Thiago Nunes

University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

“An individual who does not like routines, loves challenges, and seeks to be the best version of himself.”

Hometown: Uberlandia, Minas Gerais – Brazil

Fun Fact About Yourself: My favorite color is blue and 99.999% of the clothes I buy are a shade of blue. Also, I don’t like odd numbers.

Undergraduate School and Major: Industrial Engineering at Universidade de Uberaba – UNIUBE

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Tetra Pak – Technical Account Manager

What has been your favorite part of the Twin Cities so far? What has made it such a great place to earn an MBA? Definitely, I would say that the Twin Cities is much more beautiful than on YouTube videos. I love the city atmosphere and the weather (so far so good!). The Twin Cities is an affordable, beautiful place and there are more than 15 Fortune 500 companies with headquarters here.  Also, there are a lot of options for outdoor activities as well.

Carlson MBA spend a year in hands-on Enterprise programs for Consulting, Branding, Ventures, and Funds. Which program do you intend to enroll in? What excites most about your Enterprise program? I  am looking forward to starting the Consulting Enterprise experience. The most exciting part of the Enterprise program is that it is a real opportunity to assist local and Fortune 500 companies to solve one of their most challenging problems which could be related to operations, strategy, or go-to-market. One of my main goals during the MBA is to explore different industries and the Consulting Enterprise really appealed to me in that sense.

Aside from your classmates, experiential learning, and location, what was the key part of the Carlson MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The Carlson Enterprises were a chief decision-making criterion. I believe that the balance between practical experience and academia is essential to develop a new skill.

Additionally, the opportunity to live and study abroad thru the Carlson Global Institute (even being an international) is a unique opportunity to learn a new business perspective from a very diverse context. I am looking forward to starting my study in Sweden or Ghana. (I am still deciding).

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Carlson? I would say that the Finance Club hosted one of the most interesting events so far. For instance, we had an event with a FED member to discuss the current U.S. economy scenario.

Beyond academic events, I think my top choice is attending the local soccer championship (Carlson Kickers team). It has been a good opportunity to interact with classmates competing against the local soccer teams. It was my first-time playing soccer in a negative Celsius temperature.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Recently, I was working on launching a new product in the Brazil market and supporting other regions. We achieved 400% of sales growth year-over-year, closing a deal with one of the largest food and beverage companies in LATAM, competing in a very fragmented segment. It was a roller coaster journey and living that experience I figured out my strengths and that the MBA would be the next career step.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: I would like to say that I already landed my dream job and I had impacted some companies/communities during my Carlson Consulting Enterprise experience. However, it is too early.  We are in the end of the first semester and, the best part is yet to come.

Honestly, I would say that my biggest accomplishment so far is that I figured out what career I want to pursue and what is important in my life. The key learning was prioritizing what’s mattered most.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the Carlson MBA program? I would recommend the following:

Be genuine in your application

Talk to students and alumni

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