2023 Best & Brightest Online MBA: Kamille Carlos, IE Business School

Kamille Carlos

IE Business School

“A Filipina taking inspiration from the world, always eager to bring the learnings back home.”

Hometown: Pampanga, Philippines

Fun fact about yourself: I still print photos and put them in photo albums.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Legal Management, Ateneo de Manila University

Where are you currently working? GRBank, Business Development

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? The transition from Corporate Finance to family business and entrepreneurship has been a roller coaster ride – mainly of learning and unlearning things, hitting the ground running, and charging a lot of things to experience. Advancing digital transformation in a traditional Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) remains both a highlight and an exciting challenge.

Why did you choose this school’s online MBA program? It was an easy choice going for one of the world’s best. IE’s blended format offers a good balance of online and face-to-face interactions, plus an opportunity to participate in a Global Immersion Week in cities like San Francisco, Berlin, or Dubai. The focus on entrepreneurship was also a huge factor.

What was your favorite part of being in an online MBA program? It’s the ability to stretch one’s learning beyond the traditional confines of a classroom and expand it to the rest of the world. You gain valuable insights from such a diverse group of people, without needing to be in the same space at the same time. There is so much to learn from everyone!

What was the most surprising thing about an online learning environment? This setup demands a significant amount of individual and collective participation. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of interaction online; I sometimes forget I have not seen some of these people in person!

How did your online experience compare with your in-the-classroom experience as an undergraduate student? At the bare minimum, in-class attendance means being physically present in class. Online participation, on the other hand, requires active contribution through daily deliverables in order to be ‘present’. Discussions happen throughout the day and continuously build on each other’s inputs.

What is your best piece of advice to an applicant for thriving in an online MBA program? Make your online presence count. While the obvious answers are just a click away, exert the extra effort to go beyond the surface and dig deeper. Offer a less popular opinion or even a wild guess, if you have to. Also, create a routine and stick to it. That’s how you keep your sanity when all your priorities get in conflict with each other (and they will!).

How has your online education helped you in your current job? Learning alongside people from such diverse backgrounds has given me deeper insights of the global environment we do business in. The cumulative experience and perspectives of the class is like having consultants in various fields. This has been very helpful in navigating different challenges in the workplace.

Why did you pursue an online MBA program instead of a full-time residential program? The online MBA program was my only choice as it offered me less resistance to my personal and professional commitments at home. I got to continue my work and complete an MBA at the same time – I say, the best of both worlds!

Number of Hours Per Week Spent on an Online MBA: ~25

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? In one way or another, I would like to be involved in social entrepreneurship, improve the lives of others, and ultimately pay it forward.

DON’T MISS: BEST & BRIGHTEST ONLINE MBAS: CLASS OF 2023