Han Yu Lee (Jenny)

IESE Business School

“I love trying new things, creating new methods, and introducing new ideas.”

Hometown: Changhua, Taiwan

Fun Fact About Yourself:  I’m practically addicted to Stardew Valley, which is simulation role-playing video game

Undergraduate School and Major: National Taiwan University, Accounting

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Be Accelerator, Associate

What makes the case method so attractive as a means to learn and become a better manager? 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.

What has been your favorite part of Barcelona so far? What has made it such a great place to earn an MBA? Barcelona is a beautiful, family-friendly city full of creativity and energy, and the weather is also fantastic. The living costs are also reasonable and the city is full of diversity, which is very good for kids.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of the IESE Business School MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The Business Spanish course is another reason why I chose IESE. It is a great opportunity to learn a new language and get to know better the culture in Spain.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at IESE? Leadership is the class that I enjoyed the most because I really learned a lot from the course. The design of the class is super interesting, and gave me so much awareness about different topics. I already had some leadership experiences before, but after this class I realized that things could have been handled in so many different ways. During the class, the professor instructed us to discuss those leadership dilemmas and scrutinize the pros and cons of different approaches. This really helped open my mind and provide me with lots of new perspectives.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: In my third year at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), I was in charge of more than 20 projects and helped my team earn more than US$350,000 in revenue, the best performance of anyone at the senior associate level and even better than some managers. Thanks to these outstanding results, internally I have won the “Big Win” award – for projects with revenue greater than US$35,000 – and three “Small Win” awards, which are awarded to projects with revenue over US$10,000. These outstanding achievements gained me wide recognition among PwC partners and allowed me to seek more opportunities internally. One example is my nomination for the PwC Key Talent Program, which was mainly for manager-level and above, with only a few vacancies for senior associates. A second opportunity was my inclusion in the Management Development Program. I’m proud that, in addition to awards and recognition, during that hectic year I learned about upward management and time management by handling so many high-level projects simultaneously.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: To be decided! While I´ve done several things, none of them I want to claim as my biggest accomplishment as an MBA yet.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the IESE MBA program? I advise applicants to network with different alumni in IESE in order to understand IESE´s value as much as they can. Secondly, be authentic in the interview. Finally, practice, practice, practice!