Georgina Catafal Tardos
Esade Business School
Age: 31
“Science-trained business leader passionate about using technology and innovation to improve global health.”
Hometown: Bellaterra, Barcelona
Family Members: I live with my partner near Barcelona. I come from a big, close-knit family – 2 siblings and 20 cousins – and we enjoy getting together every chance we get.
Fun fact about yourself: I’m the person who plans everything down to the last detail, but on the salsa dance floor, I just let the music lead.
Undergraduate School and Degree:
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona – B.S. Microbiology (including a year-long study abroad at the University of California San Diego)
Universitat Pompeu Fabra – M.S. Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry
Where are you currently working? I am the Lead Solutions Consultant at Suvoda, a global clinical trial technology company.
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:
Competed in an international gymnastics team throughout high school and university; World Championships finalist (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) and Spain champion (2010, 2012). Served as team captain.
Participant in Tutorsport program, designed to support high-performance athletes in university in balancing academic and sporting commitments.
Bachelor of Science: Recipient of the Class Special Award for Outstanding Academic Performance.
Contributed to sustainability-focused research at UC San Diego and J. Craig Venter Institute, working on developing biofuels and alternative proteins from microalgae.
EMBA Class Representative, elected to represent cohort interests and liaise with faculty and program leadership.
Salsa dancer, recreational skier, and outdoor enthusiast
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? For our Final Business Project, my team and I decided we wanted to create something with real value rather than a conceptual exercise. We partnered with a local, family-owned artisanal bakery and developed a full strategic plan for them. We analyzed the business, its competitive landscape, and sector trends, and delivered realistic and actionable recommendations to the owners, who are currently implementing them. The bakery sector was new to all of us, which made it a great test of applying what we had learned across the EMBA – and knowing that our work is creating real value made it especially rewarding.
On the personal side, I completed my first half marathon. Sports have always helped me manage stress, so to compensate for the mental workload of the EMBA, I joined a running club to keep myself active and accountable. I had never run before starting the program, so crossing that finish line in under 2 hours felt like a real milestone.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Designing solutions that directly impact whether patients receive the right treatment at the right time. I developed novel functionality for top pharma clients, which required close collaboration with developers, quality teams, account owners, and external stakeholders like supply managers and statisticians (often across time zones and with incomplete information). It taught me to be comfortable with uncertainty, find creative solutions under real constraints, and never lose sight of what matters most: there is a patient waiting at the other end of every decision.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? Marcel Planellas and Alberto Gimeno. Together, they taught our very first MBA class, Developing a Strategic Mindset, and set the tone for the entire EMBA journey. Through practical cases and structured reflections, they challenged our assumptions about strategy and decision-making, teaching us to distinguish data from opinions, to use synthesis over analysis when facing complexity, and to trust intuition when problems are unpredictable. Their calm, experienced style and ability to distill complex ideas into lasting mental frameworks left a profound impression on me.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? I chose Esade for its strong focus on innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship. I wanted an environment that encourages you to think boldly and create value, not just manage it. But what truly set it apart was its deeply humanistic approach to business. It doesn’t just teach you how to build and grow businesses, but challenges you to think about the impact your decisions have on people and society. Coming from the life sciences, that alignment felt essential.
What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? The power of pausing to reflect. In the day-to-day, it’s easy to get caught up in the inertia of execution, moving from one task to the next without stopping to question the direction. The EMBA taught me that to work smarter and make better decisions, you need to make time to reflect, not just act. I’ve since built this into my routine at work: I intentionally set aside time to think about the purpose behind what I’m doing, whether it’s bringing me closer to my objectives, and what I should adjust. A small shift in mindset that has changed how I approach my work and my role as a leader.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? The Christmas break of our second year was supposed to be a time to recharge after months of intense work. Instead, it became one of the most demanding periods of the entire EMBA. On top of deliverables from our regular classes, the Final Business Project was due in early January. At the same time, my sister was visiting from Denmark with her newborn; we had family holiday gatherings; and friends from abroad were coming to spend a few days with us in the Pyrenees. I remember sitting down one evening with my calendar and thinking there was no way it could all fit. But I started planning, mapping out early mornings for the project, blocking family time that I wouldn’t compromise on, and accepting some concessions: one day of skiing instead of three and waking up at 6 am during the holidays to write while everyone was still asleep. In the end, I didn’t miss a single thing that mattered to me. That period taught me that when you’re feeling overwhelmed, planning becomes your best tool. Even more, sometimes being creative with your time and making small concessions is what allows you to show up for everything that counts.
What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? Get clear on your ‘why’ before you start, as your purpose will carry you through the toughest weeks. On the practical side, stay on top of deliverables from day one; they pile up faster than you expect. Making progress every day, even just a little, made a real difference for me. And embrace the group work – some of my richest learning came not from the classroom but from late evening discussions with classmates who brought a different perspective from mine.
What was your biggest regret in business school? Not organizing more dinners and weekend outings with my classmates. We did quite a few, but I wish we had done even more. Looking back, those were some of the most rewarding moments of the EMBA: I always came away energized, with new perspectives and a reminder of how much I enjoy being around this group.
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? We have a dedicated class on Supercomputing and AI taught by Pep Martorell, former Associate Director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, whose deep expertise and hands-on experience made the topic tangible and strategic. The key insight I took away is that what will determine who wins is not just the algorithms, but the entire ecosystem behind them, from energy infrastructure to adoption strategy. Beyond the classroom, I’ve grown to use AI as a daily partner at work, from analyzing documents to challenging my own thinking, and I’m teaching myself to build AI agents. This technology will fundamentally change how companies operate and compete, and I need to understand it firsthand.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? When I was exploring MBA options, everyone I spoke to said the same thing: the most valuable part of the experience is the people you learn alongside. That resonated with me. I wanted to be in the room discussing cases, bouncing ideas off classmates during breaks, and building real relationships over time. An online format couldn’t offer that, and stepping away from work for two years wasn’t a realistic option for me. The EMBA format was the perfect fit, as it gave me the in-person experience I was looking for while allowing me to keep growing professionally.
How did you finance your EMBA and what did you do to make tuition and associated costs more affordable? My professional trajectory and academic performance helped me become a recipient of the Forté Fellowship Award, a scholarship awarded to women pursuing MBA programs who demonstrate exemplary leadership. I financed the rest with personal savings (which I had originally been saving to buy a home, so that will have to wait!). Beyond that, I naturally cut down on weekend expenses like eating out or going to the theater – not hard at all since most of my free time was spent in class or working on projects. I also re-purposed my ‘fun’ budget towards the EMBA study trips, to make the most of the experience. It was a meaningful investment, and one I would make again without hesitation.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I want to lead strategy and innovation in an organization that combines science, technology, and business to address global health challenges. I want to be known for building teams where people feel valued, challenged, and motivated to do their best work.
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