From Ecuador to Epcot, Daniel Murray Flores, UCI Merage MBA ’24, shares his personal and professional journey in this Real Humans: Alumni. Read on to learn how UCI Merage was the perfect MBA for his plans, what he learned along the way and more that led to his career at Disney.
Daniel Murray Flores, UCI Merage MBA ’24, Senior Analyst, Disney
Age: 32
Hometown: Quito, Ecuador
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Universidad San Francisco de Quito, BS Civil Engineering
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Project Manager, Anheuser Busch InBev, 4 years, consumer packaged goods
Post-MBA Work Experience: Revenue Management Senior Analyst, The Walt Disney Company, 1 year, entertainment
Why did you choose to attend business school?
Since I graduated as a civil engineer, you could say I never had that proper business education in my undergrad. I did learn many things about business administration throughout my tenure at Anheuser Busch InBev (ABI) but I always wanted to have that formal business education. In late 2021 I decided that I had completed my cycle at ABI and decided it was time for me to pivot into a career in finance in the U.S. I knew that getting an MBA from a top U.S. business school would allow me to do that better than other degrees or career paths so I decided to apply to business school.
Why UCI Merage? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
For me, the decision of which business school would be the best fit was driven by 4 main reasons. Number one, I was looking for a school in which my wife and I would enjoy our time throughout the year (including winters) and Southern California was the best place for it. Number two, I was looking for a business school that had a close alumni network that would allow me to reach out and connect with various companies in the area. Since Merage’s MBA program is not that old and their cohorts are usually small I knew they would have had the alumni network I was looking for. Number three, I wanted to be at a school that had big companies in the surrounding area because I knew that would increase my opportunities to recruit full-time jobs and Orange County had exactly that. And number four, I wanted a cohort that wasn’t big so that I could meet my classmates more greatly and so that the career center would have more time to create a personal recruiting strategy for me.
What about your MBA experience prepared you for your current career at Disney?
The career center was a great resource throughout my MBA as it helped me develop a career plan and continuously encouraged me to expand my network, which allowed me to become more focused on what I wanted to do and have a clearer picture of how to get there. Merage’s faculty discussion-based classes allowed me to become a more rounded professional and helped me develop many of the technical skills I used in my day-to-day.
What was your internship during business school? How did that inform your post-MBA career choice of Disney?
I interned at Nike as a finance MBA intern at the end of my first year. This was my first formal role working in finance a multinational company in the U.S. and it confirmed my desire to pursue a career in corporate finance. It also allowed me to have a better idea of what area of corporate finance I was more interested in starting my career
Why did you choose your current company? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to work?
I knew I wanted to continue my career in corporate finance within a multinational company that was local to the area since my family and I were not looking to relocate. In addition to this, working at Disney has been one of my biggest professional goals since I was in my undergrad, so when the opportunity came for me to have a career in Disney’s corporate finance team I didn’t think twice.
Advice to current MBA students:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of the job search?
Be resilient when applying for jobs and networking. It can be exhausting and discouraging to get rejections and not hear back from people you reach out to. This is all part of the process. The best way to work through it is to learn from your failures and keep trying.
–One thing you would change or do differently as part of the job search?
I would try to focus more of my time networking with people instead of applying to job openings. It might be more tiring to do this, but I think the value you get from it can be much greater than regular cold job applications.
–What piece of advice do you wish you had been given during your MBA?
Get involved in professional clubs starting in your first year. They are a great resource for you to practice your leadership skills and network with people who might work in the company you want or have the role you are aspiring to get.
