Takahiro Shimada

“From Japan and has consulting experience”

Hometown: Tokyo

Fun Fact About Yourself: I can make a matcha tea.

Undergraduate School and Major: Kyoto University, Economics (Include Graduate School if Relevant)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: McKinsey, Business Analyst (Please also indicate if you are currently still employed/working, planning to return to this company/role post grad, choose not to say, etc.)

What were some of the key motivating factors behind pursing your MBA, and why did this seem like the right time for you?

Geography (Market size of my interested market(elderly care)), other students’ quality and prestigious status (Ranking)

When you think of your school, what is the first word that comes to mind and why?

Ranking, because it contains several factors to evaluate a lot of MBA schools

What are one or two key aspects of this MBA program that stood out among the others, and why were they so important to you?

Slogan (China and global) & relatively expensive tuition (High bar for prospects)

What course were you/are you most interested in taking coming into the program and why?

Marketing, I’m personally interested in Chinese digital marketing

What club, activity, or experience at the school have you most enjoyed so far, and why?

Consulting club (I’m a member of this club’s leadership) and facility (gym, etc.)

What do you consider the biggest accomplishment in your career so far?

Turn around my family business (Elderly care home)

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

CEIBS has one of the strongest alumni networks because it has several programs like EMBA, EE, and DBA.

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

Academic: The quality of professors, every professor gives us thoughtful and interesting class
Non-academic: We have a soccer ground, tennis court and basket ball court

What advice would you give to help prospective MBAs gain admission into an MBA program?

From my perspective as a Japanese student, the presence of CEIBS in Japan is less one in China. I don’t know what kind of student category CEIBS aims at, but I think we can enhance CEIBS’s presence by coffee chat in China (targeting at Japanese students who love in China).