Oyku Tali

IESE Business School, University of Navarra

“World citizen enjoying her journey in life with delicious food, good wine and loved ones.”

Hometown: Ankara, Turkey

Fun Fact About Yourself: I can comfortably fall asleep in a full lotus yoga posture.

Undergraduate School and Major: Bilkent University, Industrial Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: International Finance Corporation, Investment Analyst

What makes the case method so attractive as a means to learn and become a better manager? The case method provides a broad perspective in many different sectors and areas outside of our own competencies and skills. Aside from theoretical knowledge, the cases mimic the real-life situations and allow you to challenge and to be challenged by the discussions with people coming from different backgrounds. To me, the method is the best way to get ready to hop into the driver’s seat in my career. It will help me hone necessary and practical managerial skills to be a great leader who is versatile with strong negotiation skills, creative, and has a good understanding of team dynamics.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the school’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Simply put, it was the values and the culture of the school. I was very impressed by the strong emphasis IESE has on impact on the sustainable world and the strong integrity of its community. I truly felt motivated to be a part of this community of like-minded individuals and share a common vision of striving to have an impact on the world.

I was also fascinated by the support system of its alumni network and the effective communication the admission office facilitated, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even long before I submitted my application, they gave me a sense of belonging and true friendship that convinced me that IESE and its culture was the right choice for me.

What club or activity excites you most at this school? I am a true Mediterranean who enjoys the sea, wine, and good food. Therefore, I am really looking forward to joining the Sailing and Wine Clubs.

Having worked in the development sector for the past couple of years, I am also very interested in taking an active role in the Responsible Business Club where I can meet like-minded individuals, expand my career insight, and contribute to diverse perspectives.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: During my time at IFC, I have been involved in various infrastructure investment projects in broader Europe and the Central Asia region. I have always been very proud of the work I have done and my role in the development sector. I have supported private sector and municipalities to overcome their development challenges as well as improving the lives of people and vulnerable communities in developing countries.

In the first six months in my position, the currency crisis and major economic turmoil happened in Turkey. Being among the very few Turkish people in my team, I was responsible for stress testing for the existing portfolio of investments; and I took an active part in financial restructuring deals and supported crisis management. I learned to make self-confident decisions by making necessary analyses, applying lessons learned from past decisions, and maintaining constructive relationships with clients, co-lenders and most importantly, with colleagues during stressful times.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? As an engineer by training who works in finance, I have always wanted to pursue an MBA degree to advance my business knowledge, after a few years of professional experience.

At this point in my career, I see that I have gained the necessary technical and professional skills that make me feel confident of the work I carry out and mature enough to advance further in my career. I wanted to leave my comfort zone to challenge myself to take the next step in order to be an impactful leader in sustainable development.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? None, I was sure that IESE would be the best fit for me.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? “How was your experience working as a woman in finance/business in emerging markets?”

As a Turkish female engineer having a regional role covering Europe and Central Asia, I have been very fortunate to work with amazing women managers and leaders throughout my career. During the admission interviews, I had a lot to talk about, amazing lessons that I learned from their approach in different situations in a male-dominated environment and my personal experiences through my encounters with clients, other banks and consultants.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I always knew that I wanted to study at a European school and live in a city where I can also learn a new language. Therefore, I already had a brief list of schools to consider. After an initial screening of these schools, I visited most of them during my travels in Europe, to see the campus and the student life and to get the first-hand experience from current students and the admission office. I truly recommend such visits to prospective applicants as it gives the sense of the campus life and a feeling that whether you would fit there or not. After these visits, I crossed out a few schools, simply because I could not picture myself in that city/town or on that campus.

I consider the true determining factor to choosing the best fit is to understand the school’s culture and alumni network. For me, the people are the ones who will make an experience phenomenal. Therefore, I had many discussions with friends of friends and colleagues who graduated from the schools I had shortlisted. Through my encounters, I kept two questions in mind: “Would I like to become good friends and teammates with this person if they were sitting next to me in the class?” and “In two years’ time, do I see myself expressing my MBA experience with the exact same words they chose or would I prefer to have a different experience?”

When I met the IESE alumni, I was incredibly amazed by them. This included their humility, openness,  strong sense of belonging and friendship, and (most importantly) willingness to help. They connected me to many of their classmates and provided amazing support through my application preparation. In the end, they became good friends of mine that are more eager for my move to Barcelona than I am! This made me 100% sure of the fact that IESE was the right fit and I am truly excited to be a part of such a family.

What was your defining moment and how did it prepare you for business school? I have been incredibly blessed with a great family who raised me with strong principles, good values; and supported me through every step I took in life. They have always encouraged me to go beyond what I already have and work hard to become a “world citizen”. Through my education and career, I have always strived to be a part of the international arena which affected my character development as I became more dedicated, self-confident, and adaptable to the changes in my life.

When I look back, I think of the most defining process that truly shaped who I am now, my character, work ethic: my professional attitude as my role as a Project Manager at the European Youth Parliament. The Project culminated in a 12-day youth conference in İzmir, Turkey, and brought together 330 young people from 36 European countries. The aim was to empower young people to participate in international dialogue, promoting active citizenship and awareness over global issues.

As a Project Manager, I was responsible for chairing the National Organizing Committee of 25 people, fundraising, and managing a budget of €150,000. While my friends were enjoying their time at the campus after classes, I was attending fundraising meetings, taking team-building trainings, and traveling domestically and abroad for project planning purposes. Through such an experience as a senior college student, I learned how to work in an international setting and how to facilitate a consensus-based work environment., Most importantly, I adopted necessary multitasking skills to manage substantial workload under time pressure. This experience made me understand that I yearn to be in environments where diverse perspectives come together to strive to make positive change. I decided to seek these environments at every stage of my life. At this stage, business school meets these expectations for me.

What is your favorite company and what could business students learn from them? I would not name a single company as my favorite because I believe there is always a lot to learn in every company, whether it be a startup or a global corporation. The most important choice in one’s career is to work for a company that facilitates learning opportunities to empower its employees to outgrow their current role and develop necessary leadership skills, values women leaders, ensures diversity and inclusion, and most importantly adopts a mission to contribute to the sustainable future of the world.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE MBA CLASS OF 2022 AT IESE BUSINESS SCHOOL