Masha Zvereva
“Here’s a new turn, and you never know what’s going to happen until you take it.” – Masha Zvereva, alumna of the Master in Market Research and Consumer Behaviour, lives by the lyrics of a Russian song that her father used to sing her. Now a blogger and global entrepreneur in residence, Masha disrupts the professional world by designing her own path.
I am passionate about technology, creating content and empowering women in tech.
Women have an advantage in technology because of the different perspective they can bring to the table, to make technology more intuitive and to solve problems. I decided to start a blog because I noticed this huge gender gap in tech, and what’s crazy is that when you start acting and taking charge, a lot of the time, it attracts other good things. My blog opened up a set of doors for me, and I’m now a global entrepreneur in residence working on my own brand.
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Katya Fadeeva
“Design is how you organize people” – says Katya Fadeeva, a Master in Strategic Design of Spaces alumna from Russia. Working as one of the first interior designers in her country, she disrupts the interior design industry by creating spaces that inspire people.
I wanted to create an idea of this future workspace based on the kind of people we wanted to see in it
I was hired by an architecture design firm to create one of the first coworking spaces in Moscow – and I wanted to create an idea of this future workspace based on the kind of people we wanted to see in it. I saw it from the perspective of people and how they communicate. I wanted to create a special environment that gives them new opportunities to get to know one another, focus their thoughts and make their dreams come true. I think that the architect of the future needs to realise how much his or her work influences people.
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Cindy Wang
“You need to keep improving yourself, and at the end of the day you will become a better person no matter what.” – Cindy Wang, an MBA alumna and Chief Marketing Officer at the Uxin Group in China, shares a Chinese proverb that she lives her life by. She disrupts her industry by connecting humans, technology and entrepreneurship to change the world.
After my MBA, I decided that I wanted to work for something crazy and entrepreneurial, and without too many resources but with lots of flexibility to change the world.
I want to encourage the circular economy as much as possible – it is good for society and good for the environment. There are still so many problems that we need to solve, sometimes they’re economic or social problems, or human rights, education or healthcare problems. But we need to keep striving for a better world. I like to keep myself energetic and curious about the world all the time. I’m inspired by challenges and finding ways around them so that we can all find a way to live life to its fullest.
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Adriano Savelli
“If you don’t have a dog, you hunt with a cat.” – Adriano Savelli, an MBA alumnus, shares a Brazilian idiom that he applies every day in his personal and professional life. He disrupts the world of human resources by helping organizations adapt to technological change and making them more human.
I wouldn’t say that I work in HR, I would say that I work with organizations and that people are my passion.
I look for ways to add to an organization, to change it and develop it so that it can adapt to a constantly evolving world. Technology is increasingly present in our lives – artificial intelligence and machine learning are definitely going to be here to stay. So, my question is, how are we going to work with them as humans? You have to do things in life that make you happy. For me, that’s music, surfing and people. People are at the heart not only of what I do, but of the way I like to live my life.
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Kelsey Krach
“Allow yourself to fit into more than one box.” Kelsey Krach, alumna of the Master in Visual and Digital Media, is a woman of many talents. All the various facets of her skill set come together in her current role at Fearless, a software development company in Baltimore. A designer at core, she uses her talents to create a disruptive social impact within her industry.
I like to think of myself as both a social innovator and a designer. It’s been really great to explore what design means to me.
A lot of the clients that we work with at Fearless tend to be federal agencies doing custom software development. Personally, I do a lot of work in the public sector, working with different organizations to improve the lives of citizens through technology. We use human-centered design, putting people at the heart of problem-solving to truly understand the experience of using a service or software. My job is to get out into the community and speak to different stakeholders to discover how we can develop a product that they are happy to use on a daily basis.
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Yuki Kanamori
“Today’s workplaces are created to facilitate meeting people, not processing work—computers and AI will do that.” Yuki Kanamori, an alumna of the Master in Strategic Design of Spaces, is a workspace researcher and coordinator of WORKSIGHT magazine. He disrupts his industry by redefining the modern-day office environment and focusing on people rather than processes.
Working should be fun, enjoyable and meaningful. Office work is about innovation. People have to talk to each other, exchange information, get new ideas and try to do something new.
It’s becoming increasingly popular to work from home, but the office environment will never disappear. Many of our clients are major architects and interior designers. A large part of my job involves travelling around the world, discovering the latest workspace trends and delivering these insights to our clients. These days, workspaces are more tailored for innovative work—spaces are created based on different activities, whether you want to focus or work in groups.
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Ye Wu
“I think using data correctly will actually help to make a different world.” Ye Wu is a former student of the Master in Business Analytics & Big Data and currently works for Nielsen in Shanghai. Having always been passionate about numbers, Wu disrupts her industry by constantly learning and working hard.
What is my dream? I want to take the AI industry to the next level.
After completing a master’s in Big Data, it became clear how many doors it can open. Data is an irreplaceable part of our lives today. Everything is based on data—from blockchain to using your phone to make payments. I work for Nielsen where I really have the chance to invent something and explore what I have to do—it’s not like a normal, routine job. You always have to learn and work hard, but it’s also important to love what you’re doing.
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Akhil Prasad
“Some people may say that there are difficulties that chain you down but I was always a rebel, so I decided to cut the chains.” Dr. Akhil Prasad holds an Executive LL.M. from IE Law School. Prasad has an abundance of experience in global companies, and disrupts the legal sector by constantly seeking change and developing his skills.
A successful career relies on challenge and disruption. It’s not enough to only be an expert in law, you also have to be able to contribute to business.
I am currently Country Counsel for Boeing India, but in the past I’ve worked for companies such as Fidelity, Disney, General Motors and Xerox. I believe that artificial intelligence will facilitate better research work in my profession—it’s going to improve connections between the legal and business worlds.
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Tino, Antonio & Nazario
“We think technology is our friend, not our enemy—it’s about adaptation, it’s about evolution.” Tino, Antonio and Nazario met at IE Law School and decided to found Zadal law firm together. Now integrated into Ecija, the founders of Zadal decided to disrupt the industry by breaking away from large law firms and deciding to run their own business.
There were no bosses anymore, there were no employees anymore, there were friends running a business together.
After meeting at IE and spending a lot of time together working, studying and enjoying some beers, we decided that we needed a challenge. You face challenges every day when you work for a big law firm, but they’re not yours—they depend on other people. What made the difference was that we were friends, so we shared similar approaches. At the end of the day, we’re lawyers helping people, and that’s the most important thing.
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Sara Barragan
“My passion is not really to change the world, because the world is changing every day anyway. My passion is to contribute to making that change a positive one.” Sara Barragan, alumna of the Master in International Relations, currently works at the World Health Organization and is disrupting the industry by trying to make a real difference in the world.
The area of migration is interdisciplinary—it can be a result of conflict or climate change.
I’ve always been eager to understand the world that we live in, and get to grips with its many complex challenges. After my bachelor’s, I had a brief experience in Africa where I recorded a social documentary about the living conditions of unaccompanied children in Mali. Together with a small group and an NGO, we built a school which is now providing education for 300 children. I’ve been working in the migration program on refugee and migrant health at the WHO for the past four years, and I’ve been privileged from a professional perspective to witness and actively participate in international agreements that tackle the issue of migration and refugees.
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Jacqueline Williams
“What drives me every day is being able to go to work and feeling fulfilled in what I do.” Jacqueline Williams completed IE’s Master’s in International Relations and now works for UNICEF in New York. Jacqueline disrupts the industry by changing the world while having fun doing so.
Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Eleanor Roosevelt. Those people changed the status quo and shook things up for a good cause. That’s what I think being a disruptor is.
I know that my everyday actions are helping children and those that care for them to overcome both natural and man-made crises and enabling them to reach their full potential. I am proud to be a part of the United Nations and look forward to a long, successful career at UNICEF, where I’ll have more opportunities to see my work make a direct impact, first-hand.
