In this edition of Real Humans: Alumni, we meet Alexandrea Lim, who wanted to grow her career internationally and saw the MBA as a way to accelerate her personal and professional goals. At IESE, the MBA program prepared her to approach ambiguity and shape high-stakes leadership decisions across industries better by connecting her with people and opportunities. Follow her journey from MBA to senior strategy consultant at Accenture below.
Alexandrea Lim, IESE MBA ’25, Senior Strategy Consultant at Accenture
Age: 28
Hometown: Manila, Philippines
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Ateneo de Manila University – Bachelor of Science in Management
Graduate Business School, Graduation Year and Concentration: IESE Business School Class of 2025 – MBA with a concentration in Finance (Private Equity and Venture Capital)
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Senior Manager, Procter and Gamble, 4 years, FMCG
Post-MBA Work Experience: Senior Strategy Consultant, Accenture, <1 year, Consulting
Why did you choose to attend business school?
After doing on an International Business program in Germany, I wanted to expand my life and career internationally and I saw the MBA as way to accelerate my learning and development towards my personal and professional goals.
Why IESE? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
First, I wanted to be in Europe and IESE quickly stood out, and the fact that it was in Spain definitely helped. Second, as early as pre-MBA, I saw the breadth of the IESE network and felt the strong sense of IESE community around the world. Third, I prefer practical learning. In my classroom alone, we had over 30 nationalities across different industries debating approaches to business decisions daily plus courses like the Executive Simulation and Venture Capital Investment Competition where you present to current board members and fund partners.
What about your MBA experience prepared you for your current career? How do you feel that your MBA has been an asset when it comes to navigating new challenges, such as AI?
The MBA prepared me to approach ambiguity and shape high-stakes leadership decisions across industries better by connecting me with people and opportunities that broadened my perspective and deepened my knowledge. Through leadership roles, consulting and finance training, international programs, projects across Europe, East Asia, and Latin America, and even learning new languages, I got to embrace the unfamiliar, giving me chances to learn, adapt, and enjoy. The support of my IESE community and the relationships I made along the way, made stepping intro new industries, geographies, and roles less difficult and more fun.
Today, as I work with some leading organisations on their AI strategy, where ambiguity spans across the whole business, approaching change and uncertainty with structure and responsibility has been critical. The decisions go beyond business and shape how people work, live, and interact.
What was your internship during business school? How did that inform your post-MBA career choice?
I interned at Samsung Global Strategy Group in Korea and had the opportunity to learn and shape the decision-making of one of the world’s largest tech conglomerates. That reaffirmed to me that I wanted to be where I could make a meaningful impact and develop personally and professionally the most.
Why did you choose your current company? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to work?
I joined Accenture London because it aligned with my values and offered me the chance to work on high-impact projects I care about, with leading international organisations and diverse teams in London’s global hub. At an organisation that grows, evolves, and has the scale and access to the latest tech and developments, I can explore new approaches and develop better outcomes.
Advice to current MBA students:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of the job search?
Stay true to myself and my values. It can be easy to be influenced by trends or others when you aren’t, but that doesn’t help.
– One thing you would change or do differently as part of the job search?
I wouldn’t change anything, but I could have taken more siestas (naps).
–Were there any surprises regarding your current employer’s recruiting process?
The process felt more personal than the typical recruiting funnel.
–What piece of advice do you wish you had been given during your MBA?
Debe tirar mas fotos (Should take more photos).
