Danilo Feitoza Fraga

HEC Paris

“Dreamer and friendly person who loves to socialize and learn from differences.”

Hometown: Feira de Santana, Bahia (Brazil)

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a fan of the Mexican rock group Maná and my favorite song is “En el Muelle de San Blas”. This song was part of many important moments in my life. As a curious person, I performed a Google search for “San Blas” to understand a bit more about this song. This research showed me wonderful images of a paradise in the Panamanian Caribbean: an archipelago of crystalline waters and small islands inhabited by a few local people, still little known to the outside world. After that day, visiting San Blas became my dream trip. However, it is very difficult to access, and it took me a few years until I got to visit. Finally, in 2016, I convinced a friend to make a two-month backpacking trip through Central America, starting in Panama, so that I could finally go to San Blas. In fact, the place really was a paradise on earth. However, one of the first things I heard from a local when I told him that I was visiting San Blas because of Mana’s song, was that I had made misunderstood the lyrics: “San Blas” in that song refers to a port on the Pacific coast of Mexico! It has nothing to do with Panama! Years and years waiting for the moment when I would finally know the place so quoted in my favorite song, and in the end, this destination turned out to be a big mistake! At least it served as a stimulus for an unforgettable backpacking trip through Central America. And I still need to visit the “real” San Blas in Mexico!

Undergraduate School and Major: Medicine degree from Universidade Federal da Bahia and specialization in pediatrics from Universidade de São Paulo (USP)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Pharmacovigilance senior analyst at Bayer.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I studied in public schools all my life. In Brazil, public schools tend to offer lower quality education when compared to private ones. For students educated in public schools, it is much harder to be admitted to a federal university in a traditional course, such as medicine. I am proud I achieved that.

Born in a family from the northeast of Brazil, my parents had just finished high school when I was born. My mother worked as a kindergarten teacher, while my father was a public employee. Since they did not have enough money to provide a private and better education for their children, my sisters and I always studied in public schools. It could mean limited opportunities, but as my parents have always said and I firmly believe: “Education is the path to a better life.” I restlessly pursued my goal of becoming a medical doctor. As a doctor, I would be able to not only help other people but also break free from financial constraints my family always faced.

At 17, I was admitted to the Universidade Federal da Bahia – the oldest medical school in Brazil (there was a 3 percent acceptance rate that year). Taking into account all of the obstacles I faced and comparing it with the possibilities medical school allowed, I am happy to have pursued my dreams, which enabled me to help my family financially. Moreover, I can say that I am a living proof that with resilience and determination it is possible to achieve your dreams.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? I think the sense of collaboration is really strong among the classmates I`ve met so far. People try to show each other how we can come together to build a strong and diverse environment. Different from what I observed in candidates from other schools, I do not feel a competitive climate among my classmates. For example, most of the students are moving to France without speaking the French language. Even though French is not a requirement to be admitted into the MBA Program at HEC Paris, it is good to see how dedicated the group is in learning this new language. The class has built a collaborative environment in this regard, with a WhatsApp group in which we help and teach each other. This exemplifies how the class as a whole sees the MBA: as not only an educational and professional experience but also (and most importantly) a cultural and life experience.

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? With a 93 percent international student body and smaller class sizes, HEC Paris fosters a rich multicultural environment and unique opportunities for sharing and learning from each other’s differences. The program format, with a 16-month duration (longer than some one year European MBA programs), allows the students to have a greater cultural immersion, in addition to providing more time for networking. HEC Paris is recognized as one of the most respected institutions in Europe. Together with the above-mentioned factors, makes a strong MBA program that allows students to have better opportunities and the chance for transformation and starting an international career, something that I crave in my professional future.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? A course that caught my eyes is “European Affairs: Why Lobbying Matters,” which helps students understand the complexity of economic activities in Europe. Since I intend to start an international career and have professional experience in Europe after the MBA program, this course would definitely help me with this objective.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? Honestly, I do not remember any especially hard question during my admission process. The interviewers were interested in getting to know my professional background, with a focus on understanding what led a physician to apply for an MBA program. It was a very enriching process, during which I received a lot of valuable feedback.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I graduated in medicine in 2012 from the Federal University of Bahia. After that, I specialized in pediatrics (USP 2017). During almost 10 years of study, I started realizing that perhaps being an attending pediatrician was not what I wanted most for my future. These doubts made me pursue new opportunities where my background could be useful. In this context, I found that the pharma career fits my purposes whilst broadening my horizons.

In 2017, I changed my career from a practicing physician to a pharmacovigilance analyst in Bayer. My current role is technical and the medical background is the most important aspect taken into account to perform this function. Unlike what I expected, I realized that if I wanted to stay in the pharma sector and have opportunities to progress into management positions, I needed more than my medical background.

The future I foresee includes a management position in the pharma industry, which will demand knowledge of business-related subjects. An MBA will provide the tools needed to achieve my goals: leadership, analytical skills, and strategic thinking.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? HEC Paris was the only program I have applied to.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? To begin with, I wanted to apply to an international, top-ranked school in Europe. With these criteria in mind, I researched to figure out the differences among schools (quality, employment records, program duration, costs etc.). I discarded schools from the UK due to uncertainties related to Brexit. Additionally, most of the schools in Europe have one-year (10-month) programs, which I think are too short considering my medical background and all that I would have to learn during the MBA program. Taking into account the above-mentioned criteria, I ended up with the following schools: HEC Paris, ESADE and IESE. Upon further analysis of these programs, I had a clear notion that HEC Paris fits perfectly with what I expect from an MBA program. It is a reputable school known for its high-quality MBA program and tradition in developing leaders. Additionally, the school is located in Paris, one of the best cities in the world for students due to its cultural environment and job opportunities. Also, France is a country with a solid economy and plays a central role in the European Union. Such characteristics, together with different initiatives such as leadership coaching, the MBA Tournament (MBAT), and the off-campus leadership seminar at Saint Cyr showcases a strong and solid MBA program. All these reasons led me to choose HEC Paris.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? While studying for my medical degree, I had an elective internship in general surgery in Strasbourg, France. It was the very first time I left Brazil and put into practice all three years of the French language I had studied. I discovered a new country by myself, with very limited financial resources. And I can say that those three months in France were a real life-changing experience. Prior to that, I always thought about living abroad, but I didn’t actually understand what it entailed. Those months in Strasbourg showed me how to interact with people from different cultures. In the nursery where I worked, there were people from Italy, France, Norway, Germany, China, and Morocco. This rich multi-cultural environment allowed me to grasp singularities, and understand and respect them.

I could also see and learn from French society and culture. I was exposed to a brand-new reality; the so-called “European way of life” fascinated me. I realized how it is possible to live without depending on cars, for instance, because of good public transportation and safe streets to walk or cycle. Furthermore, people are more interested in living experiences, learning from differences and enriching one’s life. That is why I see my internship as a turning point in my life. I returned to Brazil with the feeling of being a real citizen of the world. In other words, I always wanted, somehow, to conquer the world and help people; however, only after this experience in France, could I understand how much I wanted it and start working towards making this objective come true.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? The future I foresee includes a management position in the pharma industry as an inspiring leader. All the trajectory I have gone through and the years that I will still have, including the MBA period, will help me become an inspiring professional who leads through example, respecting and valuing differences and keeping in mind that regardless of position or experience, we still have plenty to learn.