Gillian Del Mundo embarked on her MBA journey at CUHK Business School with the goal of transitioning from the retail industry into the financial sector. Discover how hands-on experiences, the Elite Mentorship Program, and robust extracurricular involvement are honing her leadership skills and preparing her for a career change.
Gillian Del Mundo excelled as a portfolio executive at L’Oréal in Singapore. She skillfully handled brand management and navigated the complex logistics of the retail cosmetics industry. Despite her success, she felt pulled towards the finance sector.
To make this career change, Gillian decided to develop her transferable skills. She enrolled in the MBA program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School.
Born in the Philippines and raised in Hong Kong, Gillian felt Hong Kong was the right place to do her MBA. As a financial hub and cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong’s vibrant financial sector was a strategic location for her to dive into the finance industry.
“I wanted to go back to Hong Kong to network with people in the finance industry. Hong Kong is considered to be a financial hub. I knew that CUHK was a great campus to start with because it has a really extensive alumni network,” she says. (01:00)
CUHK Business School is renowned for nurturing global business leaders. The MBA program allows Gillian to build her network and acquire the necessary skills to make a successful career change.
Gillian notes that her work experience in the retail sector was valuable as she further honed the skills and knowledge she gained during her undergraduate program. She says it equipped her with analytical, interpersonal, and soft skills. She learned how to communicate effectively with stakeholders and navigate client engagement successfully. These are skills that she hopes to bring with her into the finance sector.
“I was really able to learn how client engagement works, how I’m able to communicate with different stakeholders and understand their business goals, and I think that is a really valuable asset that I could bring into this new industry,” she explains. (05:15)
Leveraging her previous work experience in the retail industry and reflecting on her transferable skills is highly advantageous. This way, Gillian can better position herself in the finance industry, using her previous skill set to her advantage.
Gillian praises CUHK’s Elite Mentorship Programme (EMP). The EMP pairs students with mentors from the alumni network for one-on-one sessions that help mentees gain industry insights and further their professional development. It’s a program focused on building strong and impactful mentor-mentee relationships.
Gillian wanted a mentor with international experience and experience with changing industries, ideally, someone who had also transitioned from the retail sector to another industry. The EMP takes student’s suggestions into account to pair them with the best possible mentor.
“What I wanted [to learn] is how they were able to transfer to a different industry from where they had most of their experience.” (07:33)
Gillian felt she was paired with a highly suitable mentor. She reflects, “CUHK did a great job of keeping those considerations in mind and matching me with a mentor that has the closest experience based on my suggestions.” (08:12)
Through the EMP program Gillian gained firsthand industry insights and valuable guidance from a seasoned professional. By taking students’ suggestions into account, CUHK can pair students with the best possible mentor.
Gillian also notes that the cohort diversity was a great advantage of the program. One reason why she wanted to complete an MBA program at CUHK was its extensive alumni network. She hoped to forge new connections with peers in various industries, broaden her network, and gain new perspectives. She felt that this program offered a great platform to do just that.
Having students from mainland China and exchange students in the program gave the program an international perspective. In addition to this, her peers had work experience in a wide variety of sectors. This allowed her to gain insights into various industries and potential career paths.
She says her cohort was “very diverse in terms of their careers and their job experience. There are a lot of entrepreneurs, people from the finance industry, entertainment industry, and non-governmental organizations, so there’s really a vast variety of people who come from different experiences and I think that’s also valuable when it comes to having diversity in this program.” (12:45)
By leveraging advice from her mentor and insights from her diverse cohort, Gillian feels ready for future endeavors. Learning to be an empathetic leader has also been crucial in her career transition.
Gillian notes that the MBA at CUHK was full of practical experiences. The program includes case study projects, guest speakers, and group work. This practical approach allowed her to develop her skills further and engage in self-reflection.
For example, during the program, she learned a lot about her leadership style. She was able to develop a more empathetic leadership style through these experiences.
“I can be a very direct person; that tends to be my style. I like being direct and honest with people. But people have different preferences, I had to learn to adapt to that.” (03:22)
The MBA program helped her to cultivate greater adaptability and hone her ability to empathize with different people. Through the program, she evolved how she leads people and projects.
Looking forward, Gillian is eager to apply these refined leadership skills in the finance industry.
Gillian also felt that the one-year MBA program was an ideal time for challenging herself by immersing herself in numerous skill-building extracurricular activities.
Notably, Gillian participated in the CFA Institute Research Challenge 2023-2024, a demanding research analytics competition designed to provide students with intensive training in financial analysis. Among twenty-five teams in the Hong Kong and Macau region, her team ranked second in the Hong Kong Local Final 2023-2024. Additionally, she competed in the Turner MIINT Impact Investing Network & Training competition. (5:55)
She also participated in multiple extracurricular activities. She served as the Community Director for the Student Association at CUHK, where she oversees internal operations and organizes student affairs. Gillian is also the Student Representative for the full-time MBA cohort. (06:35)
By truly immersing herself in all aspects of the MBA program, including extracurricular activities, she made the most of the short and intensive one-year program. After completing the MBA, she will have plenty of achievements to showcase both her leadership skills and newfound finance know-how.
Hong Kong is a global business and finance hub. Its strategic location and cosmopolitan city atmosphere with a large expat community make it a top study destination for international MBA students.
Gillian highlights how studying in Hong Kong is particularly beneficial for those looking to break into fintech or finance. There are plenty of local and international companies established in Hong Kong that work in these sectors. Additionally, about two-thirds of all foreign direct investment into and out of mainland China passes through Hong Kong. The city serves as a bridge between Chinese and international markets.
Gillian also emphasizes the city’s vibrant entrepreneurial environment. “In our MBA program, there are a lot of people who have their own businesses and are entrepreneurs. Hong Kong is a great way for them to find investors or network with other entrepreneurs that they could collaborate with, so Hong Kong has a very developed side when it comes to both entrepreneurship and finance,” she notes. (11:30)
Gillian is using her time at CUHK to make a career change towards finance. She is gaining academic knowledge of the finance industry through the program, and using her time during the MBA to expand her network, learn from her peers and mentors, and engage in extracurricular activities. By embedding herself in Hong Kong’s professional community, she is setting a solid foundation for her future career.
Are you interested in learning more about the CUHK MBA? CUHK ambassadors are ready to share their personal experiences with you.
