Riccardo Branchi

ESADE Business School

“I’m a grounded, ambitious professional who values learning, fairness, and long-term value creation.”

Hometown: Verona, Italy

Fun fact about yourself: I performed in theater when I was a child, an experience that has influenced how I present myself and communicate today.

Undergraduate School and Degree: I hold a bachelor in Economics and Business Administration at Bocconi University, Milan.

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Accenture, where I was working as Digital Transformation Consultant for retail clients.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Amazon, Launch MBA internship program in Luxemburg.

Where will you be working after graduation? After graduation, I will return to my family business. We hold stakes in a few Italian companies. My role will focus on supporting special projects within our portfolio, with an emphasis on improving operations and execution. The exact title is still being defined, as it will depend on the structure of an ongoing transaction currently under discussion.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: I held multiple roles during the MBA, serving as Vice President of Academics for the MBA Student Association and as a section representative. In terms of honors, I was elected by my peers as graduation ceremony speaker, named to the Cohort ’26 Dean’s List, and I received the Esade Engagement Award by my classmates.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? The Roland Berger-IESE International Case Competition was my favorite extracurricular experience. First, we won the Esade internal competition against nine teams. It was both challenging and enjoyable, with valuable feedback and discussions with Roland Berger consultants. Then we advanced to the international finals, working on a real case alongside MBA students from around the world and engaging directly with the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company. Looking back, what makes me particularly proud is how the team worked together under pressure, and how much I learned from collaborating with people with very different backgrounds on a high-stakes competition.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? What makes me most proud in my early career is my time at Accenture, where I was assigned to design and lead a complex client project. I initially joined the project as the only consultant on the ground. Although I was well-prepared, it was my first time leading a Digital Transformation project end to end.

The situation required me to quickly close knowledge gaps, coordinate multiple external suppliers, and operate in a high-pressure environment. As the scope expanded and I built the relationship with the management of the client, I was also responsible for building and leading a small team. As the team grew from one to three people, I paid particular attention to building a supportive and respectful team culture, even during stressful phases. In parallel, I took ownership of coordination with other client’s vendors, leading joint working sessions and war rooms to align actions and resolve issues quickly.

By the end of the project, the client relied on me as a central point of coordination, and the client’s external suppliers consistently followed my direction during critical situations. Beyond the project outcome, what makes this achievement meaningful to me is seeing how quickly I could take on responsibility, build trust, deliver results, develop new product management skills, and foster a positive working environment through my leadership. I also owe much of this growth to my principal director and mentor, Marianna, whose advice and high standards shaped how I approached different challenges throughout the project.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose Esade primarily for its culture. While I was looking for a top-tier business school in Europe, culture became the deciding factor after visiting few programs and attending MBA classes at different schools. That exposure allowed me to compare learning environments directly.

Esade felt less like a traditional academic setting and more like a workshop or innovation hub. The atmosphere was open, collaborative, and practical. Among the different schools I visited, Esade was the one in which I felt it was easier to network with the students.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor was Jan Brinkmann, professor of entrepreneurship. I believe many of my peers would share this view, as he consistently created value beyond the classroom and reflected a broader contribution to Esade and the entrepreneurial community through initiatives he leads, such as eWorks.

In fact, I’d say one of the highlights of my MBA was the study tour in Berlin, which he led. During the tour, we met successful founders and early-stage investors and gained direct exposure to strong, real-world examples of how the startup ecosystem operates.

I also appreciated Professor Brinkmann’s pragmatic and direct approach to teaching. He focused on how businesses actually work, particularly around unit economics and the practical challenges entrepreneurs face when engaging with investors. His teaching helped me develop a more realistic and disciplined way of evaluating and validating business ideas.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course was Finance. Finance has always been one of my favorite subjects, and Professor Gloria Batllori delivered the material in a particularly engaging way. The course was very practical, focusing on a few well-chosen cases that allowed us to apply concepts directly. It’s incredible how much we could revisit and learn in just 15 hours, while also mastering FactSet as a tool for our analysis. Indeed, the course combined theory with practice, and Professor Batllori delivered the classes with charisma, rigor, and a touch of humor.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? I would say that my favorite tradition is the annual “Section Olympics”, where the three MBA sections at Esade compete in a sports tournament. What I enjoyed most was the atmosphere, which was very competitive, but always friendly and inclusive.

I think this tradition reflects the type of community Esade fosters – one that values ambition and teamwork at the same time. It showed how students can push themselves while still supporting each other and building genuine connections beyond the classroom.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Looking back, I would have invested more time in industry-specific clubs. At Esade, there are larger, cross-industry clubs such as the Tech Club, as well as more focused ones like Healthcare. These more focused clubs often offered more concrete discussions, closer interaction with professionals, and hands-on exposure to specific sectors.

Although I was very active in clubs and the student association, I could have gone even further. Spending more time in these groups, including those outside my main area of interest, would have added valuable perspectives to my MBA experience. I would strongly encourage future Esade students to make the most of the wide range of clubs available.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? One of the most impactful case studies for me was the Cola Wars case, a classic covered in our strategy course. Beyond being familiar, it forced me to rethink basic ideas around competition, industry structure, and where value is actually captured.

The biggest lesson I took away was that controlling the value chain can matter more than owning it. The case showed how vertical integration can become a trap: by staying asset-light and pushing capital-intensive activities like bottling and distribution to partners, both companies protected margins and flexibility.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? What I loved most about the town was the everyday experience of living in Barcelona. The city is colorful, lively, and easy to walk, which made even ordinary days enjoyable. Simply moving through the city – between classes, meetings, or time with friends – felt refreshing.

I also appreciated how close nature was. Having both the sea and the mountains nearby made it easy to disconnect for a weekend away during an intense year. The combination of strong energy, outdoor spaces, and shared moments with classmates outside the classroom made my MBA experience truly one of the best years of my life.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? At Esade, AI was integrated into the program in two main ways. In some classes, we studied AI applications and their strategic implications directly. In others, AI use was explicitly expected, with assignments and even exams designed under the assumption that students would leverage AI tools. This was particularly evident, for instance, in operations, where the exam would have been impossible to complete without support of AI.

From my experience with AI, I gained two key insights. First, well-designed AI workflows, especially when combining multiple tools, can significantly increase productivity and problem-solving speed. Second, I also saw how harmful AI can be when used uncritically. Overreliance can weaken core skills if judgment and independent thinking are replaced rather than supported. Moreover, AI-generated outputs can be quite shallow – below the quality requested at our levels. As a result, while I use AI regularly in my own work, I remain careful to treat it as a support tool, not a substitute for reasoning.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? There are many exceptional students at Esade, but Ignacio Carnevale is the one that stood out the most to me. I admire his values and discipline, which translate into a calm and credible leadership style. As an entrepreneur, he balances ambition with a strong sense of responsibility toward the people around him. He places high importance on family, friendship, loyalty, fairness, and discipline – and brings passion in any task he does.

This consistency shows in both his personal and professional life. He represents the type of person I hoped to meet during my MBA and would want to work with in the future: driven, thoughtful, reliable, and principled.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?  First, I want to build and lead a team shaped by a culture that matters to me – one that values growth, mutual respect, and high standards, while still leaving room for balance and enjoyment. This builds on what I experienced at Accenture, where I led a small team in a demanding environment. Over time, I aim to do this at a much larger scale and become a reliable reference point for the people I work with: a leader who sets clear direction, invests in others’ development, and is trusted when situations are uncertain.

Second, I want to serve on the executive board of an organization with positive external impact, such as a nonprofit or a mission-driven company. My goal is to contribute beyond financial performance and apply my experience to create tangible value for society.

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

“I am pleased to write this letter of recommendation for Riccardo Branchi, whom I had the opportunity to teach in Entrepreneurship at Esade Business School and to observe closely throughout the term and on our immersion tour travel.

Riccardo consistently demonstrated strong analytical capability and intellectual discipline. His contributions in class were well structured, grounded in data, and frequently helped move discussions forward in meaningful ways.

He brings curiosity, energy, and original thinking to complex topics, often reframing questions in ways that deepened the collective understanding of the class. Compared to many MBA students I have taught, he stands out for the consistency of his preparation, the quality of his interventions, and his clarity of communication.

Beyond his individual academic performance, Riccardo made a notable impact on the broader learning environment. He engaged constructively with peers, challenged ideas respectfully, and showed maturity in navigating complex and sometimes ambiguous discussions. During our Esade study tour across leading European scale-ups and venture capital firms in Berlin, he further distinguished himself through leadership within the cohort. In group settings, he takes initiative, aligns perspectives, and ensures progress without dominating conversations — a rare and valuable balance.

Riccardo brings positive influence, constructive energy, and genuine engagement to any group he joins. His passion for entrepreneurship is evident in the way he questions assumptions and encourages deeper debate, strengthening the learning experience for others. He does so with a polite, optimistic, and vibrant presence that contributes to a productive and inspiring classroom dynamic.

In sum, Riccardo combines strong analytical ability with leadership, intellectual curiosity, and interpersonal maturity. I am confident that he will add significant value to any professional environment he chooses to join and he has the outlier potential to do great things. I strongly recommend him without reservation.”

Dr. Jan Brinckmann
Full Professor of Entrepreneurship at Esade Business School and Director of Esade Entrepreneurship Institute

 

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