Meet the MBA Class of 2023: Jungyuen (Jeina) NA, CEIBS

Jungyuen (Jeina) NA

China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

“A young woman with a desire to be a successful working woman and mom.”

Hometown: Seoul, Korea

Fun Fact About Yourself: When I had my admission interview, I was three months pregnant, and I am now the mother of a five-month-old child.

Undergraduate School and Major: Accountancy – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Senior Professional at Accounting Team, Samsung Display

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the MBA curriculum that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? It was the Integrated China Strategy Project (ICSP). I thought this strategy project perfectly matches with its vision of “China Depth, Global Breath”. To come up with a strategy, first we need to understand the Chinese market and then develop innovative and practical ideas with classmates from different backgrounds. Through this big project, I hope to get insight into real business in China and develop professional skills to think more strategically.

CEIBS is known for “China Depth, Global Breadth.” What is the biggest appeal of earning an MBA in China? Our company operates two manufacturing sites in China with several Chinese customers. As a manger, I keenly feel the need for real exposure to China to get a better understanding of the market. Besides the needs for my company, I think one of the interesting points about China is that it has already grown, but it still has an opportunity to grow more due to the existence of differences across the country. This point attracts many foreigners and even brings young Chinese who studied abroad back to their homeland.

What club, class, or tradition are you most looking forward to at CEIBS? CEIBS offers a mentoring program to provide MBA students with valuable advice beyond the classroom in order to help them grow and develop as business professionals. All of the mentors are CEIBS alumni and come from various industries and functions. As a middle-level manager hoping to continue my career in the same function, I’m looking forward to listening to real work experiences from those who have been in my situation. Also, I’m hoping to create value for the mentor by sharing my experiences in different cultures.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Our company usually does not get involved in M&A. Two years ago, we decided to acquire a more than 50% stake in a small company, which meant we needed to integrate their financial data. Because it was the first time to complete such a task, we need to set up procedures from A to Z. Luckily and unfortunately, I was the person to execute this process. During two months of preparation, I went through many trials-and-errors and researched other cases, before finally making a standardized form for post-merger integration to fit in our company.

What do you hope to do after earning your MBA and why will that be significant? After earning an MBA, I will continue my career in a finance and accounting function. However, I hope to expand the scope of my work to include more strategic thinking. For the last 10 years, most of my work was routine because of the characteristics of finance accounting (mostly closing). Thus, I want to take over investment decisions by leveraging the skills and knowledges learned from CEIBS.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the CEIBS MBA program? Before you apply for the CEIBS MBA, it is essential to know yourself and justify why you need an MBA in China. After I met my classmates, I was very surprised that most of them were very specific about post-MBA life. That means they know what they need to achieve their plans, and that has acted as a powerful motivators to get into CEIBS. A person who has a strong motivator can win over others who do not have it.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE CEIBS MBA CLASS OF 2023