Meet Queen’s University’s Smith MBA Class Of 2021

Federico Brera

Smith School of Business, Queen’s University

An adventurous, open-minded, passionate guy. Always looking for new horizons to explore.”

Hometown: Abbiategrasso, Italy

Fun Fact About Yourself: Despite the fact that I have vertigo, I have climbed many peaks over 4000 meters in the Alps, since alpinism is my passion.

Undergraduate School and Major: Master’s in Theoretical Physics – University of Milan; Bachelor’s in General Physics – University of Milan-Bicocca.

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: I worked for the largest bank in Italy, Intesa Sanpaolo, as a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) junior project manager.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Giving a significant contribution to the development of RPA in Intesa Sanpaolo, the first company that adopted and industrialized RPA in Italy. Our team projected, designed and developed the RPA system for the entire company. Since we were the first successful RPA project in Italy, one of my colleagues and I presented this work at Blueprism World in London in April 2019. Moreover, my ideas and best practices are also being used in other companies.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? The team-based learning really impressed me when I decided to enroll in this program. I strongly believe that the successful comprehension of things can be reached putting together both individual study and teamwork. When I studied physics, I used to juxtapose personal studying of the theory to the deepening, practicing and testing of what I had learned with my classmates. This brought forth brilliant results thanks to a deeper and more complete understanding of the subject together with new ways of reasoning. For these reasons, I valued a lot the team-based approach offered by Smith.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I think I will join the Consulting, Finance or Technologies Clubs as an MBA student because I want to better understand these fields and explore them more deeply. Moreover, since I really love outdoor sports and want to stay active during my studies, I will probably join the Outdoor Club at Queen’s University. Isn’t it true that the solutions to the most difficult problems come when you are doing something totally different?

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? They asked what kind of skills I could bring to the program. In particular, I was asked to describe three examples where my that defined my character.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I feel that pursuing an MBA can develop and increase the value of what I have learned in life thus far, and will allow me to continue my personal growth and development.

During my educational career, I developed analytical, numerical, and problem-solving skills and throughout my professional pursuits, I have been introduced to managerial, organizational and interpersonal skills, the most interesting part of my job.

Moreover, I am looking for new opportunities to work as a manager where I can interact with people. I believe that the MBA will give me the opportunity to link my analytical and managerial skills, strengthen the latter, and lead me toward a job that leverages both.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Besides Smith’s MBA, I applied to SDA Bocconi (Italy) and Sankt Gallen (Switzerland).

How did you determine your fit at various schools? First of all, I looked at the stories from alumni of the schools and met some of them. The most important factor to me was where they started after graduation and where they are currently employed. Then I looked at how they spoke about the school, the overall feeling they had about the program, and how the program has helped accelerate their careers. I used this information to develop my ideas about the chances that the school could offer me and if they fit my objectives.

Then I looked at the program itself, its length, the possible specializations, and the dimension of the class. The location was important too; moving to Canada will surely give me a new perspective on business management that is different from the Italian one that I have seen in the last years.

Moreover, I asked reliable friends involved in business administration what they thought about various schools and programs.

Last but not least, I looked to the great figures and leaders that have studied at the Smith School of Business and Queen’s University.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? My defining moment was meeting some friends in high school, who introduced me to a new vision of life that embraces and celebrates all the aspects of it. This new vision, together with this friendship, has given and will give me the energy needed to fully experience life.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? Very hard question! At this point, I imagine myself in a managerial position where I can use both creativity and analytical skills – but, most of all, where I can interact with a lot of people. Probably, I will start my own business. Personally, I see myself married with a couple of children showing them the beauty and challenges of life.

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