Meet McKinsey’s MBA Class of 2019

Cherry Oracion

McKinsey Office: Tokyo

Hometown: Manila, Philippines

MBA Program, Concentration: INSEAD MBA

Undergraduate School, Major: Ateneo de Manila University, Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering

Focus of current engagement: Pricing strategy for a global retail chain’s Japan business

Why did you choose McKinsey?

  1. Ability to specialize early in my consulting career as part of the Marketing & Sales practice in Asia.
  2. Wide geographic and industry-reach as part of the Marketing & Sales practice. I get staffed not only in Japan but around Asia for marketing & sales-related engagements, a field I was most excited about during business school
  3. As a person who loves challenges, exposure to some of the toughest issues top companies not only in Asia but around the world, face.

What did you love about the business school you attended?

  1. Connection and exposure to industries I never thought I’d be part of. For example, I represented INSEAD at the European Hotel Managers Association Conference and presented to ~160 top managers of 5-star and 4-star hotel chains about changing travel preferences of millennials.
  2. Learning from a diverse set of classmates from more than 70 nationalities. The teaching style at INSEAD is discussion-based, where students can freely share their opinions on how topics are tackled in their own country and culture.
  3. Ethos of business as a force for good. There’s a wide roster of electives in social impact and the core curriculum is packed with topics on social relevance. One particular elective I enjoyed was the Business as a Force for Good class where we taught 58 entrepreneur-nurses of Unjani, a primary healthcare NGO in South Africa, practical business frameworks on growth, marketing, operations, and team management so their clinics can be profitable at a faster rate and thus increase Unjani’s coverage of healthcare to more parts of South Africa.

What lesson or skill did you learn from training at McKinsey and how has it helped in your role? Actively seeking feedback: McKinsey is big on giving and receiving feedback for improvement, not only for individuals but also for the team. As a new member of the firm, I am still learning how to work efficiently and manage the client’s expectations. Setting time aside with my engagement manager regarding what I’ve been doing well and what I should improve on is instrumental in having a steep learning curve and achieving my developmental goals.

Tell us about an “only at McKinsey” moment you’ve had so far. I joined my current team in the middle of the engagement. As the only Japanese-speaking member of the team, I led a client discussion on my first day with just some email chains and a project kick-off presentation deck as background. The level of trust my team had in me was very empowering. The meeting ended well with the client confident they could communicate with the team without interpreters and that my team was getting sufficient data points to continue our analyses.

What advice would you give someone interviewing at McKinsey?

  1. If you can, practice cases with McKinsey consultants – McKinsey’s interview style is a little bit different from interviewers leading the interview with a series of questions that help you answer the problem at hand.
  2. Never underestimate the personal experience interview – it can be a little different having the interviewer drill into your story, but always remember those questions are guiding you to communicate better your personal impact. The interviewer is always on your side and wants you to do well.
  3. Ask for feedback – between round 1 and round 2, the interviewers will give you feedback on how it went. Work on the points for improvement for round 2.

Who has had the biggest impact on you at McKinsey and how has she/he helped you? My first client partner was direct on giving me feedback. He pushed me to act more like a seasoned-consultant who thinks of the key issues for the clients instead of a new joiner who just prepares slides they were told to do. During my first month at the firm, he opened opportunities for me to lead CxO level workshops which turned out very well and thus nudged my confidence that I can be successful in this career.

My most meaningful achievement (professional or personal) and how it made a difference is…In my first year in Japan, it was gaining the trust of my Japanese colleagues as the youngest and only foreign member of the team to be at the client site by myself to conduct discussions with clients (both Japanese and English).

A fun fact about me is…I speak six languages and am fluent in four. This is thanks to my experiences living in three continents (Asia, Europe, and Latin America) and my love of foreign songs – K-Pop and Latin songs are some of my favorite jams.

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