MBA success stories: Luisa Fernanda Torres, Nottingham Business School

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career to date?

I have 15 years’ work experience, having started as an intern at Microsoft in B2B marketing. Then, I spent some years in human resources, doing general tasks such as talent acquisition, benefits and wellness. After that, I moved to Retail Microsoft Teams, working in product, trade marketing and consumer marketing for Xbox, Windows, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft accessories – all of these roles were based in Colombia.

After completing my MBA in 2019, I started working at Intcomex, a leading technology distributor in Latin America. There, I held regional roles as a digital marketing manager, selling digital services, and a product director for B2B and B2C brands.

What does your current role involve?

In my last role at Intcomex, I was responsible for setting the regional GTM (go-to-market) strategy for several technology brands in the B2B and B2C sectors. I led a team of 10 people directly and a team of 100 people indirectly, aligning priorities between vendors and distributors across 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries, implementing action plans that drove revenue and profitability for the company.

Why did you want to study for an MBA and why did you choose this particular school?

I was keen to achieve a broader 360-degree view of how companies operate. The MBA is designed for exactly that purpose: preparing you for senior management roles by showing you all aspects of business.

I chose NBS because I wanted to study abroad at a top school in the UK, and it was the only one offering an MBA with a specialisation in digital marketing. Nottingham is also a lovely university city.

What is the most interesting thing you learnt from your MBA?

There were many aspects of the programme – and many professors – that I found exceptional. One aspect of my time at NBS that I found very useful was participating in English sessions that helped me develop my academic writing skills; this was especially important as my first language is Spanish. This definitely helped open doors for me leading to better jobs.

What were some of the challenges you faced when studying for an MBA?

I faced multiple challenges – it was difficult to be so far away from my family and boyfriend, for instance, as it was the first time I had been separated from them for a year. Additionally, in Colombia, we don’t experience seasons, the weather remains almost the same throughout the year, so enduring low temperatures in winter was really hard.

Furthermore, when I arrived in Nottingham, it was difficult to understand the British English accent since I was more accustomed to American English. The most challenging aspect, in terms of language, was expressing my deep feelings in English with my MBA colleagues, as nobody spoke Spanish. It certainly compelled me to improve my English level more quickly.

How has the MBA made a difference to your career path and leadership journey?

The critical thinking training I received in the MBA has been very useful because it’s an essential skill for setting business strategies. The MBA also gave me added confidence when networking, even if I’m attending an event alone, which has opened up new doors in my career.

In what ways have you taken what you have learnt in your MBA into the organisation you work for?

While at Intcomex, I had to develop multiple digital strategies at both regional and local levels. The knowledge I gained of various frameworks for planning, executing and measuring digital strategies from studying digital marketing with Professor Mojtaba Poorrezaei at NBS was invaluable in helping me complete these tasks.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying for an MBA?

Investigate pursuing an MBA programme that is specialised in a particular field. The digital marketing aspect of my MBA was especially useful because it allowed me to build on my previous experiences, combining my knowledge of digital marketing skills with a comprehensive understanding of business through other parts of the programme.

What are the next steps for you on your career journey?

I will soon start a new role as a product expert for Latin America at another company. This position will require me to combine my experience in digital marketing and sales, as well as learn about new products and market them in Latin America. It’s a really exciting opportunity, as this responsibility will include Brazil, the most important market in the region. Additionally, I am working with some SMEs as a marketing consultant to help complement their strategies.