Meet IESE Business School’s MBA Class Of 2023

P&Q: In the most recent Economist survey of MBA students and alumni, IESE ranked #1 for both Culture and Classmates and Programme content. The school also ranked #4 for Faculty Quality. What is behind IESE’s high level of student satisfaction?

PA: “The list is long, and it comprises a combination of different factors. The methodology we use, the great culture of collaboration and support we foster, the structure of the program, which makes the students spend a lot of time together in a productive environment, and the beautiful and thriving city of Barcelona.

To add to that, something that becomes more obvious to me every day, especially since the pandemic hit, is how much effort IESE invests in providing a good student experience. Everything revolves around the factors that will leverage the experience on campus, and the school goes out of its way to guarantee that. We have been one of the few schools to keep classes in person since June 2020 and, most importantly, in a safe and responsible way. We also doubled the resources allocated to the program by, among others:

* Splitting the cohort into seven sections instead of five to have fewer people per classroom

* Having staff dedicated to tracking and tracing positive cases so we could know who to isolate and not send everyone home

* Investing in new technology to allow for hybrid classes for those who couldn’t be on campus because of symptoms, etc.”

5 REASONS TO CONSIDER AN IESE MBA

1) Case Method: “I think the same attractiveness as working in consulting: You learn from different industries and sectors in a very short time. The fact that you prepare almost 15 cases per week leaves a knowledge base that I found hard to achieve through other learning processes. Beyond what you can learn by preparing the case and participating in class, seeing how others tackle the same problem is eye opening and makes you question your learning process and conclusions on every step.”
Ignacio Guitard (’23)

“The heterogeneity of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds at IESE is truly not to be underestimated. To give you a small sampling of the diversity in my section alone, we have an American who lived on oil rigs in Egypt and Israel, a Brazilian who worked on preventing corruption in Angola, an Indian who started her own business, and a Kuwaiti who helped open the first Wendy’s in his country. Given this, people come to class having analyzed business ethics dilemmas, strategy cases, and marketing simulations from their own lived experiences.”
Hahn Chang (’23)

“I think the case method is really helpful for learning how to become a better manager. All the cases are based on real business stories and situations. So when a student reads them, they can put themselves in the leader’s shoes to think about how to solve the problems. By reading hundreds of cases, you get to practice hundreds of management dilemmas. On top of that, the discussion during the class also plays an important role in the case method. Students not only can learn from the case, but also from his/her classmates, understanding different perspectives and inspiring new ideas. I think one of the very important qualities of a good manager is knowing how to respect different voices and be willing to embrace different viewpoints. And the case method provides a better chance for students to learn that.”
Han Yu Lee (’23)

2) Barcelona: “Another one of my favorite things about Barcelona is exploring the city by walking and biking through it. Barcelona has done a lot to put people at the center of the urban design, and as a result it is a really easy city to see the beauty of and navigate.”
Hahn Chang (’23)

“Weather, landscape and diversity. Barcelona offers an eclectic landscape, which is perfectly complemented by its mild weather. In addition to this, I’ve been left pleasantly surprised by the diversity the city has to offer; my MBA experience has been enriched by engaging with people from all over the world, not just within IESE, but outside the classroom setting as well.”
Hamza Zahid (’23)

3) Entrepreneurship: “IESE has a great reputation for developing innovative students, with 30% of students starting their own business within 5 years of graduating. They have a strong entrepreneurship and startup club, which was a big pull. I am also organizing the startup school this year, where students in IESE that have business ideas get mentored and coached through the MVP, monetization, setup and financing stages. IESE also has a very active alumni investment network, and the students can then pitch their polished ideas to the VC and business angels within the school.”
Dian de wet (’23)

“The entrepreneurship ecosystem on the campus. The setup is above my expectations. I knew beforehand that some teachers were experts in the topic, especially in new ways of entrepreneurship such as search funds. However, I didn’t expect such a solid entrepreneur club that fosters creativity. Just as an example, I had a plan to launch an NGO during the two years of the MBA. My original idea was to start it at the beginning of the second year, right after one year of learning and doing an internship in a VC or a startup. However, it only took the opening meeting of the club and the advice of two second-year students to launch the idea to the market. So far, I’ve already launched the pilot and feel very confident on the next steps. In all this process, the club has been very involved and I even created a board council (which we call the wisdom committee) that gives me feedback on my idea.”
Ignacio Guitard (’23)

4) Multi-Culti: “Definitely the Multi-Culti. It is one of IESE’s biggest social events every year, when all the students get together to celebrate the diversity of IESE. It takes place in a big venue and each country has its own table displaying their traditional food and drinks. A group of students from each country performs a traditional dance and afterwards there is a big joint celebration. At this event you can clearly see why IESE is so proud of its diverse student body with students from over 50 countries. You see on one hand the willingness of the students to share their culture, food, costumes and experiences and on the other hand, you see the appreciation of each other’s cultures and the willingness to learn those new customs. The diversity of the student body is, in my opinion, IESE’s biggest asset.”
Christian Bopp (’21)

“Without a doubt my favorite IESE event would have to be our annual Multi-Culti. Multi-Culti is this large fair where all the nationalities of IESE are represented. Located in a beautiful outdoor venue in Barcelona, each nationality is in charge of their own stall and each group goes all out to best represent their country. Each table has typical food, drinks, and decoration from their nationality. Many of the groups also put on a show with some traditional dancing and singing. Last year on the Canadian table, we offered some Tim Horton’s donuts, maple syrup, and delicious poutine! For me, this event best embodies the multi-cultural spirit of IESE.”
Marc-Olivier Granger (’21)

5) Breakfast With The Dean: “There are many traditions I enjoy at IESE. If I had to choose one it would be the “Breakfast with the Dean” initiative. I participated in this initiative last November with our Dean, Franz Heuzkamp. During the breakfast, I better understood what challenges schools are facing in the current pandemic and I learned about how our Dean envisions the future of learning and how a top MBA school is preparing for this imminent future. We also had a chance to express how we have experienced the pandemic as students, what have been our major concerns, and what we think could be valuable to include and consider to maximize the experience for our predecessors. I believe it is an invaluable experience, which brings the top management of the school closer to students. I believe the openness, proximity, and personal care IESE puts in their students is one of the outstanding qualities of this great school.”
Maria Carnal-Fuste (’21)

ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS

“One morning a few weeks before my IESE application was due, I invited two of my closest friends for brunch to review my CV and my motivation letters. They’ve known me for a very long time, and I think they have a good view of my strengths and weaknesses. One had completed his MBA and the other had a master’s in finance, so they both had some experience in this type of application. We spent about four hours in the restaurant going over my essays. They proceeded to kindly rip to pieces what I had written, but in the process pushed me to write much better essays. They knew what I was worth, showed me not to sell myself short, and really gave me a different perspective of what I could bring to an MBA class. I think that reaching out to people that know me well and that have no problem giving me direct feedback pushed me to present a much better application.”
Marc-Olivier Granger (’21)

“Career progression is important and demonstrating your ability to lead yourself and others is critical. What is your leadership journey? Consider where you are on your journey, leveraging various experiences and how IESE will allow you to further hone your leadership skills. It is important to be authentic in conveying your leadership abilities. Take time to reflect on the roles where you have been able to influence and impact decisions and teams. Showcase your leadership journey through stories, not just titles.”
Lisa Bevill, Fortuna Admissions

“I see that IESE cares the most about the people, and that is something you realize from the first moment you enter the campus. For example, every morning when Conchi, the server attending the cafeteria, sees me entering, she prepares me the coffee with skim milk that I always ask for (no need for me to ask). I know it is a minor example, but it represents very well IESE. I would suggest any applicant to stress those situations in their lives where they focus on putting others first.”
 Ignacio Guitard (’23)

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergrad Alma Mater	Last Employer
Hahn Chang	Maple Grove, MN	Columbia University	Vault Health
Dian de wet	Johannesburg, South Africa	Stellenbosch University	Meondo
Lais Giardullo Bernardes	São Paulo, Brazil	University of São Paulo	Marae
Ignacio Guitard	Madrid, Spain	ICADE	Bain & Company
Mitsuhiro Miyamoto	Yokohama, Japan	Meiji University	Panasonic Industry Europe
Precious Okoro	Okigwe, Nigeria	Texas A&M University	Seplat Energy
Han Yu Lee	Changhua, Taiwan	National Taiwan University	Be Accelerator
Soo Yeon Kim	Seoul, Korea	Ewha Women University	Maersk
Hamza Zahid	Sharjah, United Arab Emirates	American University of Sharjah	Baker Hughes
Shir Zilberstein	Tel Aviv, Israel	Reichman University	The Center for Israeli Innovation