40th Anniversary of the MBA Program

Wise Words from Executives “Made at IESE”

To launch the celebration of four decades of the IESE MBA, six graduates shared their thoughts on why the program was, for them, a professional and personal milestone. They also revealed some of the secrets behind their business success.

When six different alumni from six different classes from six different companies explain their IESE experience to an auditorium full of people, a common denominator emerges. They all seem to have an integrated vision and a global overview of the company for which they work.

At a recent roundtable discussion, the alumni offered wise words for the students and professionals present. IESE Dean Jordi Canals and MBA program director Francisco Iniesta presided over the event.

The most senior MBA alumnus at the gathering, Jordi Mercader (MBA ’69), president of the paper company Miquel y Costas & Miquel, had this to say: “IESE doesn’t just teach the technical side of business. At my company I work with six MBAs, and I ask them to develop this differentiating characteristic gained from IESE, a general management perspective, and apply it to their work.”

The road is long, and there are many key moments when a manager has to make choices or commitments that affect his or her career. Mercader offered encouragement to all the alumni present at the event. “Taking risks is the challenge. Not everyone is prepared to do it. During your professional lives you will encounter four or five moments when you have to say, ‘No, I’m not going there.’ This has its own cost, but if you don’t say ‘no’ at the right moment, you may end up paying for the rest of your life.”

Rafael Villaseca (MBA ’76), managing director of Gas Natural, noted that the position of manager must be accepted with all its consequences. “If you accept a position of responsibility, you have to be prepared to undertake and manage the risks that this involves.”

Antonio González-Adalid (MBA ’75), president of the gas company Enagas, reminded us of the opportunities available at large corporations. “In my time, all the discussions revolved around choosing between a big company or a small one. I believe this is still an issue that matters a lot, and there are alternatives to investment banking or consultancy: big companies.”

A banker had the next word. Rosario Martín Gutiérrez de Cabiedes (MBA ’80), head of personal banking at BBVA, pointed out the part played by luck. There are outside factors that come into play, she said, and it is a good idea not to put too much weight on individual successes. Rosario encouraged those present to look on their professional careers in terms of professional development, viewing work as “positive ambition.” She urged them not to despair when encountering failure: “We make so many decisions, some are bound to be wrong.”

María del Pino Velázquez (MBA ’91), general manager at Unisono, which focuses on building solid market positions in China, pointed to the difficulties of managing both successes and failures. In her career at the highest levels of management, she said she had “suffered many setbacks but also enjoyed a lot of successes. Both are necessary.”

Chris Daniels (MBA ´00), an executive at Barclays Capital, encouraged his colleagues to pursue their “passion” to make themselves indispensable in the company. He stressed the need to confront and admit failure. “You learn by acknowledging your mistakes; many people are unable to do this,” he said.

Villaseca concluded by urging the audience to discover those aspects “on which a particular decision depends.” He recommended that they “take time to identify what is really important,” and he encouraged them to “assess the risk and don’t be scared. Make your decision and see it through.”

“Successes should be managed with a great deal of humility and failures with a great deal of strength,” observed Gonzalez-Adalid. And make sure, said Mercader, that success doesn’t go to your head. Keep thinking of the day after, because a good result in business “has to be managed for the next three years.”

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