MBA Student Profile: Stop and Take Time to Learn

As he pursues his MBA at IMD, Pablo Rivera has some interesting stories to tell of the journey along the way.

Hurricane Ivan was about to hit the Caribbean.

Rivera had been trying to unsuccessfully contact his former boss based on one of the islands. For Pablo, luck had clearly been on his side. During his three years working across the Caribbean as an Operations Manager for Häagen-Dazs Caf's (General Mills), the weather had remained calm - despite the region being hit by hurricanes three years in a row before he and his new wife arrived. Describing business lunches on beautiful, white, sandy beaches and a birds-eye-tour of an island by sea-plane to check out its business potential, Pablo admits: "I couldn't believe I was being paid for this."      

 Challenges with Häagen-Daz.

However, this unique environment also helped him to develop new business skills. His task was to find the most viable locations for new HD caf franchises across the islands. "Although I had a framework to work with, each island - no matter how small - had completely different patterns, structures and logistical issues. And although a store might be profitable, it wasn't necessarily going to be profitable for the group as a whole - I had to consider all of the costs involved."

An entrepreneurial attitude is born...

Pablo started his career in true entrepreneurial style. During his final year at university, he and a friend started their own print shop venture called Workcenter, based on a similar concept to FedEx Kinko's. It was a great success but, after receiving an offer from a Venture Capitalist, Pablo decided to sell his shares and make the move to General Mills. His reasoning "I wanted to develop my skills and learn from leading companies. I believe it is possible to have an entrepreneurial attitude inside a multinational. One of my strengths is coming up with new ideas and business extensions."

 Getting to know oneself at IMD

This thirst for learning brought him to IMD and the MBA where he has been surprised at how much he has discovered about his own strengths and weaknesses. "What I've enjoyed most is working in teams under high pressure. When the team is reaching its limit, you really get to know yourself better. Certain aspects of your personality that are usually hidden, are suddenly revealed."

He has recently been working on an International Consulting Project (ICP) for Nespresso. "It's great to put what we have learnt into practice at relatively low risk. It's also been good to rotate into another team and to be exposed to different attitudes and people."

 "Stop and take time to learn"

Pablo acknowledges that it has not been easy, particularly for his wife and his 2-year-old son who moved to Lausanne with him at the very beginning: "It's tough - especially the first three months when the workload is really heavy and you're working every weekend." However, he has no regrets "I think everybody should go through an MBA. It's too easy to get caught up in your day-to-day business and to forget the broader picture. The only way is to stop and take time to learn."