Cecilia Rios Murrieta  

Location: Dallas, TX

Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico

MBA program: UVA Darden School of Business

Undergraduate school, major: ITAM, Business administration

Focus of current case: Education

What word best describes Bain and why? 
Energy. From the beginning of my recruiting journey, every time I interact with another Bainie I feel energized. There is something about the way Bainie’s tend to communicate that makes you feel motivated to get up and go take that next step toward anything you’re tackling in that moment. I love feeling that way about where I work, and my philosophy is to always strive for finding that everywhere I go.   

Why did you choose to work at Bain?
The people. When I began my recruiting journey, my main goal was to learn as much as I could about the culture of the firms I was curious about. I wanted to get a feel for the type of teams I could be working in and the people I would get a chance to learn from. As soon as I began networking at Bain and their Dallas office, I knew Bain was the one. I immediately felt seen and valued for who I was, not only as an MBA student, but as a person. I can honestly say that pretty much everyone I have interacted with at Bain has taken a genuine interest into my personal goals and ambitions. It may sound cliché, but it’s true what they say: “A Bainie never lets another Bainie fail”.

What did you love about the business school you attended? 
I loved that Darden was truly a student-led school. I had a great chance to experience this during my second year. I was on the student association as VP of International Student Affairs. During my tenure, I was able to collaborate with my fellow students and enact actual change to several aspects of our student life. By holding weekly round table discussions with international students, we were able to pinpoint and identify struggles that our community faced during their MBA experience. With the help of student club board members and other student leaders, we had a chance to implement positive changes to our many student-led activities.

What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned so far at Bain? 
It must be learning to rely on others while seeing a project through to the end. I had a great experience in my last case, where we were working on a project to tackle a question in the DEI and Retail space that had not been addressed yet. It was an opportunity to work with my team at understanding what the impact of our work would be, while having the chance to truly own and create data that not been explored yet. We all learned to rely on each other to question our perspectives and challenge ourselves to dig deeper. In the end, we delivered an amazing study that I’m looking forward to seeing published soon.

Which manager or peer has had the biggest impact on you at Bain, and how has he or she made you a better consultant?
Bryan Dunklin. He was my first manager during my summer internship. I just loved that he had enough confidence in my experience and abilities to throw me right into the ring. It was literally my second day on the case, and I was asked to present my analysis directly to the client. Of course, I have given presentations before, but a part of me just felt like there was so much more on the line here. Bryan coached me to feel confident in my own ability as well as secure, in the sense that if anything were to come up, he or another consultant would be there to support me. It was the best possible experience to have in my first case at Bain, and it has made a mark the way I approach case work ever since. Even if I don’t know a topic completely, I am sure that I will be able to figure it out with the help of my team.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to work for Bain? 
I would say to find pleasure in looking at things from different perspectives. Many times, we tend to see things from our own POV and focus on just what matters most to us. But if we can learn to understand what is behind other people’s perspective, we can expand our capacity to reach the best solution to a problem. I think this is the basis of teamwork, coming together from different perspectives and experiences to come up with the best possible results.

What has been your most meaningful career achievement and how did it make a difference?
Starting a successful business from nothing has been my most meaningful career achievement. Having an idea, designing a concept and then taking the necessary steps to create and deliver a finished product has made me think that everything is possible. I’ve always been very inquisitive and creative, and being an entrepreneur has allowed me to look at every problem I face in a proactive way. For every problem, there is an opportunity.

A fun fact about me people would be surprised to know is: 
A fun fact about me people would be surprised to know is that I used to be the owner of two mezcal brands. I founded a mezcal company out of Mexico in 2012. We produced different expressions of mezcal out of Oaxaca, and later introduced a Bacanora from Sonora and a Sotol from Chihuahua. I spent about eight years importing Mexican spirits into the US and sharing a part of my culture and heritage with the people I came across. These were some of the best years of my life. I simply loved being able to create products that people can consume and feel like it transforms them in a way.

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