Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico
Undergraduate Institution & Major: Universidad Anáhuac (Mexico City), Industrial Engineering
Pre-MBA Work Experience:
Before coming to Johnson, I worked for six years at Volaris, Mexico’s largest airline and leading regional low-cost carrier, where I managed all products and partnerships that generated ancillary revenue for the company (all revenue streams excluding airfare and cargo).
How would you describe your first year of business school?
The word that best describes my first year at Johnson is “intense”.
Everything was intense in my first year in business school. Learning, recruiting, networking, partying, self-knowledge … you name it. I had heard many times that business school was like drinking water from a firehose, but I never imagined that my first year was going to be as extreme as it was.
But in retrospect, I’m happy it was like that. It allowed me to grow in ways I was not expecting. I learned a lot about myself, my priorities and how to handle a different type of stress. I learned to focus on the things that matter the most to me and to figure out strategies on how to make the best use of my time. Sometimes that even meant investing more time in networking than studying for an exam.
What do you love about Johnson most?
The thing I love most about Johnson is its culture. It really is quite unique. People are friendly, easygoing, and caring, but most importantly, everyone is invested in helping each other succeed. I have seen this culture in practice many times over, in all aspects of life. My peers are always willing to help me study, improve my resume, prepare for interviews, or even move my stuff between apartments. The people I have met here have become really good friends of mine, and have made my life at Johnson extraordinary.
Moreover, the culture is extremely rich and diverse. Since a significant portion of our class is international, my peers have very unique backgrounds, customs and points-of-view. This makes networking extremely interesting and allows for the best conversations. I am always fascinated about learning about different countries and seeing how all aspects of life in their countries are very different from my own.
Where will you be doing your summer internship?
Bain & Company, Mexico City
What drew you to this company?
Besides Bain & Company being one of the most important firms in the world, there were two things that drew me to Bain and convinced me to do my summer internship with them: the people and the culture of the company.
During the recruiting process I met a lot of great people at Bain and quickly realized that I would enjoy working with every single one of them. They were friendly, relaxed, and even went out of their way to help me prepare. For example, two consultants I had never met reached out to me a week after I received my interview and each of them offered to give me two full mock interviews to better prepare. I was amazed at this gesture because they reached out to me, when in reality it should have been the other way around.
On the other hand, Bain’s culture was exactly what I was looking for. As a Bain partner told me “we take our work very seriously, but ourselves not seriously enough”. After meeting a lot of people, I realized that this statement was true. Bain’s culture generates a great working environment and fosters close relationships between peers. I am convinced this will help me thrive during my summer internship.
What drew you towards consulting?
While I was working at Volaris, I had a few consulting-like projects, which ended up being some of my favorite experiences. Hence, I was interested in learning more about consulting even before I reached Johnson.
The thing that interests me about consulting is that it has an exponential learning curve. Each project is unique, comes from a different industry, and has very specific challenges and limitations. This means that consultants must deep dive and learn about the company and the market before reaching a solution. This excites me because I will be able to learn about multiple industries, companies and business models, including how the most important companies in the world operate, and how they solve some of the most challenging business problems out there.
What are you most excited for with regards to your internship?
The thing I’m most excited about is getting to know more about the consulting industry, the people that work there, and the way they navigate through each of the projects. I know that it's going to be hard work, but I think that I will be able to leverage what I learn throughout my professional career.
Any other fun summer plans?
Yes, I’m getting married in August! Although my wedding is most likely going to be virtual given the current pandemic, I can’t wait to start this new period of my life. After the wedding, my wife and I will probably do a small honeymoon in one of the nicest beaches in Mexico, before going back to classes in August.