2022 MBA To Watch: Celso Benidio, CEIBS

Celso Benidio

China Europe International Business School

“I am a curious and driven individual interested in everything that intersects strategy, technology and human behavior.”

Hometown: Porto, Portugal

Fun fact about yourself: I have a serious difficulty in memorizing names – especially those of actors and songs – but I find it very easy to memorize odd details from life events such as the color of the scarf someone wore at a friends’ reunion years ago.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Masters in Finance (MSc), Universidade do Porto

Where did you intern during the summer of 2021? Bayer Group – Strategy & Business Consulting

Where will you be working after graduation? McKinsey & Company

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: President of the Technology Club, Dean’s List, Student Leadership Award (given to only 3 students), Student Ambassador

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am equally proud of all the achievements listed in the previous question because they recognize the different spectrums of my commitment to balancing academic excellence with adding value to the MBA community outside of the classroom.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? It was having had the courage to stop for one year and pursue my MBA, especially within the context of a pandemic. The experience provided me an invaluable new sense of direction and purpose in life.

Why did you choose this business school? I wanted to strengthen my understanding of doing business in Asia, learn more about the Chinese business ecosystem, and enlarge my network in the region. Post-MBA I also wanted to continue developing my career in the APAC region which indeed has happened.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? There were a few. I have fond memories of my classes with Professor Park Hyun Young (Marketing, Consumer Behavior), Professor Bin Xu (Macroeconomics, Chinese Economy) and pretty much all the professors of the strategy courses – namely Professor Kim Tae Yeol, Professor Shameen Prashantham, Professor Jeffrey Sampler and Professor Yu Zhang.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? The Shanghai Night: An MBA celebratory evening held on a boat looking out at the cityscape while everyone dresses like it is 1930s Shanghai. It was a memorable experience that required a great coordination effort among many of my classmates.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I don’t think there is anything relevant I would change from my MBA experience. In hindsight, we always wish we had enjoyed more and worked less but such quest is always easier said than done when we have certain career goals to obtain from the MBA.

What is the biggest myth about your school? Given that CEIBS is based in Shanghai and is the most prominent case study developer about Chinese companies, I was concerned the curriculum and case selection could be overly-focused on the Chinese context. This could not be further away from reality. I felt we had the ideal level of exposure to Western and Chinese business practices and a higher focus on innovation and technology than other top MBAs.

What surprised you the most about business school? I was not expecting a business school cohort to be as diverse in their backgrounds, reasons for joining the MBA and overall aspirations in life. It also surprised me to find during the program a renewed sense of purpose and focus on diversity that emerged from the many interactions I had with my classmates.

What is one thing you did during the application process that gave you an edge at the school you chose? I was living in Asia before applying to the MBA, it was therefore easier and clearer for me to justify why the MBA and why CEIBS. Generalizing from my experience, having a crystal-clear vision on the “why” is not only beneficial during the application process but also throughout the MBA journey when tough decisions must be made at the expense of ever-increasing opportunity costs.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Not a particular classmate above all, but in general I have a special level of admiration for all my classmates with kids and without a business background who still excelled at heavy accounting, finance and strategy courses. I can only imagine the amount of extra effort they had to put in to make that happen.

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? Entrepreneurs in general. Since a very young age, I came to admire men and women who could face the risk and embrace the uncertainty of starting their own businesses. Back then, I thought that if one day I wanted to be like them I had to study business at college. If was making this decision today, I would probably study software engineering and pursue an MBA later.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? Crystalize my purpose and work with people I admire.

How has the pandemic changed your view of a career? The pandemic reinforced in me the need to find a better balance between work and personal space, a balance that can foster better mental health and happiness levels as well as, productivity and creativity. 

What made Celso such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2022?

“Celso represents the sort of student that CEIBS is exceptionally well placed to add value to: a talented, ambitious and hard-working individual with an interest in bridging the West and East, particularly China. Once at CEIBS, Celso was able to build upon his background to engage with his academic subjects and leverage extracurricular opportunities — which he did proactively and diligently — to further enhance his career prospects. It was a pleasure to have him in my class and listen to his thoughtful comments.

Another observation worth making is the resilience and positive attitude Celso demonstrated. He was one of a group of 40 students who were part of our twin-city program for two terms which involved taking classes at our Zurich campus due to border restrictions for international students. Throughout that period Celso demonstrated a constructive spirit and was fully understanding of circumstances beyond the school’s control. Recently, he landed an excellent job with McKinsey and as such, Celso is poised for a great career that we will follow with interest and pride.”

Dr. Shameen Prashantham
Professor of International Business and Strategy
Associate Dean and MBA Director

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2022

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