Dulce Altabella Lazzi
IE Business School
Dulce Altabella Lazzi knew time was running out. Despite a bustling career and family, she knew that her experience would only take her so far. And not going back to school for an executive MBA would mean that she had “wasted 18 more months.” So Lazza enrolled at IE Business School to augment her engineering background. And she made the most of her time, earning the school’s award as the top executive MBA student in 2015. But awards are nothing new to Lazza. She scored a perfect GPA when she earned her M.Sc. in electrical engineering, along with garnering two management awards at Sony Ericsson. In her spare time, Lazza is a USA licensed road cyclist racer and avid long distance runner
Age: 43
Location: Salt Lake City, UT (USA)
Family Members: Gianluca Lazzi (husband), Adrian Lazzi (son)
Undergraduate School: UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya), Barcelona, Spain
Undergraduate Degree: Telecommunications Engineer (equivalent to a M.Sc. degree in the US)
Where are you currently working? IBM USA, Senior Engineer/Scientist Development
“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…I realized that the skill-set needed to achieve my long term career goals could not be attained from solely work experience.”
“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…feeling that I wasted 18 more months without taking steps toward the pursuit of my future career goals!”
What are your long-term professional goals? I would like to build all necessary skills to lead a successful technology company one day. Assignments that are out of the comfort zone and challenge me are key to my future development as a business leader one day.
Favorite Courses: Strategy, Financial Decision-Making, Corporate Finance, Financial Modeling, Valuation.
Which academic or professional achievements are you most proud of? I have always been fully committed to achieve academic excellence. After receiving my undergraduate degree, I had a full scholarship to pursue a M.Sc. in Electrical Eng. in the US: I graduated with a 4.0 GPA. With a very busy professional career and a family, going back to school was challenging: the recognition that I received as the Best Executive MBA student at IE made all the hard work very worth it. I am proud of having found the strength to learn and leverage from everything that IE had to offer at its fullest.
Who would you most want to thank for your success? My eternal partner and husband Gianluca for his continuous support and encouragement.
Why did you choose this executive MBA program? Three aspects were critical to me when I chose IE: rankings, flexibility, and diversity. The IE Executive MBA blended format is one of the highest-ranked programs in the word. Further, the program offered the flexibility to integrate learning, study time, career development, and family simultaneously. I was also very much attracted by the diversity in the classroom (nationalities and sectors) and the possibility to build a tight-knit community across the globe that would last a lifetime. The focused seven-month long concentration in the area of Corporate Finance was also a critical aspect in choosing IE Business School.
What did you enjoy most about the executive MBA program? Professors, students, and program managers alike. The global network developed and the friendships that I made along the way will last a lifetime.
What is your most memorable moment from business school? Without a doubt, it was the group-work for the final project! It was blessed to work with a tremendously talented group; I was honored to be part of such a hard working and well rounded team.
Fun fact about yourself: I ran the NYC marathon while in my early pregnant stage (without knowing it!). My son has already a 3h 18 mins personal best time, even before being born!
Favorite book: Into thin air (Jon Krakauer); The tipping point (Malcolm Gladwell)
Favorite movie: The pursuit of happiness
Favorite musical performer: Pixies
Favorite television show: Shark tank
Favorite vacation spot: Maui, Hawaii.
What are your hobbies? Endurance sports, especially road cycling and mountain biking. I also enjoy pilates and hiking. I don’t like to sit still when I don’t have to.
What made Dulce such an invaluable addition to the class of 2015 for your executive MBA program?
“As a student at our institution I have known Dulce for approximately a year and a half and during this period which finished last Mach 2015 she has demonstrate a very good initiative and very impressive level of dedication to a challenging part-time MBA program as she was working at the same.
Dulce’s grades were the highest I’ve seen as Program Director in the last 7 years, but what made her invaluable addition to the class was her professional attitude that she has displayed as a student of our Executive MBA program. She also possesses the knowledge and many of the qualities that are essential to continue developing her professional career in today’s world of business management with success.”
– Marta Perez, EMBA Program Director
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