Manuel Ormo

Esade Business School

Age: 30

“Kind, humble, empathetic, energetic, caring, persistent and pragmatic.”

Hometown: Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Family Members: 1

Fun fact about yourself: I have a photographic memory and Tourette’s Syndrome.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Universidad Rafael Urdaneta, Engineering in Animal Sciences

Where are you currently working? Change & Supply Chain Manager at Bayer.

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles: I presented a unique thesis in Venezuela, awarded with publication honors. Back in Venezuela, I guided a team of teenagers, distributing toys for children with cancer and food supplies for socially-excluded families.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement during business school are you the most proud of? It would definitely have to be my Final Business Project because it was a very different business model from what is usually presented; I had to explain it very well in order to be understood. It surely was a demanding challenge I successfully met.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I improved an auditable process to register medication changes within Bayer, increasing managers’ efficiency by 200% compared to the previous method. Other colleagues had been struggling for years to improve this process which has an excessive workload before my arrival in the company.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Without any doubt, Jordi Fabregat, Associate Professor in Corporate Finance at Esade. This subject was particularly hard for me, but Jordi was amazingly comprehensive and supportive.

Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? This is an easy one. From day one, I was treated very warmly and humanely by everyone at Esade. They truly are a family and welcome everyone as one of their own. This, of course, is in addition to offering a high-level program.

Tell us an anecdote about your time completing the Executive MBA in terms of how you were able to juggle work, family and education? Now this is a hard one. At first, you always hear that the MBA is demanding both in terms of time and hard work, but you don’t actually realize it until you are dealing with the workload. Time management is essential. Don’t leave things for later, otherwise you’ll find yourself suffering from the snowball effect. An agenda is also very useful. Try to be organized both in terms of tasks and time with friends and family. There might be times when you are dedicating much more time to the MBA than to your loved ones (not that you don’t love your fellow MBAs). 

What advice would you give to a student looking to start an executive MBA program? Really think about the reason you want to do it. It is truly a transformative program. Talk to people who have already done it and attend open Master’s classes before applying. See if the school shares your values and beliefs.

What is the biggest myth about going back to school? I think the biggest myth might be about dealing with faculty and “homework”, but it’s nothing like that in an MBA. We are all adults now, and the relationships with faculty and fellow students is totally different. We all share one thing in common, and that is that we all want to evolve. We want to be better so we all put a lot of effort into doing our best when it comes to deliverables.

What was your biggest regret in business school? It was not finishing the pro-bono consulting project I was involved with. I had a workload peak and sadly had to step aside. Luckily, the rest of the pro-bono team was very well prepared and able to keep on going. 

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Mireia Olivan. She is a very successful professional and an amazing person. She can really win a special place in everyone’s heart.

What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? The experience is totally different. I wouldn’t do it online at all. You need to be physically present with others in order to achieve the right learning. If you are developing yourself, you need to have that interaction with others. It is about being affected and affecting others, as well.

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? It is going back to Venezuela to lead my family’s company, because that country needs the best professionals to get back on the right path. I want to lead the company by developing every employee at every level, because that is what companies are. Their people are their backbones.

What made Manuel such an invaluable addition to the class of 2022?

“The Esade Executive MBA experience has had a great impact on Manuel’s personal and professional life. He had the opportunity to learn from his classmates and give back to them through his great teamwork skills and collaborative spirit. His participation in the program has also given him the opportunity to gain exposure, prepare for an important professional change and enter a leading global pharma company. I still remember Manuel during his admission’s interview in which he described his dream to learn, gain managerial experience and then return to his country, Venezuela, to become a protagonist in its transformation.”

Michele Quintano
Associate Dean Executive EMBA
Esade

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