Juan Gómez-Lechón Pechuán
Juan has recently been promoted as the Market Development Representative for Southern Europe at DocuSign. This Spanish alumnus graduated from the Business Administration program at IE University in 2019 and is currently living in Dublin. He has seamlessly integrated into the city he now calls home, while developing a strong network within the IE undergraduate alumni community.
"IE University provides its students with the ambition to become future leaders."
Q&A WITH JUAN
Why do you think it’s important for you to engage with the IEU alumni community?
I arrived in Dublin eleven months ago and I am completely sure that, without the support and energy from the IE undergraduate alumni community, my experience here would not have been the same. Since day one, I’ve felt at home and that is, in great measure, due to this group. From the beginning, we shared one common factor – IE, but now, I can see that it’s way more than that.
How did you land your current position at DocuSign?
I was in my fourth year at IE and I had to complete the six-month internship in order to graduate. IE gave me the chance to do my internship at South Summit and my manager there was the one who encouraged me to move to Dublin and helped me throughout the entire process. Without her, I am sure I wouldn’t have ended up where I am now.
How did your experience at IEU prepare you for your professional career?
IEU taught me to expect the unexpected. While at IE, you could find someone driving an e-scooter in the building and then you could bump into a group of eight nationalities all together. Here at DocuSign in Dublin, you can find the same type of situation. The possibility of participating and enjoying such an enriching international experience at university helps you develop an open mind, which will definitely boost your ability to adapt when moving to a new country.
What advice would you give to IEU students and alumni who are looking to pursue a career in the tech industry?
To be proactive and demonstrate your eagerness to learn. Seeing as you just graduated, companies here understand that you don’t have years of experience. But, you can prove to them that your motivation and your capacity to learn can make you successful candidate for that specific role.
What skills do you need to succeed in business development?
To be successful, in my opinion, it’s all about consistency and proactivity. Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you start in a new position, although you might feel stupid at times. In my case, I was one of the youngest on the team so, I took advantage of my team’s experience to learn as much as I could from them. I consider sales to be the most challenging and enriching job to start your career. It’s a game of numbers and you need to find something that motivates you and go for it, month after month. This is the main reason why you have to be consistent.
What is the competitive advantage that studying at IEU provides or has provided you?
If I had to choose one thing, IE University provides its students with an ambition to become future leaders.
If someone was considering going to IEU, what would you tell them?
I feel like going to IE has been one of the best decisions in my life, I couldn’t be more thankful to my parents. I have made friendships that I am certain they will last for a long time and I’ve lived once-in-a-lifetime experiences in class that I am sure you cannot have at other universities. So, I would tell them that if you are lucky enough as I was to have the opportunity to go to IE, don’t think it twice about it. Just get in and enjoy as much as I did during my four years there.