Meet the MBA Class of 2024: Joanna Chen, CEIBS

Joanna Chen
China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

“Self-aware, self-driven, self-actualizing.”

Hometown: Wuxi, China

Fun Fact About Yourself: My cousin did a student exchange to CEIBS in 2019 and strongly recommended the CEIBS MBA programme. I have now become a half-alumna of my cousin.

Undergraduate School and Major: B.A. in Economics (International Economics and Trade) – Jiangsu University; M.Sc. in Management (Corporate Management) – Nankai University

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Director of International Marketing & Sales Department at Accurature

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the MBA curriculum that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Doing business with foreign customers in the healthcare industry in China requires deep comprehensive perspectives on global trends as well as a firm understanding of the Chinese healthcare environment. Besides the diverse background of the faculty team and my classmates, the mentorship programme and strong alumni network provide me with a multifaceted industry perspective. The mentorship programme helps to establish a long-term mutual-trust relationship between mentors and mentees. Mentors provide multi-faceted guidance to mentees on diverse aspects based on their extensive experience, including self-awareness, industry insights, career planning, life direction, and even value building. During the regular conversations and interactions with my mentor, I have gained deeper industry insights from the big picture as well as a firmer understanding of what industry and career path is suited to me.

What course, club, or activity excites you the most? My background was in healthcare, focusing on in-vitro diagnosis in the medical device industry. I particularly look forward to participating in more activities organized by the Healthcare Club. I was also deeply impressed by Professor Bala Ramasamy’s microeconomics course. He helped us to understand the underlying logic of economics concepts by elaborating on vivid cases that everyone is familiar with or has experienced before. I look forward to the macroeconomics course next semester!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I believe learning is a lifelong endeavor which equips me for future challenges. By rotating among different functions as a product manager, marketing manager and international sales manager, I established all-round and in-depth strategic thinking in overseas marketing and sales of medical devices. I have been the sales champion for three consecutive years and achieved 200% of my sales target in 2019. Each year my sales accounted for more than 60% of the company’s overseas revenue, which made our export revenue rank within the top ten in the IVD field.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? I got used to reading the Financial Times every morning after entering CEIBS. It is a leading global financial newspaper that provides articles on a wide range of business, financial and economic issues. The latest financial news allows me to keep up with global financial trends and combined closely with the theoretical knowledge I have learned in my economics course.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the CEIBS MBA program? A high GMAT score is helpful but not an absolute must. Think deeply about what you want to do after the MBA, what makes you want to do so, and which industry and market you are mostly interested in. CEIBS is aimed at developing independent and strategic thinkers with entrepreneurial spirit. Dig deep about yourself and build self-awareness before doing your admissions interview, as interviewers will definitely ask tough follow-up questions based on your answers rather than simply posing standard questions.

Read more profiles from the CEIBS MBA Class Of 2024.