Claudia Monteverde

Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business

“A proud Venezuelan who believes that if you can dream it you can do it.”

Hometown: Valencia, Venezuela

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am obsessed with burgers. When I am on a trip, I always want to try the best burger of the city.

Undergraduate School and Major: Universidad de Carabobo, Dental School

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Founder and Manager of Centro Odontologico Monteverde (COM)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment has been founding my own business, Centro Odontologico Monteverde (COM). It started in 2008 after I obtained my dental degree. COM was a small dental office in a remote part of the city. In 2011, this small office grew into a dental center. I rented a new space where I could fit three offices. At that time, I only offered my service as a general dentist. Three years later, I have created a team of 16 professionals and we offered nine dental specialties. More importantly, patients could solve all their dental issues at COM.

Although I loved dentistry, I realized that if I wanted to have a successful business, working with patients full-time would make it impossible. Therefore, I decided to dedicate almost entirely to the business. Working long hours, studying complex dental cases, and coordinating schedules did not seem like work at all. Without realizing it, I became the manager of my own business.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? My classmates are very dedicated, very smart, and have a wide range of backgrounds. I believe that the feature that best describes them is the entrepreneurial mindset, the majority came with the clear idea of creating or expanding their own businesses, in a short or long term.

Aside from your classmates, 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 was Babson’s entrepreneurial mindset philosophy. I believe that being an entrepreneur is a way of living and I apply it in a professional and a personal level. Finding a program that perfectly aligns with my way to see life was a key factor to make my decision.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I am looking forward to work in the Healthcare and Life Science Club and eventually have a leadership position that lets me contribute in to the Babson community.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Usually not many dentists choose to attend to business school. However, while my business is still running, my native Venezuela faces the worst hyperinflation and economic and political uncertainty in history. I started to research ways to expand or create a new business within the health sector. I considered other areas of dentistry or creating other branches of COM. It all seemed worthless with the current and forward-looking situation of Venezuela.

For these reasons, now is the best time for me to pursue a graduate degree to grow professionally within the health sector. Furthermore, working in my business during the last years has made me aware that I still lack critical abilities to manage a business to reach its peak. This is the perfect time to fix this. An MBA will help me have a far better business understanding and give me the necessary tools I am missing.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I decided to attend business school while looking for better opportunities that my country cannot offer me. I realized that my 10 years of experience running my healthcare business in combination with an MBA will give me the opportunity to work within the health sector in the United States.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Besides Babson, I applied to Boston University and Northeastern University.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? First, I prioritized location. Boston was my target. Second, I looked for programs with concentrations in health or entrepreneurship. I believed these would me fit best according to my background. Then, to make sure there was a cultural fit, I asked every school to connect with current students. That was a good experience, because they gave me really good insights about the schools and the student life.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? My defining moment when I first started to manage my business. I have always loved dentistry, but managing my business let me realize how much I can do, how much I can learn, and how interesting the business world is. That was an incredible discovery for me.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? After getting my MBA degree, I want to work in a pharma or a dental company focusing in operations or marketing.

Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years, I see myself as a successful business woman in a Healthcare and Life Science company and developing my own and new venture idea.