Christine Long

IESE Business School

“Extreme extrovert, avid traveler, huge fan of good food (making + eating!).”

Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina, US

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m an ordained minister.

Undergraduate School and Major: North Carolina State University, Business Administration major.

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Sales Enablement Program Manager, Wind River.

What makes the case method so attractive as a means to learn and become a better manager? More than the cases themselves, it’s the experience of discussing the cases with people from such diverse backgrounds (functionally, geographically, etc.), which exposes you to a world of different perspectives. It offers you the opportunity to evaluate which areas of business you are interested in pursuing in your own life based on what interests you most in class. It also helps that in 99% of our classes we have someone with a background in the subject at hand, which grounds our speculation in real-world experience.

What has been your favorite part of Barcelona so far? What has made it such a great place to earn an MBA? Barcelona offers the perfect balance between a major metropolitan area and a small town. I can run to the beach in minutes, enjoy world-class cuisine, and be at a global airport hub in half an hour. It’s big enough that there’s always something happening (music festivals, marathons, etc.), but small enough that I can walk to dozens of my friends’ houses in under 10 minutes.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the one key part of the IESE Business School MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? IESE’s intentionality in community-building is unmatched. By structuring each class into fixed sections and leveraging a multitude of team-based projects, IESE transforms a class of 400 strangers into a tight-knit ecosystem. Whether it’s through intensive core cases or interest-based clubs, the focus is always on collaborative growth rather than individual competition.

I saw how real this was during consulting recruitment; even when we were competing for the exact same roles, my peers were constantly helping me prep. There’s no “if you win, I lose” mentality here; we genuinely want to help each other succeed.

The IESE MBA is known for heavy reading and rigorous academics. Has the program lived up to its reputation? What advice would you give to first-years to help them thrive in the early months of the program? It certainly has! My advice: ruthlessly prioritize – and make sure one of your priorities is having fun. You’ll have many incredible opportunities to learn and grow here. Remember that everything you choose to invest time in is a tradeoff. Don’t waste time on things you know aren’t for you. And don’t forget to enjoy the journey! You’ll be surrounded by 400+ amazing people, so build meaningful, lifelong relationships.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at IESE? The IESE Open Water Swim Club. I’ve met many of my closest friends through this group as we’ve spent our weekend mornings swimming (and brunching) together in beautiful Barcelona. Absolutely top-notch club.

Professionally, the Consulting Club has been massively helpful. A few key second-years in the club have gone out of their way to invest in my development and support me in my career transition. The mentorship I’ve received has been far beyond anything I expected.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I’ve spent my entire career on globally distributed teams, but a few years back I had the opportunity to make my own career global when I relocated to the UK. As I navigated the personal changes that come with moving to a new country, my entire organization was restructured, and I entered a season of professional change as well. I’m quite proud of how I navigated that uncertainty and supported my organization through that season of change.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: At the beginning of the MBA, I participated in a case competition sponsored by McKinsey, Bain, and BCG on an all-female team. After two weeks working together, we were honored to place first amongst many impressive competitors. Like all things at IESE, it was so sweet to enjoy the experience alongside phenomenal people, not just my teammates, but our many friends who helped us refine our presentation and our fellow participants with whom we enjoyed the process.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? Many of the different country clubs host events representing their home countries (Argentinian Asado, Mexican El Grito, Filipino Sinulog, Indian Diwali, and more). I’ve loved getting to see a glimpse of my friend’s cultures as we’ve gotten to know each other – it’s brought a lot of what they’ve told me about their homes to life.

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