Carmen Garcia Gallego

INSEAD

“Fun-loving and easily excitable sustainability and data nerd, with a passion for travel!”

Hometown: Madrid, Spain

Fun Fact About Yourself: I constantly make up puns… but please don’t pun-ish me for it, I really don’t do it on pun-pose!

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Pennsylvania – Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Clarity AI, Product Manager II

INSEAD is one of the most culturally and professionally diverse MBA programs in the world. How do you see these global perspectives enhancing the value of your business education over the next year? Frankly, this is the main reason why I chose INSEAD. I have had professional experience in four different continents, and I find working with diverse people extremely enriching – but it can be very challenging! I hope that having even more exposure to global perspectives will help me become a more empathetic professional and have a more open mind during my business education. I’m particularly looking forward to joining a diverse study group and bringing our heads together to solve business problems.

Why did you choose a one-year program over a two-year program? How do you see an INSEAD MBA giving you an advantage in the marketplace? I chose a one-year program because it seemed more time- and cost-effective. Spending two years out of the workforce felt like too much, and friends who did two-year programs told me they weren’t too busy during their second year. I didn’t want that.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of INSEAD’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I’m very attracted to INSEAD’s focus on sustainability in the academic curriculum. I have worked in the sustainability sector for 5 years and would like to continue working in this sphere in the future, so I really value that INSEAD places a focus on sustainable development, not just in elective courses but as part of the core curriculum as well.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at INSEAD? I’m very excited to join the Women in Business Club and meet other women who aspire to be business leaders. I want to learn about other women’s experiences in the workforce and gain skills to help other women grow. I’m very grateful to have received a fellowship through the Forté Foundation, which also supports women through access to business education and professional development, so I look forward to engaging with these two forums and seeing if we can do some events together!

What has been your first impression of the INSEAD MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best INSEAD story so far. I have spoken to a good number of alumni thus far, and the first thing they always tell me is “I’m so jealous, I wish I was back at INSEAD.” I think it’s incredible that not a single person had a bad – or even average – experience. They all recalled it as the best year of their lives and made a lot of significant friendships; I can only hope to say the same in a year!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I spent the last year working as a product manager for an internal data collection tool at a sustainability tech firm called Clarity AI. My biggest accomplishment was creating a software tool to capture data for EU Taxonomy reporting (the EU Taxonomy is a classification tool for companies to report what economic activities they partake in and whether they can be labeled as sustainable). It was really cool working with so many different departments like tech, design, product, strategy, and research and seeing how an idea that I was responsible for developing came to life as an actual product with real users. This really motivated me to want to continue working in a product role.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? I want to work as a Product Manager for a climate tech or agricultural tech firm – I’m a big data nerd, and I’m very excited about using data and technology to help make more sustainable food systems or mitigate the effects of climate change in some other way.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into INSEAD’s MBA program? You’ve probably heard this cliché before, but be yourself! INSEAD really values diversity, so don’t try to fit a prototype you think admissions is looking for. Be honest about what you hope to get out of the program and talk to plenty of students and alumni to get a feel of what the program and the community are really like.

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