WINNER | Roger Gonzalez Martinez

Prior to starting his MBA at Harvard Business School, Roger’s professional experience was primarily in the Aerospace and Defence sector. He started as an engineer at Rolls-Royce working on a variety of projects such as hybrid-electric aircraft and the next-generation fighter jet, Tempest. He progressed to lead digital transformation for engineering defining the strategy and project managing the acquisition of new capabilities. His latest position at Boeing was leading software products for aviation operations. Roger is involved as a mentor in two start-up accelerator programmes.

When did you start thinking about doing an MBA?

I spoke to a senior leader whom I admired and whose career path appealed to me. He mentioned an MBA will enable me to become an effective business leader for engineering companies. This interaction really set in stone for me that an MBA was the right next step in my career.

What do you hope to achieve through your MBA experience?

Through the HBS MBA I hope to strengthen my ability to lead organisations. I am looking forward to gaining new skills like finance and marketing. I am particularly keen that the case method will expose me to many different perspectives into complex problems.

Where do you see yourself career-wise in five years’ time?

In five years I hope to be in a position to lead industrial companies to become more sustainable. I think manufacturing plays a key role in raising our quality of life but has been a laggard in adopting sustainability measures.

What are your hopes/expectations of being part of the SMF network after business school?

The SMF network will be incredibly valuable for learning from people who are further along a similar path. I expect the relationships I will develop within this network will raise new opportunities to do some interesting work in both a professional and personal context.

How do you hope to support SMF after you graduate from business school?

After business school I hope to support the SMF network by mentoring other engineers who would like to pursue a career in Business. I hope the skills I develop will also be valuable to SMF members who may want to found companies in the industrial sustainability space.

When did you start thinking about doing an MBA?

What did you learn by going through the scholarship application process?

The scholarship application process enabled me to reflect on what I hope to achieve with an MBA and to clearly define the impact I want to have after graduation.

What difference has the scholarship made to you?

I will be moving from Europe to Boston with my wife and baby. The scholarship helps me to support my family as we become students once again.

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