slukin91 wrote:
Hello,
I would like to be evaluated and receive feedback on how can I improve my application form. I intend on applying on R2 2019 for 2020 intake class. I'll put as much information as I can. If anyone could advise on which points to focus on my application, I would very much appreciate.
Nationality: Brazilian - My Italian passport is underway (maybe by the application time I'll have the double nationality)
Age: 27 years (28 on intended intake);
Languages: Portuguese (native), English (fluent), Spanish (fluent), Romanian (Advanced).
Undergrad GPA: International Relations - 2.8 / Top 20 Brazilian School - graduated in 12/2014;
Graduate GPA: Business Management & Finance - 3.2 / Top Brazilian Business School - graduated in 04/2017
GMAT: I'm scheduled to take the GMAT in September, but I'm aiming between 730 - 750 (I'm putting a lot of effort and time and therefore I'm confident on the score given the official mocks I've taken).
International Experience: 1y as a Rotary exchange student in Romania plus another 8 months traveling through Eastern Europe, middle east and Northeast Africa. I also have considerable amount of international experience in my working experiences. although I've never been an expatriated, I've traveled consistently and also worked in decentralized business units with worldwide interaction.
Community work: I've been part of a teenagers organization doing community work since I was 13y old. So for the past 14 years I've been working to help the less fortunate. Since the beginning of the year, I've been a mentor to youngsters (15y to 20y) in risk zones and poverty through Joule project. I'm also going to be a interviewer for the acceptance committee at my business school.
Goals post MBA: Work in finance (probably M&A) for the short-mid term and, in the long run, start my own business related to financial services (likely to target credit for small/mid sizes companies).
Additional information: I understand my undergrad and Graduate GPA are low and I intend on use the optional essay to highlight that I've been a Full Time employee throughout my entire course. Any advises on how to approach this would be really great.
Work experience and accomplishments below (8 years of relevant working experience by the intake date):
Suzano Pulp & Paper (05/2018 – Currently) - biggest pulp producer in the world
Revenue Management & Pricing Associate
Acting as revenue management and pricing policies business partner for all international paper sales: direct allocation
management of U$350M on sales; sales planning and revenue forecast; Profitability Analysis; C-level presentation
and deviation analysis; feasibility studies for new business; development of business opportunities and business cases
across three international offices; ad hoc analysis
Thomson Reuters (04/2017 – 05/2018)
FP&A Specialist
Acting as Business Partner to the Technology and Operations division, managing directly U$50M and 400 headcounts:
PnL construction and analysis; Budget planning/forecast – Opex and Capex; C-level monthly presentations with
deviation analysis; feasibility studies for new investments (business cases and product development); profitability
analysis per product; backlog analysis; Ad Hoc analysis.
Development of financial databases and reports for revenue, profitability and backlog analysis – leveraging the
company capacity of decision making with accurate and timely information; conducted over 10 new product studies
for the investment committee; conducted a RACI project for the financial department, decreasing in over than 15%
the time required for the monthly deliverables.
Grupo Pão de Açúcar (05/2016 – 04/2017) – Biggest wholesale in Brazil, part of Groupe Casino FR.
Senior FP&A Analyst
PnL construction and analysis; conduct and support the budgeting process with the business units; C-level
presentations (financial committee); monthly management report with deviation analysis for the company controller
(Casino Group – FR); consolidation and validation of financial reports (BRGAAP & IFRS) - Working Capital, Cash Flow
and CAPEX; corporate governance development; special projects; Ad Hoc analysis.
Strongly improved the budgeting process with the business units, decreasing the time required to finish the process
and delivering it on a timely manner; Implemented a cost sharing method for the business units to share the expenses
of the Holding services, such as treasury, audit, HR, and 12 others.
General Motors (03/2015 – 05/2016)
FP&A Analyst
PnL construction and analysis; budget planning/forecast; financial modeling and investment feasibility (IRR, cash flow,
payback, etc.); conduct and lead business cases with other departments; continuous improvement (Kaizen & Six
Sigma).
Cost avoidance of U$11M through the development of an inventory model that increased the accuracy of our forecast
DHL/Exel Supply Chain (01/2012 – 03/2015)
Supply Chain Analyst
Development of the S&OP for all Ford North America suppliers in the LATAM region; implementation of ISO 9001
standard in 2014, awarded with a recognition award for the results obtained; over 300 new operations through
internal sales.
Target Schools:
*Wharton (Dream school);
*Chicago Booth (2nd Choice);
*MIT (3rd Choice);
*Kellogg;
*Berkeley;
*Stanford;
*Columbia.
Hello slukin91,
You have a very interesting profile! Some aspects of your profile which are very interesting
1. Your Community work - It's amazing that you have been volunteering for the last 14 years and are still actively involved. This shows the compassionate part of you.
This is a very important quality B-Schools look for.
2. GMAT - If you can manage a 730-750 - it would be awesome, it will make your case a lot stronger.
I am not very clear about your Masters from Brazilian Business School. Was this a full-time program? I see some overlap in the work experience there. Was it an MBA program? What would be challenging is to justify another MBA in the span for 2 years? You would need to think through this part. You have a good amount of work experience so don't really worry about your undergrad scores.
Do clarify the graduation part so that I have more clarity on helping you assess your chances.
rgds,
Shree