Faculty Spotlight: Teresa Recio Naranjo

Students love taking Teresa Recio Naranjo’s classes. This year she won the Best Professor recognition for the International MBA program—for the second time. In fact, she is consistently nominated for this award and regularly receives Excellence in Teaching recognitions. She has also been named Best MBA professor as visiting faculty in other academic institutions. But, Recio is not just an inspiring professor. She boasts a sterling curriculum as an expert in brand management, working with some of the biggest names in marketing to help them craft their strategies. She is interested in the relationship between marketing activities and business results. Her research has been published in the Journal of Advertising Research. In addition to teaching and her current position as a marketing consultant, she is a corporate advisor to several firms and frequently mentors students in corporate consultancy or start-up projects.

Take a closer look at one of IE Business School’s favorite professors.

What brought you to IE? What were you doing before this?

The funny thing is, when I was studying my MBA I never thought I would end up on the other side of the classroom. I joined Procter & Gamble after I graduated and my goal was to have a successful corporate career. But several years later, I was offered the opportunity to teach and I fell in love with the experience. Teaching at IE, I was always able to have a flexible schedule and this allowed me to get my PhD and keep working as a marketing consultant, while spending more time at home. But also, being a professor is especially enjoyable when one has good students. At IE, I’ve always had the best. I am in touch with many former students and I feel proud and happy when hearing about their many accomplishments, both personal and professional. I feel privileged to teach in a top-notch academic institution and to be part of the IE community.  

Have you ever had an a-ha moment while teaching? What was it?

The thing about teaching is one constantly has a-ha moments. My students come from all over the world and have an extremely diverse background so they always bring new experiences and ideas into the classroom. I learn from them as much as they learn from me. It’s a bidirectional relationship. This is what makes the process so challenging, but also so stimulating and rewarding. 

What book do you wish your students would read before taking your class and why?

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. It has many useful tips for time management, team work and self-management in general. I also recommend my students read How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen. It’s about applying your management skills to your personal life. I find it very inspiring.

How do you fit together all your professional commitments with home life?

We have four children and a good work/personal life balance has always been important to me. I now strive to balance my classes, my job as a corporate advisor and my wish to spend quality time with my family. Time is a limited resource and the key challenge is to make the most out of it. My recipe is setting clear priorities and learning to say no. I say no to a lot of things and this helps me stay focused and organized. 

Whose research of your IE colleagues do you find interesting? Why?

This is a tough question since there is so much interesting research published by my IE colleagues. In my field, I would say Carmen Abril. She always finds interesting ways to look at marketing issues. Outside of my area, Rocio Bonet. I am very interested in her work on gender diversity in top management positions.

Tell us one personal thing about yourself that none of your students know. A hobby, sport or talent? Strange fact? Unusual interest? 

I love travelling, cooking and spending time with my family. We have a house in Comillas, in the north of Spain and we go there as much as we can. Also, I love acting and theater and I was in a drama group for quite some time. There is an element of performance in teaching so I think this experience was very helpful in improving the engagement of my students and managing the class. I have always tried to apply some element of storytelling to my sessions and it seems to have worked!