an arena with strategic focus in emerging market, where I can really apply and practice what I have learned in school, to consolidate and enhance my experience. That’s what we call ‘real learning, real impact’, and it will pave the way for the long run, say next 5 to 10 years.