Meet the MBA Class of 2023: Soo Yeon Kim, IESE Business School

Soo Yeon Kim

IESE Business School

“A passionate commercial-minded shipping/logistics expert with a personal interest and passion in education.”

Hometown: Seoul, Korea

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve had chances to be on live television four times since elementary school (both by accident and for interviews)

Undergraduate School and Major: Ewha Women University, Economics & Political Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Account Manager, Maersk

What makes the case method so attractive as a means to learn and become a better manager? First of all, every class with the case method is excellent preparation for the future working environment. During classes, we have to think fast and constructively respond to others’ opinions and make decisions, all in a safe environment. Secondly, we learn to look at an issue from so many different angles, supported by insights from peers of all different backgrounds. Lastly, it helps your learn more about yourself: your strengths and weaknesses. Then we can start to think about how to improve ourselves.

What has been your favorite part of Barcelona so far? What has made it such a great place to earn an MBA? Barcelona is an easy city to settle down in. It’s got nice weather, a reasonable cost of living, and is close to nature. While the academic and recruiting aspect of any MBA can be overwhelming, where students live shouldn’t add to this pressure!

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 two-year duration of the program was an attractive point for me, as I wanted to make sure that I chose my next career step in an informed and prepared manner.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at IESE? Three months is quite a short time to enjoy everything the school has to offer, but I did enjoy the Analysis of Business Problems course. The course helped me look at issues from different angles and take a more analytical approach; and it does help with decision-making for my personal life too, not just business problems!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Winning the case competition for real internal business problems and presenting it in front of the global CEO.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: I had a chance to deliver a public speech in front of 150+ students as a closing of the program’s communication course. It was the biggest audience I´d faced, and it felt good being able to share my learnings with the class and work up the courage to speak in front of them.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the IESE MBA program? I think it is important to be genuinely yourself throughout the application process. It is not just about the school trying to find the students who it would like to have in the program, but also about the applicants finding the right school for themselves. Since an MBA is a big investment, it helps to find information by talking to many people from the school and the program.