Fang-Ling Hsueh

HEC Paris

“A reliable and earnest goal pursuer and friend, rarely sitting idle.”

Hometown: Taoyuan, Taiwan

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a numbers person by day and a words person by night. I enjoy burying myself in spreadsheets to build financial models from scratch. Meanwhile, I have been volunteering to manage a citizen media site that covers underreported stories.

Undergraduate School and Major: National Taiwan University – Bachelor of Accounting

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: EY Transaction Advisory Services Inc., Assistant Manager – Valuation, Modeling & Economics

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I had the opportunity to act as a key member in an energy project by analyzing stock exchange ratio for three listed solar power companies and advising a government fund to invest in the surviving one, with the deal size of over US$1 billion. The transaction was considered a major integration of regional solar power supply chain and is expected to accelerate the transformation of the local green energy industry. It was a complete privilege to be part of a team that engaged the best members from multiple service lines and contributes to a project of such great importance.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Supportive and very willing to share. Either from Class of 2021 classmates or from alumni I talked with, I have been impressed by how generous people are to share resources, information, and opportunities with others. From my observation, the HEC Paris MBA group naturally takes the path of “growing with peers” instead of “walking along,” a value I deeply appreciate.

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? HEC Paris’ expertise in a diverse range of fields. I consider the MBA program a precious chance of “going through a sponge phase” that is built upon existing professional skills. I am keen on further advancing my knowledge and I do not want to set any limitations, including the professional background of classmates and the career path that the student body is targeting. Therefore, with an equal focus on multiple dimensions of business, the HEC Paris MBA is undoubtedly on top of my list when choosing a program.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I look forward to joining the Finance Club and the Impact Club. With the Finance Club, I see great chances to further expand knowledge, horizons, and network in my professional field. With the Impact Club – and the fundamental skills I obtained in my career path and MBA learning experience – I look forward to contributing as part of a global community that is dedicated to making the world friendly and sustainable.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? “Do you think you are a lucky person?” According to the talk I was having with my interviewer right before this question, I considered this question career-related, so my reply at that time was, “The harder working I am, the luckier I am” – an answer that is also my philosophy towards work.

However, before giving this answer, I had been struggling with many thoughts in my mind that were trying to urge me to answer “yes”, which made this question very difficult to answer. So yes, another answer to this question is that I am certainly lucky because I was born with opportunities that could be seen as privileges by many others, including the right to education, a life in the peaceful part of the world, and the freedom as an individual.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? With five years of consistent experience and dedication to work, my ability started to be recognized and rewarded. It was a natural timing for me to decide whether to take the attractive opportunities provided by my company and keep on this career path or to continue the development outside my comfort zone.

When I updated my CV to have a clearer mind for decision-making, I realized that even if I had worked with global teams and participated in international activities, I never earned a degree or worked abroad. With all my experience, my CV (to my own surprise) didn’t show any international sides of me. This was the moment that pushed me to make a change. Before jumping into another job, I realized I wanted to experience a dynamic exchange of the latest knowledge and meet diverse people with different passions, so I decided to pursue an MBA.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? I considered Oxford Saïd for its emphasis on environmental sustainability. In the end, I applied only to HEC Paris.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I considered the following factors when evaluating whether a school is a good fit for me:

1. Location and how it interacts with the world: When it came to the global nature of business, I concluded that the location is important, so I mainly considered schools in or near first-tier cities of the world. Europe became my top destination because of its proximity to the Middle East and Africa, both are prosperous emerging markets that could be suitable for my career goals.
2. Expertise in the finance field: Aside from being keen on learning knowledge for a variety of business dimensions, I regard a finance profession as the foundation to develop my future career path. Therefore, schools with strong faculty in finance and proven success in their finance-related program were among my choices.
3. Diversity of people: This includes cultural backgrounds, professional experience, and future career paths. It is especially important when it comes to future paths. I was looking for one that is balanced in different fields and has the potential to offer me a broader professional network. I look forward to an environment with no “best answer” but with “good answers” to any opportunities.
4. The attention given to sustainable society and business: Sustainability is not only a responsibility but also a trend that reshapes business nowadays. For me, a school’s emphasis on social innovation and business sustainability, ideas that involve details of an activity but with a global mindset, is a signal that it is dedicated to training leaders of the future.

To determine the factors above, I tried to reach out to as many current students and alumni as possible to know more about different programs – by cold messaging on LinkedIn, sending email to student ambassadors, and asking the network for help.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I joined an overseas student service team in my freshman summer and served underprivileged families by building houses. This involved seven days of labor and everyday interaction with local people.

Before that summer, I was a complete believer in working hard – the more I work, the more I gain – and was convinced that my higher degree was what I earned and deserved. After meeting and connecting with local people, with whom I still stay in touch, I realized that “my success” comes much easier than that of others. That’s not only because I work harder, but simply because I have more opportunities. Ever since, I turned to believe that despite different life chances, people are all the same and, as privileged ones, it is our responsibility to make the world better.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? I see myself working and living in a new place, with stronger skills and friends across continents and industries. As part of middle management or a reliable project leader, I may encounter technical problems that are beyond my professional knowledge. At this moment, the strong and global HEC Paris community will naturally come into my mind and motivate me to make a phone call – and solve the problem.

On my career so far, I appreciate my supervisors and managers giving me many opportunities to grow as an individual. Therefore, I will also try my best to provide the teams that I lead with sufficient space and resources to develop professionally and personally.