The Aalto MBA program gave Gabriel Hormazábal Sanhueza the opportunity to refresh his knowledge, challenge his thinking alongside exceptional faculty and peers, compete in the world’s largest venture capital investment competition, and gain an up-close view of Nordic business culture and way of life.
Gabriel Hormazábal Sanhueza works as a Senior Product Manager at Smartly.io, a global AI-powered advertising technology company headquartered in Helsinki.
“At work, my greatest passion is understanding and solving problems. The thrill of making something work better never gets old,” he says.
Originally from Chile, Sanhueza came to Finland three years ago to study in the Aalto MBA program.
Although the idea of getting an MBA had been in the back of his mind for years, Sanhueza laughingly admits that it may have been wanderlust that drove him to pursue this dream.
“Which came first, the chicken or the egg? My MBA backstory is one of those questions. I have a master’s degree in civil industrial engineering, and early on in my career, I worked in management consulting. In that line of work, getting an MBA is very common; it’s the expected path to take. I think that’s where the idea took root in my mind,” he reflects.
“Later, I moved on to work in startup and scale-up environments. The thought of an MBA never left me, but I didn’t actively start looking at programs until a few years ago, when I decided that I wanted to gain new experiences abroad. An MBA seemed like the perfect excuse to experience life in a new country.”
Sanhueza explains that he wanted to study somewhere that felt quite novel from a Chilean perspective but would not require too much of a cultural adjustment.
“I did my research and narrowed it down to a handful of countries that offered the kind of stability and quality of life I felt comfortable with. Once I made up my mind that Finland was the best fit, choosing an MBA program was easy. Aalto EE has the top MBA in the country, so the decision made itself.”
“Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. The Aalto MBA was tremendously rewarding, and so was life abroad. So much so that I decided to stay in Finland. I’ve been working at Smartly in Helsinki for a bit over a year now, and life is good.”
Startups, scale-ups, and finance
One of Sanhueza’s favorite aspects of the Aalto MBA program was the wide range of choice participants had in choosing electives.
“It’s extremely flexible: Aalto EE provides a generous buffet of options, and you get to choose the flavors you want. The selection of elective modules is considerably broader than in most MBA programs, because Aalto University is much more than just a business school.”
When asked to name his personal favorites among all the modules he took, Sanhueza does not hesitate: everything relating to startups, scale-ups and finance.
It’s extremely flexible: Aalto EE provides a generous buffet of options, and you get to choose the flavors you want."
“I thoroughly enjoyed diving back into the startup world, discussing every aspect of starting a business and validating an idea. The scale-up module was superb as well. A lot of the content was directly applicable to my own work.”
“I’ve always liked numbers, so I really enjoyed the finance modules as well. I especially liked the fact that we didn’t just delve into theories and the math behind them – much of what we learned was very hands-on. I had studied finance before, but I was keen to sharpen my skills in certain areas. That’s exactly what these modules allowed me to do.”
A particular highlight on Sanhueza’s MBA journey was participating in the world’s largest venture capital investment competition among top MBA students from all over the world.
“Our team from Aalto EE had an amazing time at the Venture Capital Investment Competition, VCIC. Having real startups pitch to us, making tough investment decisions – it was hard work, but immensely rewarding.”
“VCIC also provided direct professional benefits, because I work in a scale-up environment. The competition let me see the other side of the coin: I gained a better understanding of what investors are looking for and what scale-ups need to do to create the right kind of value.”
Sharing experiences broadens your horizons
At Smartly, Sanhueza helps align engineers and business teams to ensure they speak the same language and understand customer needs. Alongside his day job, he also serves as an Ad Honorem Teacher for his old alma mater, the School of Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
“In both roles, I focus on what I do best: helping people get the most out of something,” he describes.
“At work, that means enabling our customers to achieve the best possible results with our advertising technology. My honorary role with my old university involves taking a group of students under my wing and helping them thrive in their studies.”
Sanhueza explains that in all his endeavors, the better he understands diverse perspectives, the better outcomes he achieves. Therefore, his main objective for his MBA journey was to learn as much as possible from the experiences of the other participants and instructors.
I met fantastic people from very diverse backgrounds, benefitted from all the insights they’ve gained across different industries, and built a remarkable network along the way."
“Luckily, the learning methods at Aalto EE are extremely interactive, so I had ample opportunity to do so. We had a wide range of perspectives in every discussion. I have so many warm memories of thought-provoking debates with all the other participants and marvelous instructors.”
“I met fantastic people from very diverse backgrounds, benefitted from all the insights they’ve gained across different industries, and built a remarkable network along the way. For me, that’s what delivers lasting value.”
A versatile program that caters to many needs
Sanhueza says he is happy to endorse the Aalto MBA program.
“I think most Finns already know that Aalto EE offers first-class executive education, so I’ll direct my praise to the international audience: If you are considering MBA studies abroad, you can’t go wrong with the Aalto MBA.”
“It’s a dynamic, highly motivating program – and as an added bonus, you get to immerse yourself in the Nordic business culture and way of life, which makes the entire experience even more rewarding.”
He emphasizes that the program caters to many kinds of ambitions.
“If leadership, strategy, and the business world in general are relatively new to you – say, you’re a medical doctor looking to move into a managerial role – the program will give a solid skill set that will definitely help you take that next step.”
“But I think the program is at least as rewarding for people like me, who come from a fairly strong business background. During my MBA journey, I focused on topics that brought direct benefits to my work, refreshed my knowledge with the latest research-based insights, and enjoyed all the inspiring discussions that genuinely reshaped my thinking. The Aalto MBA was a great experience. I sincerely recommend it.”