Why an MBA?

Panama-City, Panama

Many MBA programs include this question in their application. I think it is a good exercise for candidates to put down on paper why exactly they want to do that, considering the required investment of time and money involved in pursuing an MBA degree. Obviously, this is not the reason I am writing this post. I had already made my decision before I packed my life (together with my newly-wedded wife), and headed-out across the Atlantic and into the land of Tex-Mex food. This post is aimed not only at sharing the intensions I had before coming to Austin, but also to share my thoughts as of today, with the help of a great tool of wisdom called “hindsight”.

After serving for over 14 years in the Israeli Army (a service I enjoyed immensely and will hold dear forever), I decided that it’s time to move-on. Having served most of my years in the field of technology, I felt that I would like to stay connected to technology while moving to the business side of things. In addition, I felt the need to expose myself to the international aspects of business. I think that in today's world of business (and especially technology), being international is a must. I believe that my international MBA experience will enable me to be more prepared to deal with the challenges of business, leveraging my IT-consulting and project-management experience.

I also come from an internationally diverse family (Israel, The US, Colombia, France, Spain, and more), and have travelled extensively through-out the western hemisphere (Western Europe, US, Africa, Central America and South America), but have never lived as an independent adult outside of Israel. Making such a move promised to involve great challenges, but also leaving (at least temporarily), the country I love the most and the family and friends I have there and love dearly. I can honestly say that it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. After months of deliberating the possibilities with my wife (then fiancé), and myself, we decided to go for it.

Looking back at my first year, including my summer internship in Panama, I can honestly say that the experience at McCombs has exceeded my expectations. The exposure to the different aspects of business administration and the international experience that goes along with it, have made my MBA year a very rewarding one. In general, I think that an international MBA program, such as the one at McCombs, enable you to shape your MBA experience to fit your personal goals and needs. What of the things I like about the program at McCombs is that it is strong in several areas of business (finance, marketing, entrepreneurship and IT), and the message from the faculty is very clear: you need to figure-out what you want to do and we will work with you to see to create the relevant opportunities. Sometimes, the opportunities are created by the students themselves, with the school providing the framework, the budget or necessary contacts.

Personally, I was able to take the time and experience different courses from different departments. I have taken course in strategy, marketing, finance and entrepreneurship, and found a strong relationship among them. This relationship is emphasized by our faculty that invest much thought in connecting disciplines instead of approaching them as isolated silos.

Outside the classroom, I was lucky to utilize the great PLUS program we have at McCombs. We formed a team that worked with the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise on generating what they called: “Untraditional sources of revenue”. It was a unique experience that involved creative thinking and identification of business opportunity for a leading sports organization. It was an example of an opportunity initiated by student and facilitated by the school.

I reached my summer internship opportunity through the school’s recruiting process. Dell Inc. approached me regarding a position in Central America and I was thrilled with the chance to work with a leading technology company outside the US and obtain the international experience, from both the business and the culture aspects of it.

I am looking forward to my second year, both on a professional level and on a social one. During our first year in Austin, my wife and I have acquired great friends and going back to school with is an exciting thing to do.