IE Alumni at Yale: “IE Didn’t Just Teach Me—it Transformed Me”

Immersed in the bustling environment of New Haven, amid another dynamic day in his Master’s of Advanced Management at Yale, Shivanjan Srivastava realizes it has been almost two years since he was living at Madrid’s pace, in the home stretch of his International MBA at IE Business School. Reflecting on his time at IE, he ponders over the life skills he acquired, which he now leverages routinely in his academic and professional life.

His colleagues, Henry Lam Tat Hin, and Vassily Glauder, graduated with a Master in Management at IE Business School and are currently pursuing a Master’s in Global Business and Society at Yale. Alongside Srivastava, the three of them share more than their successful academic career – a lasting, defining moment of their journey at IE.

“When I look back at my time at IE Business School, it feels less like a chapter and more like a launchpad,” said Srivastava, “from navigating boardrooms to thriving in classrooms at Yale, IE didn’t just teach me—it transformed me.”

IE’s academic formula and bustling community are at the heart of what Srivastava, Lam Tat Hin, and Glauder most value in the IE experience. For Srivastava, it is particularly leadership, entrepreneurship, and multiculturalism that stand out.

More than a buzzword, he describes IE’s teaching of leadership as a way of life.

“Whether managing a diverse team of peers or crafting strategies under pressure, IE pushed me to think on my feet, listen actively, and inspire collective action,” he said, “these moments of collaboration taught me resilience and adaptability—qualities that now help me lead confidently at work and in Yale’s collaborative but challenging learning environment.”

Lam Tat Hin and Glauder agree, recalling the immersive, project-based learning in IE’s academic syllabus where developing and applying leadership strategies was key to the team’s success.

Beyond leadership in group dynamics, knowing how to turn obstacles into opportunities in any environment or situation is Srivastava’s second valuable lesson from his time at IE. For Glauder, it is a lesson about risk-taking.

“At IE, you are constantly encouraged to learn and undertake new projects that push you out of your comfort zone,” he said, “this skill is vital to adapt to the new trends and demands of the market. Especially in today’s fast-paced world, it is important to embrace new opportunities and be among the early adopters to gain a competitive advantage.”

The final lesson is perhaps the most intriguing, as it builds on what Srivastava calls ‘multicultural intelligence,’ developed from interacting with classmates from over 60 different nationalities into an intuition that he now views as a superpower.

Now, he has a community of friends all over the globe which, beyond a network of alumni, he defines as a family – a perspective that Lam Tat Hin shared in his advice to IE students about the keys to success.

“Besides equipping yourself well for every opportunity ahead, don’t feel embarrassed to seek help from others,” he said “IE has such a great alumni network for you to rely on. Find any advice from graduates who have similar career patterns as you may have planned, they could give you valuable advice.”

Beyond embracing IE’s alumni family, he encourages students to harness the opportunities and platforms that IE provides throughout. Not being discouraged by setbacks and remaining agile and open-minded are valuable lessons that he would give current IE students, with the utmost conviction that everyone at IE has the potential to succeed.

IE Alumni like Henry Lam Tat Hin, Shivanjan Srivastava, and Vassily Glauder portray the epitome of what we consider success at IE – beyond equipping our students for their future academic and professional careers, we strive to give them a community they can always count on.