Daniel Zapata Toro

IE Business School

“Disciplined, determined, and hardworking. Forged through competitive sport and growing as a business leader.”

Hometown: Medellin, Colombia

Fun fact about yourself: During my MBA, I cycled over 6,000 km.

Undergraduate School and Degree:

Undergraduate: International Business, EAFIT University

Graduate: Masters in Financial Administration, EAFIT University IMBA, IE University

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school?

Company: Cementos Argos

Role: Chief of Staff

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? No internship

Where will you be working after graduation?

Company: Cementos Argos

Role: Strategy Lead

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Blue torch (top 10% term 1 and 2) Dean’s List (Top 10% IMBA GPA) Top – 3 student in IMBA

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? When I got accepted to IE, I told myself: I will graduate with honors. The day before graduation, I received an email confirming I had made the Dean’s List. Then, during the ceremony, I was nominated as Best Student of my intake, meaning I had finished in the top 3. That nomination was the perfect closing of a cycle, and a memory I will never forget.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? In 2023, I temporarily served as Investor Relations Officer at Cementos Argos. During that time, the company announced the combination of its US operations with Summit Materials, a NYSE listed company, in a transaction valued at $3.2 billion. As IRO, I led all external communications for the deal and a roadshow with investors.

Why did you choose this business school? I wanted a practical MBA, not a research-driven one. Through alumni conversations and my own research, I knew IE’s program and faculty were oriented toward business life, not through academic papers. In the process, they would be able to create creating real-world situations that expose students to what they will actually face in their careers. After three years as chief of staff, an experience I consider an MBA in itself, I needed a program that would sharpen my thinking and challenge me with peers who brought the same level of real-world experience, bridging the gap toward becoming a leader.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Tomás Calleja was my favorite professor. It was a coincidence that I was taught by him since it was the first time he had taught the full strategy course. Tomás is a gifted businessman who can dissect any company down to its foundations and clearly identify which are the hey factors driving competitive advantage. I came to IE to strengthen my business instincts, learn to ask the right questions, and build a toolbox for becoming a future business leader. Tomás pushed me a long way toward that goal.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Strategy was my favorite course, and the most challenging one. It demands deep analysis of a business with limited information, forcing you to sharpen your judgment. The course is the foundation of the MBA as it gives you the frameworks to analyze any business and industry, identify threats and opportunities, and navigate toward competitive advantage.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school?My favorite was the Social Lab in South Africa. It stood out because it took everything learned in the classroom and applied it in the real world, where we had to understand our customer’s problems and find viable solutions within five weeks. It also reinforced my sense of the responsibility that future business leaders carry beyond the corporate world to contribute to a more equal and prosperous society.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I chose the strategy concentration over finance, thinking that my work experience in finance would be better complemented by strategy. Looking back, I think I had it backwards. Finance is more teachable because it is more objective so it can be studied and mastered in a classroom. Strategy, on the other hand, is more subjective and harder to absorb without actively practicing it in the real world.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it?The case analyzing whether Disney should acquire Pixar was the most impactful for me. We constantly hear that M&A is risky and should be a last resort for growth, but this case shows how even an established industry leader can find its entire business at risk when technology shifts. Disney struggled as animation evolved, partnered with Pixar to stay relevant, and then faced the question of whether an acquisition was the right next step. This case hits close to home as I work for an industry leader in building materials in Latin America. Here, we face these kinds of dilemmas constantly. It gave me a concrete example that M&A, done right, can unlock hidden potential and create value for all stakeholders.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? Madrid is the best city in the world, an excellent place to do an MBA. What I loved the most was that it was small enough to have an easygoing life, but big enough in terms of diversity of nationalities, cultural offerings, sports, and good food. I wouldn’t change Madrid for any other place.

What business leader do you admire most? It is Warren Buffett due to his discipline and long-term thinking. He has been doing the same job since the 1960s, relentlessly grounded and consistent. He is the only investor to have continuously beaten the market, and his strategy is simple: buy good assets at the right price, ones he understands and believes can improve, and sell when the cycle is complete. For my own career, I want to live by those principles: discipline, a learning mindset, and a long-term view, as the foundation for reaching the goals I set for myself.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? IE didn’t fight AI, it embraced it. Throughout the program, most professors encouraged the use of AI to complete tasks since an MBA is about critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork – none of which AI can replicate. What we learned was how to use AI to enhance our work by conducting thorough research quickly, sharpening our writing and presentations, and using it as a sparring partner to test our ideas and challenge our thinking.

The insight I take is that AI will not replace humans in the business world, but it will separate those who use it well from those who don’t, making us more capable of delivering high-quality work in less time.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I admire Daniel Guevara. He came from a commercial role in IT, but his knowledge extended far beyond his professional background. He contributed with excellence in every course and consistently went deeper than required on any task, never leaving things half done. More than that, he constantly challenged the rest of us to raise our own bar. And as a person, he was the most attentive and caring, always making sure everyone felt included and valued.

In the long term, I want to become the CEO of a major company in Latin America. I believe corporations are the engine of economic development in this region, not only generating returns for shareholders, but serving a higher purpose by developing the communities they operate in.

What made Daniel such an invaluable member of the Class of 2026?

“I was truly delighted to have Daniel as a student in both the core Marketing Management course and my Services Marketing and Customer Strategy courses during his MBA program. Daniel was an exceptional member of his class, both academically and personally, and it was always a pleasure to teach him.

From the beginning of the courses, Daniel demonstrated intellectual curiosity, analytical rigor, and a strong capacity for strategic thinking. In class discussions, he contributed thoughtful insights and was able to connect theory with real-world business challenges in a way that elevated the learning experience of his peers. His ability to approach problems from multiple perspectives and articulate well-reasoned solutions is particularly impressive. I was not surprised to learn of Daniel’s nomination for the Best Student Award in his cohort, a recognition he richly deserves.

Beyond his academic strengths, Daniel is a natural leader. He collaborates effectively in team settings, listens actively, and motivates others to perform at their best. I observed him take initiative in group projects, often stepping into leadership roles and ensuring that outcomes exceeded expectations.

Finally, Daniel is a genuinely kind person, with strong personal integrity and a solid work ethic. He approaches every task with dedication, professionalism, and a genuine desire to learn and grow. These qualities, combined with his strong interpersonal skills, make him well-suited for leadership roles in the business world.

I strongly believe Daniel will continue to achieve great success in his professional career. I feel privileged to have been part of his MBA journey, and I recommend him without reservations.”

Teresa Recio
Marketing Professor

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