Meet the first Future Leaders, IE Business School’s Dual Degree with Peking University

Luis Bravo and Vincent Hug de Merlo are the top students selected to participate in the first year of IE Business School’s Future Leaders International Undergraduate Dual Degree Program with Peking University.

IE joined the Peking University Future Leaders Program as a founding member during China's second Belt & Road Conference in Beijing. This alliance sends a select group of BBA students to study at Guanghua for two years, with an international cohort of 13 top business schools and Guanghua undergraduates. Our Bachelor in Business Administration students will get a dual degree from IE and PKU, ensuring a two-way collaboration.

“As the most international bachelor program in the world, IE Business School’s BBA has been a natural choice for China’s most prestigious Peking University to launch its Future Leaders Program,” said BBA Associate Dean Marc Smelik. “This dual degree program will bring together top students from a select group of world universities, with a very unique opportunity to obtain a degree from Peking University as well as their home institution. A full immersion in Chinese culture, business & economy, and day to day life, will give these students a very special start to their international career.”

The International Undergraduate Program is built to be dynamic through customized courses on China’s development, specially-designed coursework, social research, cultural exploration activities and field visits to locations like Shenzhen, Xi’an, and Shanghai.

IE Students have to pass two selection rounds to be chosen for the elite program, first within the IE BBA program and secondly with the Peking University selection board, which visited Madrid in November to make their final decision.

“Our first participants, Luis Bravo and Vincent Hug, made a very strong impression on the Chinese delegation and will be fantastic ambassadors for IE,” Smelik said. “When they graduate with the coveted two degrees, they will have received a unique set of skills and insights to become future leaders in this complex world.”

Get to know the Future leaders

Luis Bravo

ABOUT HIM

Luis Bravo, globetrotter, charismatic and hungry for success. He is a Spanish BBA student who in his 19 years has already lived in Belgium, Greece, Spain, and England.

A sports enthusiast – professional football player in Greece and Consultant for Pepe Jeans London is now part of the first cohort of the Future Leaders International Undergraduate Dual Degree Program.

“If you want to do something go and do it there is no use in living with regrets. Know yourself and rely on others emotionally as you can always learn something new.”

Why Business Administration?

Since high school, my dreams professionally have always been related to being a businessman. What I like is providing value to the world and making people’s lives easier. I can do this with my studies in BBA.

I’ve always believed in win-win situations. The perfect mix would be to have a successful business, make money and at the same time cause a positive impact. I would love to be successful in the sustainable sector and any that I can have a positive impact with.

What has been your most rewarding experience at IE University?

I think the people you meet here. You can find people that have a mentality that goes along with yours and at the same time ones that are completely different. Different cultural backgrounds are very rewarding.

Certainly the connections you can take with you. You get to meet people, learn from your differences and develop a network.

What surprised you from your journey here at IE?

I would’ve never imagined I’ll be doing a split degree between IE University and Peking University - as this opportunity was released after I enrolled in IE.

I’m a person that I always focus on trying to get better. As some would say “hungry for success.” This has been the perfect environment to grow this aspect of myself.

What would you take from these 2 years in IE?

The depth of knowledge I have in the labor market. The network of people. And, how they mentor you to help with what you want to do in the future professionally and personally. Doing the Slow Fashion Lab I saw that you learn by doing and in IE they prepare you in that way. In brief, you learn how to become a better person, you grow.

I consider that it has boosted my values and created new ones like perseverance and ambition. It has encouraged me to go further in whatever I want to achieve. So yes, IE does take you further.

How is your life outside of IE?

I love sports, working out, playing football, tennis. They occupy a huge part in my life. In fact, I take them as seriously as classes. I believe that to have a healthy mind, you need to have a healthy body. Every day I make sure to include sports and reading into my routine.

I read almost always non-fiction, usually on things I’m interested in like leadership, financial education, and nutrition. I try to learn something new every day.

Why did you decide to take this opportunity and study at Peking University?

Number one would be that I think it’s important to understand their mindset first-hand as for me they're so different in terms of their values and work ethic. One which I think it's admirable and worth learning. China is going to be one of the greatest potential powers in the world and I want to be there to see it. Also the Chinese language, I really want these two years to help me to come back and speak Chinese fluently.

Then, the split degree is a perfect balance. PKU is the top university in China and IE University is one of the top European universities. I can come with a well-rounded knowledge of two different markets and cultural backgrounds.

What was your decision-making process, did you have any challenges?

It was like a roller coaster. At first, I was scared, since the election process is quite long I had a long time to reflect and ponder about it. I talked to my family, friends, and people who were there to help me make the decision. I went through a gathering and research information phase. Then, knowing Vincent was going influenced me a lot as I already knew him and that gave me comfort. In the end, I knew I would regret not taking this opportunity and China was the next step in my business career.

For now, the only challenge I have faced is the current situation in China. The program has updated us on the situation with hopeful indications and emphasizing their main priority is student safety. Therefore, I guess we have to wait and see.

Leadership. What makes a leader a leader?

A leader focuses on the common benefit, not on the personal one, to help find and encourage the group that he or she is in.

They will be a leader not because someone assigned him as a leader, but because everyone will see him as a leading figure and they will follow him.

For me, a leader I look up to is my father. He managed to achieve a lot from nothing. And he has always taken care of his family, something that I would really like to do myself one day.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I don't know the location. I really think that everything is possible. China, Spain, France, the States? Who knows? I really hope to have achieved what I want in life. Not everything, but the most part. Otherwise, it would not be exciting.

I see myself as a better person, growing day by day. My only fear is that l stop growing my personal development. I’ll probably have a family and my own company or companies. Something that has value and helps people. 

Vincent Hug de Merlo

ABOUT HIM

Vincent Hug de Merlo, passionate, opportunity-seeker and life enthusiast. He is a Suisse-Spanish-Canadian BBA student, who at his 21 years old, has already lived in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Madrid.

Creator of Start-Up, Deplastify - plastic cleanups on beaches -, Video producer manager for TEDXIE Madrid 2019 and other projects, he is now one of the two selected students to take part in the Future Leaders International Undergraduate Dual Degree Program.

“Take advantage of your time. Do exactly what you want to do, never settle for mediocre. Think about others and the future.”

Why Business Administration?

BBA really helps you choose and build your path based on what you like doing, as it gives you lots of options and flexibility in the future. For me, its film and production. And now, the entertainment industry

I believe it teaches you about managing companies, team building, selling and the logistics behind any business. It's pragmatic, useful and also, very interesting. For me, it was a way of not closing any doors.

Why IE University?

The quality of education here. I found it to be very top-notch thanks to the University rankings. I saw that it was a referent in terms of business in Europe and in the world. It's also a very ambitious university due to its relatively young age. They are always aspiring to be bigger and better. Another factor was the location as I was looking to study close to my family and close to home.

What surprised you from your journey here at IE?

The diversity we have here. I had an international background but I was still, nevertheless, surprised. I found it very interesting that people from all around the world decided to travel so far to come here. You live in a constant cross-cultural communication environment as you are always working in teams and different ages. You learn how to get this one goal together as a team, regardless of cultural differences.

Another factor is that there is always something going on. I’ve had the opportunity to take part in numerous professional and personal projects such as video production manager for TEDXIE Madrid 2019, Academic Officer for Student Government, and having a mentor from the BBA Corporate Mentorship Society. Moreover, I take part of many Campus Life Clubs like the Entertainment Club were I’ve been working in organizing the first film festival in IE, 180 DC Consulting Club (Social Impact Consulting in IE), the SDG Club... and two challenges the Vodafone Challenge - a project about Business Models and SDGs and the Finance Challenge, Accuracy Cup.

What would you take from these two years in IE?

Besides what I've learned academically, which is a lot, and the clubs I’m involved in I discovered a newfound love and passion for international relations and diplomacy. This was thanks to Advanced Seminars offered by the IE Business School where I found out how much I loved it.

All of these experiences have given me a nicely rounded up experience in the last two years, full of learning and full of productive and constructive experiences.

How is your life outside of IE?

I do fencing on a competitive level. I also love spending time with my friends and family. But one of my favorite pastimes is going to the movies and reading.

If I had to choose a favorite movie I would have to say two The Sound of Music because I grew up with it and I find it really beautiful so I would never get tired of watching it. And, Kill Bill from my favorite director, Tarantino, as I believe is a masterpiece technically and in terms of story.

And what I most enjoy reading is my favorite genre history or historical fiction. I've gone through different phases from Japanese history, Egyptian, Greek to Roman for the past eight years.

Why did you decide to take this opportunity and study at Peking University?

It's a unique experience because China is one of the biggest world powers. And as we see, they're gaining more and more relevance politically and economically. I believe they are the future and I want to be part of it. This opportunity gives us a competitive advantage and first-hand exposure to the Chinese market. I think this would be very valuable in the workplace but also, it's a great opportunity in terms of the people we're going to meet, the experiences we're going to gain and the things we're going to learn. We're going to learn things that we may not learn otherwise, such as the specifics of the Chinese economy and history and the language.

How does the Chinese market attract you?

The Chinese market is very competitive and hardworking. People in China work very hard and work very efficiently to achieve great things. It is a market that's not only attractive because of how much it's growing, but also what one can learn working with Chinese people and Chinese businesses.

What makes a leader a leader?

Leaders help the team reach their objectives and their goals by working side to side with them. They have conscientiousness and emotional stability. These are a crucial set of soft skills that help establish trust and bonds between the team. It changes across cultures. There are different leaders depending on the countries, sectors, and industries.

For me, George Lucas is a great example of somebody who with humility, emotional intelligence and open-mindedness managed to lead a team and make something great something wonderful. With his own qualifications and hard work to create stories like Star Wars to inspire an entire universe. Not only inspiring an audience but also his production studios’ entire teams and company.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I want to keep my options open. I think I would have pursued a master’s in Film Production or International Relations. Overall I hope I’ll be happy with what I’m working at the time and have become the person I want to become. I hope I reach above my capabilities, ambitions and achieve my career dreams. Having achieved a satisfying career and building a family.

I want to become the best version of myself.

On a global scale, as the world evolves I hope climate change, immunity to antibiotics and wars are issues that we would get passed with. Personally, I think everything will be okay if my friends and family are too.