José Francisco Iturrizaga
I have a law degree from the Universidad de Lima and a master’s degree from IE. After working as a Principal Associate at Rubio, Leguia & Normand, one of the most important firms in Peru, I received an invitation from Deloitte to found the Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions legal department.
With over 12 years of professional experience assisting important local and international clients and leading complex transactions, I specialize in company mergers and acquisitions, financing, and all types of corporate transactions in general.
In the academic field, I have been a commercial law professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos.
"A master’s is a key step for any attorney who wants to continue their academic and professional growth, and IE was a great choice."
José Francisco Iturrizaga is an example of constan t work and dedication to his professional career. He made the brave decision to pause his work and personal life in his country of origin to take a master’s degree at IE, which opened up new perspectives and helped him take a professional leap at all levels.
Why did you decide to further your education at IE?
Deciding to further my education at IE was not an easy decision.
First, I had to make the decision to stop working for a certain amount of time and, as a result, stop receiving a salary, on top of living for a while outside of my country; it was a difficult step to take.
Once I made the decision to do a master’s outside of my country, I had to think about different variables such as the school’s prestige, costs, city, and more.
In my search for a program, I decided to do the master’s at IE because, in addition to having all the variables that perfectly fit my needs, I found an added value that set them apart from other master’s: the MBA module.
Combining two fields such as law and administration in a single master’s at one of the top schools worldwide helped confirm my choice.
Today, looking back, I can confirm that a master’s is a key step for any attorney who wants to continue their academic and professional growth, and that IE was a great choice.
Do you think that your time at IE has changed your focus in your career?
Definitely.
One comes to a master’s thinking that they’re going to acquire certain knowledge that they will then put into practice and, as a result, they will perform their job better.
This is true; however, I have to say that what really changed my focus in my career were the skills I acquired while at IE. The knowledge acquired and, above all, the skills I developed during the master’s degree changed my work perspective.
Now I feel like I address topics with greater practicality and functionality.
When practicing law, it’s common to see responses to queries that are very well written, but perhaps aren’t that useful for the client. And many attorneys limit themselves to answering consultations without understanding the client’s business.
The business logic I acquired at IE pushed me to always try to understand the client’s business so as to be able to offer them useful responses.
What is your current professional status?
I became a partner at Deloitte on February 1, 2022.
The project is to found the Corporate and M&A and Banking & Finance legal departments in Peru.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned during the program?
I learned lots of lessons; I acquired lots of knowledge and skills.
Now I have a constant business lesson at work.
However, the most valuable things I learned from all the people with whom I spent time and shared experiences during the program, from professors to classmates. To a greater or lesser extent, with them I had an experience that I value greatly, both academically and professionally as well as personally.
Finally, the success of having a good experience doing an international master’s degree depends, in large part, on your classmates, and the diverse, international group at IE allowed me to learn from many cultures; in addition to my degree, I enjoyed a plethora of enriching experiences that are undoubtedly very valuable.
