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 Ana Urien
EMP
Mergers and acquisitions lawyer at Cabinet Cuatrecasas in Barcelona, one of Spain's largest and most active firms in this sector.
What does your present post involve?
I am responsible for international clients involved in mergers and acquisitions. This means my key areas of expertise are business and company law.
My department, which consists of five international lawyers, is part of Cuatrecasas' fusions and acquisitions group made up of 35 legal experts. Although the firm does have a defined hierarchy, its philosophy is to encourage personnel to work together as much as possible so creating a team atmosphere.
I this way, even if I have responsibility for younger, less experienced staff, joint work with colleagues of different levels is the norm.
What has your career history been since finishing your studies?
After five years of studying Law and Economics in Bilbao, then the EMP-MBA, I worked for Céline in Paris - part of LVMH luxury goods group - in the sales and finance administration department. I then found the post at Cuatrecasas, where I have worked for two years now.
How international is your work?
My work is at its essence international. In all cases of mergers, restructuring or acquisitions that I deal with at least one of the parties involved is foreign.
What this means is that I have become more used to using English and French rather than Spanish as my working languages.
How has your career been affected by your studies?
What the EMP-MBA gave me was a very international perspective and a wide knowledge of the world of finance. These are the two elements essential to the post I now occupy.
What aspect of the programme has been the most useful in your career?
Just about everything we studied has been useful in one way or another so it is a little difficult to pick out one aspect in particular.
It is the programme as a whole that gave me a truly global vision of the business world and allowed me to open myself up to other cultures which is always a very rewarding experience.
 Ramzi Shuaibi (EMP-MBA 2000)
Director Assistant, Palacio de Congresos de Barcelona
Spain
Above all, I have enjoyed a one year experience living with different people from different countries, different culture, languages and academic background and visiting new places. I have learned very much not only from the courses but also from the rest of students, the whole group in itself was great! When I started the EMP-MBA I didn't have any knowledge of economy and I was afraid of not being able to follow some of the courses. Moreover, my French wasn't too good either and part of the EMP, three months, was to be carried out in France. Going abroad was also a challenge but it was an excellent opportunity to mature and acquire a good ground in management and languages. I also feel the practical experience I have gained in problem-solving has set me up well for my future career.
 Monica Goitiandia (EMP-MBA 94)
Human Resources Director, Morgan Chase Group
UK
The EMP-MBA changed my professional life. It gave the business insights I needed and allowed me to move my career from Industrial Psychology to Business. Thanks to the EMP I found myself with several job offers. I chose a position as Consultant with PriceWaterhouse in Chile. Three years later I was appointed Human Resources Director of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a nation wide business with a Headcount of 850 employees and managing a team of 20 staff. It was a dream job to combine my Industrial Psychology background and Business training beautifully.
After four years in Chile, I wanted to continue with an International career focusing on HR management and development in the UK. I have had to adapt to a more specialist area of work than the generalist role and duties my appointment in Chile demanded. In Europe HR roles tend to be more specific. I love the challenge and I feel I will get it as successfully as I did before. The MBA taught me to communicate in three different languages and to understand business from a multicultural point of view. That is a life-long professional asset I owe to Deusto University.
 Marta Portilla,
Degree in Physics, University of Cantabria, Spain
EMP-MBA 1999
UCB-Pharma, Brussels, Belgium
In my personal experience, the EMP-MBA internship was followed by a contract in the same company. Coming from a scientific background, these MBA studies have widened my career possibilities. The international focus of the program made it possible for me to work outside Spain in an international environment. Now, my daily communications are in English and French, which are the languages learned and practised throughout the MBA year.
In addition, the EMP-MBA has allowed me to develop some important skills to work in a company, such as: capacity to adapt to new situations and environments, flexibility towards the company's needs, ease at team work, fluency at languages and presentation skills, and obviously business management knowledge.
In summary, I am very satisfied to have done this international MBA and I am sure it will continue to help me in my future career development.
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