Federico Maldonado Arango: Aiming for a new career

What led you to take the Cambridge MBA?

After 4 years working as a consultant for a tech company, I realised how much more I needed to learn to advance my career. The Cambridge MBA offered all the resources I was looking for to help me strengthen my leadership and technical skills and be part of a world-class prestigious university. All this whilst allowing me to tailor my classes to my specific needs. 

As my dream job is to connect Colombia to Europe and Asia, the Cambridge MBA would also enable me to join a diverse group of brilliant peers and academics from all over the world that would help me broaden my network to a global level. 

Describe the biggest accomplishment in your career so far?

Being promoted to Senior Consultant after 2 years working at my company has been my greatest professional accomplishment. 

I was proud to work for the company and I did my best to represent their values, and this was a recognition by my leadership team for my dedication and perseverance. But further than that, it was also what opened my eyes to how much more I needed to learn to become a leader – not just a manager – to my team. 

How do you feel about being awarded your scholarship?

It has been an absolute honour being awarded the ROMBA LGBTQ+ scholarship. It is one of the main reasons why I am now able to take the challenge and attend Cambridge for my MBA and I will be forever grateful for being offered this opportunity. 

I hope to use all the resources available to strengthen the LGBTQ+ community presence in business. Proving that regardless of who you are, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to. This is my goal alongside countless other ROMBA fellows around the world. 

What do you want to get out of the MBA most of all in the next year?

Aside from the knowledge and skills I will acquire, as someone with only 4 years of work experience, I am looking forward to collaborating and learning from top candidates from all over the world. I want to broaden my network and meet new people to learn from their experiences so that I can build a new career for my future. 

Where do you see your MBA journey taking you in your future career?

With an MBA that has an international outlook and world-class recognition, I would like to be working as a liaison between the UK, Japan, and Colombia. 

I am currently considering aligning this with my strength for Data Analytics, but I am open to new possibilities and seeing how this could change after my year in Cambridge. 

What does Cambridge mean to you?

Cambridge represents new opportunities. It is a place where I can grow, develop, and strengthen myself in an innovative, diverse, and historical environment. 

Something that few people may know about you…

My absolute dream job would be to own a small coffee shop in the outskirts of a big city.