Agustina Bigatti

IMD Business School

“Uruguayan-born, globally shaped people connector who brings ideas to life across cultures, grounded in simple joys and genuine connection.”

Hometown: Montevideo, Uruguay

Fun fact about yourself: I have a strong connection to water. If I come across any inviting body of water, there’s a good chance I’ll jump in, no matter the season or what I am wearing. I’ll find a way.

Undergraduate School and Degree:

• University of London – Bsc in Economics
• Universidad de Montevideo – BA in International Business

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Light-it, Head of Partnerships

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Took a one month of summer holiday to travel with family around Switzerland and Italy.

Where will you be working after graduation? Mentiora AI, Founding Commercial Lead

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Welsh Women Award – Awarded to the best all-round woman in the MBA class, recognizing drive, confidence, capability, and a commitment to pursuing a career with grace and respect for others.

Micahel Hepper Award – Recognizes altruism and selflessness behaviours.

Merit Scholarship – Awarded to applicants who demonstrate their potential as both an impactful future leader and an ambassador of IMD.

Co-led the Women in Business Club and Social Committee.

Organized more than 30 club and social events.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I could point to academic, professional, award, or club achievements during the MBA, but what I am most proud of is something my classmates told me at the end of the program: I had been the “glue” of the class, bringing people together.

Looking back, that role felt very natural to me. Across countries, industries, and different stages of life, I have often found myself creating spaces where people connect. During the MBA, that sometimes meant organizing things like a mountain weekend or group dinners; other times it was simply making sure everyone felt included in the moment.

What I have learned is that when people genuinely connect, something powerful happens. Trust builds, conversations become more open, and collaboration becomes much easier. In those environments, people are more willing to share ideas, challenge each other, and solve problems together. The result is often much stronger than what any of us could have achieved individually.

What made this especially meaningful is that the IMD community gave that same energy back to me. My classmates constantly pushed me beyond my comfort zone and supported me through moments of uncertainty. Being part of a community where people truly want the best for each other, and helping create that environment, is what I am most proud of from my MBA.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? To be honest, my biggest professional achievement was deciding to come to IMD.

I grew up with what I would describe as a “scarcity mindset.” Coming from a developing country, things were not always easy, and my closest people that I had looked up to understandably had to prioritize stability and playing it safe. That shaped the way I approached life and my career for many years.

When I came across IMD, something shifted. Rationally, it didn’t completely make sense, leaving my job and making such a big investment felt risky. But for the first time I chose to lean into what I would call a more “abundant mindset”: taking risks, investing in my future, and living the present moment.

Looking back, that decision changed far more than my career trajectory. It reshaped how I think about opportunities, risk, and what I believe I am capable of. Today I find myself in a role with responsibilities I wouldn’t have imagined possible before the MBA.

More than any single job or promotion, I am proud of that mindset shift, and I am excited to keep building it in the years ahead.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose this business school because of its strong focus on experiential learning and the development of soft skills.

It actually started during the admissions process. During the assessment day, we worked in groups to solve real challenges together. What stood out to me was that the school was observing how we collaborated, communicated, and approached problems, not just what we knew. It showed me that they truly value the human side of leadership.

In a world where AI increasingly supports technical knowledge and information, the real differentiator is how we work with others: how we lead, communicate, and build trust. That focus on human skills is embedded in the IMD experience. We worked closely with startups, completed consulting projects (in my case with the Olympics), spent a month in Singapore, and went through an intense leadership stream that constantly pushed us outside our comfort zones.

More than learning concepts, it was about learning through people, through action, and through community, and that was exactly what I was looking for in an MBA.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? If I had to pick, Arturo Bris, our finance professor, stands out. He has a remarkable ability to teach challenging concepts in a way that is both clear and genuinely fun. His classes were the kind you truly looked forward to attending, and he made finance feel dynamic and something anyone could understand.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Mark Greeven’s course really stood out to me, especially through the Ecosystems program in Singapore.

Before the MBA, I had worked in partnerships, but his class helped me understand them through a broader strategic lens. One insight that stayed with me is that innovation isn’t just about having the next big idea, it’s about who you build it with. Companies today win by co-creating value through ecosystems rather than acting alone.

Mark also shared fascinating insights into how quickly companies in China are building ecosystems and expanding across industries, showing how rapidly they are transforming global markets.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? One of my favorite MBA traditions was MBAT, the MBA Tournament, basically the Olympics of MBA programs. What I loved most is how seriously IMD takes it. To give you an idea, our dean spent the entire weekend there with us, cheering from the sidelines.

It takes place in May, just three months into the program, which makes it the perfect moment to bond as a class. Suddenly you’re not just classmates, you’re teammates working toward a common goal.

Even though we were one of the smallest cohorts participating, we ended up winning the award for the class that cheered the most – not just for our own team, but for everyone competing. That moment captured something I love about IMD: the spirit of showing up for each other and celebrating others’ efforts too.

For me, MBAT reflected that IMD is about much more than academic or professional achievement. The sense of community and collective energy is just as central to the experience.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Looking back, I think I would have believed in myself more and worried less about the uncertainties that naturally come with such an intense year.

Things don’t simply fall from the sky, but I’ve learned that when you consistently push yourself and stay committed, opportunities start to open up. I could have trusted the process more and stayed focused on the path I believed in.

I also wish I had discovered vineyard biking sooner. At IMD, we even get bikes we can use anytime, and riding through the vineyards around Lausanne quickly became one of my favorite ways to reset, but I only discovered this about six months into the program.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? The case study I liked the most was Trader Joe’s in our strategy class led by Omar Toulan.

What stood out to me was how the company built a powerful competitive advantage by turning grocery shopping into an experience. Trader Joe’s creates excitement around discovery through unique private-label products, curated assortments, and a strong in-store culture. Customers often become enthusiastic fans of the brand because each visit feels different and engaging.

The case showed me that strategy is not only about price or efficiency, but also about designing a system that creates loyalty and emotional connection with customers.

What business leader do you admire most? I admire Alan Brande, the CEO of Light-it, my previous company. With time and perspective, you come to appreciate great leaders even more.

Alan helped build Light-it from three friends working in a room into a successful software development company of more than 150 people, launching several spin-offs along the way. I joined when the team was around 30 people and had the chance to witness that growth firsthand.

What stood out most to me is his rare combination of deep technical expertise, strong business instinct, human leadership, and clear vision. He is also the best negotiator I have met and has an exceptional ability to hire and grow the right talent. Also, you can ask him almost any question, and most of the time he will have the answer.

Working with him pushed me to raise my own standards and realize how much more I was capable of contributing.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? From day zero we were encouraged to use AI, and many assignments and classes were designed with that in mind. Rather than restricting it, the program pushed us to experiment with it and understand how it could complement our work.

Beyond using it in our daily coursework, we also had a full module in Singapore dedicated to AI and its practical applications. We explored tools like Manus and worked on exercises such as data cleaning and analysis to understand how these technologies can support decision-making.

My biggest takeaway was that AI is something to approach with curiosity rather than fear. The pace of change is fast, and the real advantage comes from being willing to experiment and stay up-to-date.

That mindset has even influenced my next step after the MBA, as I am joining an agentic AI company, Mentiora AI.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Wow, this is a hard question, I could name so many classmates. But one person who stands out is Ashton Songer Ferguson.

When I arrived at IMD, I felt like I had quite a few barriers to overcome. Watching Ashton navigate the program quickly put things into perspective. She came here with her husband, two kids (Songer, 2, and Wells, 5), and their dog, Sidney. Yet somehow, she still managed to be fully present for her family, program and for the community around her.

Ashton is also a dear friend and my co-lead in Women in Business, together with Ameny Chaabani. What I admire most is the way she shows up: thoughtful, caring, and someone who stands firmly by her beliefs without worrying too much about what others might think.

She has pushed me to believe in myself, and throughout the year she has consistently encouraged me to face my own challenges with more confidence. Professionally and personally, she inspires the kind of leader and mother I hope to become.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

If you had asked me 5 years ago, I probably would have said becoming the CEO of a unicorn or giving a TED Talk (I grew up doing theatre and have always loved public speaking).

Today my answer has shifted a bit. I think I have connected more with what actually gives life meaning to me, and how surprisingly easy it is to forget the importance of the little things.

Now I would say:

Working on something that leaves the world better than I found it, while having fun with people I genuinely enjoy working with.

Finding the balance between raising a family and being truly present while still feeling challenged and successful professionally (I suspect there may be no harder challenge than getting this balance right).

What made Agustina such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“I knew Agustina would become a class leader the first week I saw her in class. Outside of the class she had the first “good morning” of the day and she was caring and energizing. Inside the class she was attentive and responsive, with pointy questions and and candid comments. During the year, her classmates followed her leadership when organizing events or proposing initiatives. I always felt that IMD was the perfect setting for her success: an international environment, pioneering, with a relatively small class size where strong personalities stand out. For IMD, Agustina has made us a better place and will make us proud of her career success and future achievements.”

Arturo Bris
Professor in Geopolitics and Business
Professor of Finance, and Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center

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