Nicholas Johnson Restrepo

HEC Paris

“I love exploring new things, from cultures, ideas and technologies to music and food!”

Hometown: Bogotá, Colombia/ Oxford, UK

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve had the amazing fortune to call three different continents ‘home’!

Undergraduate School and Major: Carnegie Mellon University (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration), Class of 2018

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: ClustrX LLC, Partner/Co-founder

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of HEC Paris’ MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? For me, the key part of choosing HEC is the opportunity to be nurtured by world-class faculty who are true masters of their craft. Of course, I find the HEC reputation, infrastructure, and resources really attractive as well – and its location – but it is the interaction with HEC’s experts that I crave.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at HEC Paris? I am deeply interested in the Search Fund Club. I had an amazing conversation with the club’s founder, Paulo Rabelo from the Class of 2023, and would love to become a member. As a Colombian, I have a keen interest in this sector. Also, as a Colombian, I cannot wait to meet the other members of the LATAM Club – not just because I want to foster connections with peers from my region, but also because I want to help the club promote career opportunities within Latin America.

HEC Paris is just 17 kilometers from Paris. What do you see as the best part of earning your MBA so close to Paris? For me, Paris holds a unique allure: it is beautiful, vibrant, cosmopolitan, historic – and it is becoming a business dynamo globally. Being in the immediate vicinity of such a dynamic and diverse economic ecosystem offers opportunities in networking, internships, and potentially influential connections with international corporations. In addition to Paris as a global hub, it is also a central node in the European market. By being around there, I will gain insight not only into French business practices, but also the broader European economic landscape, including its key players, regulations, and challenges. I think its proximity to Station F, the world’s largest startup campus, is a unique opportunity as well. So, I really hope to be able to engage directly with entrepreneurs, tech innovators, and venture capitalists.

Historically, over 90% of HEC Paris’ MBA students hail from outside France. Why is exposure to global diversity so critical to business success? Having global diversity is everything in my view, which is why I am coming to HEC Paris. Drawing from my own experience of starting a company in Washington D.C. during COVID, I purposely chose the most globally diverse team that I could assemble. Our initial progress was slow, perhaps because more time was needed to integrate — but ultimately this diversity became one of our strongest assets. We had to assimilate a group of individuals with differing skill sets and cultural backgrounds into a cohesive unit. My personal history of living on three different continents, coupled with my international professional experiences, helped. lot during this process.’

I learned that understanding and appreciating diverse cultural perspectives can significantly enhance communication and collaboration within a team, which are crucial for any business, especially startups. For instance, by leveraging our diverse perspectives, we were able to identify unique business opportunities and develop creative solutions to problems, which helped our startup not only survive but thrive – even during COVID.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Although I am relatively early in my career, my most significant accomplishment thus far has been founding my own company and securing key contracts — and doing all that during COVID. Growing up, I moved from country-to-country, continually having to adapt and learn. This instilled in me a profound resilience that I channeled into my entrepreneurial venture.

This also brought many, many challenges, of course. In terms of the startup, one of the foremost was assembling a diverse team, not only in terms of cultural backgrounds but also in the variety of their skill sets and work methodologies. I like to think that the lessons I learned in cultural empathy from my international upbringing and internships helped unify this diverse group and foster a productive work environment.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? Looking ahead two years, I would consider my MBA experience a success if I was thinking in ways that I couldn’t imagine now — outside my present ‘box’.

I will also consider it a success if I have managed to immerse myself in every aspect of the program, actively seeking out new knowledge, exploring different disciplines, and challenging myself intellectually. This includes, very importantly, my goal of building strong relationships with my classmates. Collaboration and networking are key and I want to actively engage with my peers as much as possible. By stepping out of my comfort zone and embracing diverse experiences, I want to broaden my perspectives and gain a deeper understanding of global business dynamics.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into HEC Paris’s MBA program? One of the key pieces of advice I would give to prospective applicants for HEC Paris’s MBA program is this: Don’t hesitate to tap into the program’s community. Engage with current students and alumni as much as possible. Every person I reached out to was incredibly open and willing to share their insights about the program. These conversations were invaluable, providing a detailed picture of the MBA journey at HEC Paris and the wealth of opportunities it offers. It was particularly heartening to learn how alumni remain connected with the institution and their cohort, which speaks volumes about the enduring value of the relationships forged here. I personally cannot thank students such as Alberto Mendoza, Paulo Rabelo, and Simon Ware enough for their time and insight.

It is also important to align your application with HEC Paris’s emphasis on a global perspective and diversity. Reflect on your personal and professional experiences that highlight your understanding and embodiment of these values. Whether it’s working in multicultural teams, living abroad, or any other experience that underlines your global mindset, don’t hesitate to showcase it in your application. Demonstrating how you would contribute to the program’s diversity, both in the classroom and in the larger community, can significantly enhance your chances of admission.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE HEC PARIS MBA CLASS OF 2025