Originally from New York City, Maria Tokarska began her career in technology consulting for media and entertainment clients before deciding to pursue a formal business education in Europe. Drawn to IMD for its top ranking and international setting, she embraced the opportunity to broaden her leadership skills and cross-cultural awareness. Her MBA experience not only enhanced her ability to work with globally distributed teams, but also reaffirmed her desire to work for a purpose-driven brand with global impact. At Disney, she’s found that perfect intersection of scale, creativity, and cultural resonance. Read on for her story and insights in this Real Humans: Alumni.
Maria Tokarska, IMD MBA ’23, Product Manager at Disney
Age: 27
Hometown: New York City, USA
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Princeton University, Major = Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Minor = Entrepreneurship
Graduate Business School, Graduation Year and Concentration: IMD 2023, Leadership
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Analyst / Consultant / Senior Consultant, Qvest.US (formerly known as OnPrem Solution Partners), 3.5 years, Technology consulting for the Media & Entertainment industry
Post-MBA Work Experience: Product Manager, The Walt Disney Company, 1 year, Technology / Media & Entertainment
Why did you choose to attend business school?
Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I was mid-way through my undergraduate degree that I realized I was interested in business and the career opportunities it provided. My high school was focused on science and engineering, so I figured that was where my future path was meant to be headed.
I chose to attend business school because I wanted the opportunity to receive a formal business education. My view was that a business education would set me up for future success, whether within an established company or my own venture.
I had already had 3.5 years of full-time employment before attending business school and felt that I was young enough to make a meaningful change in my career path.
Why IMD? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
I’ve always had the travel bug and given that all my schooling and full-time employment was based in the northeast U.S., I figured business school would be the perfect opportunity to move somewhere new. I was attracted by the idea of studying in Europe since I had family ties on the continent and wanted to explore it more.
Truthfully, I googled “best business school in Europe,” saw that IMD was #1 on Bloomberg, and decided to apply!
What about your MBA experience prepared you for your current career at Disney?
The biggest preparation for the IMD MBA for my current career is the ability to work with people of different backgrounds and understand how different cultures can operate differently in the workplace. I have a lot more empathy towards my work teammates after the MBA, recognizing that everyone has different aspects of their past and personality that may inform their actions at work.
My current team is spread across the U.S. as well as various South American countries. In our leadership class at IMD, one of the differences in culture we learned about was task-oriented versus relationship-oriented ways of working. We Americans tend to be task-oriented, meaning that our priority is on completing tasks efficiently. My South American counterparts are relationship-oriented, emphasizing individual well-being rather than just task completion.
An obvious difference I see at work is that I will send a message to my Argentinian teammate in the morning, diving straight into the question or request I have. My teammate, on the other hand, will ask me how I am doing and not dive into any questions/requests until I have given a thoughtful answer on my well-being. I’ve learned to slow down and provide space for relationship-building with my teammates, both Argentinian and American.
What was your internship during business school? How did that inform your post-MBA career choice of Disney?
At the time I was at IMD, the schedule did not allow for an internship, so I can’t speak to this. However, I did travel throughout Europe during our brief summer break, which just further solidified for me that I want proper work-life balance in my next job so that I could continue traveling when work allowed!
Why did you choose your current company? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to work?
One of the main reasons I chose Disney was because of its size and brand recognition.
Although I had worked for various Fortune 500s as a consultant in my prior job, I never had the experience of truly being an employee at a large Fortune 500. Having experience across a range of company sizes is extremely important to understand what you want out of your career. I’ve worked for startups and mid-sized firms, but never a company of Disney’s size; they’ve all been such different experiences and have brought me closer to understanding what I am looking for out of a company.
As far as brand recognition, growing up, Disney stories were a huge part of my life (I was the biggest Hannah Montana fan). When going through the job search, I knew I wanted to be part of a company that has a deep impact on people around the world. The brand recognition isn’t just about the name – it’s about the trust, creativity, and innovation behind it. Working here means collaborating with incredibly talented people and contributing to content that resonates across generations.
Advice to current MBA students:
HAVE FUN!! Of course, it’s important to engage in classwork and stay on top of the job search. Still, allow yourself time to indulge in this career break and do some things you may not have been able to when working full-time. Take that 24-hour trip to Paris to see your favorite DJ with your classmates. Attend that ski trip organized by your classmates, even if you haven’t skied in years and are intimidated by the Alps.
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of the job search?
The most helpful thing I did in my job search was to narrow down 10 companies that I was most interested in working for and set up daily LinkedIn job alerts for them. It was helpful to see the pace at which these target companies were hiring and in what departments; this helped me understand which companies were more realistic to join at that moment in time and, for those that weren’t really hiring, perhaps pivot my focus from them.
In addition to identifying target companies, I researched open job postings to also identify common roles/job titles that I was interested in. Beyond setting LinkedIn notifications for companies, I also set notifications on open roles based on the job title.
There’s only so much energy you can expel on the job search, so narrowing down companies and roles was extremely valuable to me.
–One thing you would change or do differently as part of the job search?
If I could go back in time, I’d begin the networking process sooner. One of the best ways to get to know the culture of a company, when you’re on the job hunt, is to speak with current employees and gather their candid experiences. These types of “informative interviews” also paved the way for potential job referrals or other networking opportunities.
Scheduling the informative interviews, especially across varied time zones, can be a slow process; the sooner you start, the more you can accomplish.
–Were there any surprises regarding your current employer’s recruiting process?
I found Disney’s recruiting process to be quite standard. However, something I would keep in mind with any recruiting process is that it can easily span across months, so be patient!
–What piece of advice do you wish you had been given during your MBA?
To be honest, you’re given a lot of advice during your MBA, but sometimes you’re so caught up in the program that you aren’t in the headspace to absorb the advice. So, the advice I wish I had been given before my MBA would be to find the right balance between engrossing yourself in the new MBA bubble and keeping up with your existing personal life.
While it’s important to make new connections during the MBA and fully immerse yourself in this new life, remember to give attention to your other friends and family, too! Friends and family can be so helpful in keeping yourself grounded and not getting caught up in the whirlwind of the MBA.
