Meet The MBA Class of 2025: Fernanda Nunes Mamede Rosa, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

Fernanda Nunes Mamede Rosa

China Europe International Business School

“Passionate traveler with a special curiosity to discover different cultures”

Hometown: Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

Fun Fact About Yourself: The second word I learn in every country I visit is “Cheers”, the first is “Thank you” to express gratitude for my beer.

Undergraduate School and Major: USP (University of Sao Paulo), Business Management

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Amazon Brazil as Senior Vendor Manager

What has been the biggest accomplishment in your career so far?

I launched the Smart Home category at Amazon Brazil and within a year, the leading smart light bulb was the top 1 selling product during Amazon Brazil Prime Day with thousands of units sold. I am proud to have been able to build a category from scratch, show customers the value of a new product and deliver an outstanding result for Amazon Brazil.

When you think of CEIBS, what is the first word that comes to mind? 

Family. Each MBA class creates its own culture through a brainstorming process about what is important to each of us and what we want to leave as a group legacy. My class culture is Family, where we want to deliver a Future full of brAvery, charisMa, resIlience, coLaboration and diversitY.

What are one or two key aspects of this program that led you to choose CEIBS, and why were they so important to you?

I had the chance to visit CEIBS before accepting my offer, and the truly international environment with such welcoming people was key in making my decision since I was moving from Brazil to China for this experience, and having a safe place was important to me.

The second factor that helped me choose CEIBS was the China Discovery modules where we travel to different business centers in China, such as Shenzhen, Ningbo, and Changsha, to visit local companies and have an in-depth and practical course on the region’s economic development. This is perfectly aligned with my MBA goal of understanding how to do business in China.

What course, club, activity, or experience at CEIBS excites you the most and why?

As president of the Women Leadership Club, I am thrilled with the opportunity to meet powerful girls and be inspired by their stories. Women still face significant challenges in the workplace, and I am glad to be part of this discussion on the other side of the world (for me) and at a business school that is shaping the next generation of leaders and has the role of educating them

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to other prospective CEIBS MBAs? 

Recently we studied a case about the EV (electric vehicles) industry, and since I do not know this industry very well, some things caught my attention: the success of the industry relies on battery improvement, and there are over 300,000 registered patents related to batteries, showing the complexity of this field. China is leading this business, with BYD surpassing Tesla sales and launching different EV brands focused on different features and positioning. Elon Musk showed his concern about Chinese manufacturers at the last Tesla post-earning call. I recommend reading on this subject since it may be the center of the next tension between China and US.

What are two things you have learned being at CEIBS that have surprised you so far – one academic and one non-academic?

During a case study in our Marketing class, I learned about the power of KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) as a channel for selling products. I was impressed by numbers like 1 million units sold of a skincare product in 1 hour of live streaming. When I worked at Amazon Brazil, we tried to leverage live streams, but we only sold 100 units. This is one example of the big difference between customer behavior and business success models.

As a non-academic, the power of delivering anything anytime in China still impresses me. Food and supermarket delivery is quite popular in Brazil, but I will never forget the day we had our first exam, Microeconomy one, and I did not have a calculator. I was desperate because time was a challenge for the exam, and I was going to lose it on calculations. My Chinese desk mate looked at me and said “Don’t worry. I will order one for you and it will arrive before lunch.” And that was just the first time the Chinese delivery system saved my life.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into CEIBS MBA program?

The GMAT score is an important part of the application process, so I recommend preparing in advance for the test, especially for the English part, since the MBA is fully in English. But the story you want to tell and the role CEIBS has on it is perhaps even more important, so prepare your motivation letter carefully, be personal and passionate about what motivates you. This will be the driver of your experience at CEIBS.