Ask Amir Dehghan to describe himself in a meeting, and he doesn’t reach for a job title. He reaches for a habit, saying, “I’ve always been the person in the room who says, ‘I’d like to challenge that.’”
That instinct hasn’t changed since he joined IE Business School’s International MBA in 2022. What changed is what he does with it. “Now it’s more structured, more analytical and more constructive,” he says. “It’s less about pushing back, and more about improving the outcome.” It’s a small distinction that explains a lot about the four years that followed.
Growth that isn’t about a title
For Amir, the idea of becoming the next best version of himself stopped being a career question a while ago. It became a national one.
I have a personal ambition to be part of the next generation that will help rebuild Iran, both economically and structurally. That’s something I think about a lot.
Seen through that lens, every move becomes preparation. “Growth means getting myself ready for that kind of responsibility: building the right skills, gaining the right exposure and putting myself in environments where I can operate at scale,” he explains. “It’s less about titles now, and more about impact when it actually matters.”
The project he’s proudest of and why it almost wasn’t about expansion
The clearest test of that ambition has been the Tamkeen Overseas Expansion Program, launched in 2024 in partnership with Tamkeen in Bahrain. The brief sounded straightforward: take 30 of Bahrain’s leading companies, help them understand the Saudi market and support them all the way to generating revenue across the border.
What made the program win (and work) was refusing to treat it as just another expansion play.
It’s not just about helping companies expand; the real problem in Bahrain was unemployment among Bahrainis. We made sure the program directly addressed that, and that’s what made our proposal stand out.
Amir owned it from inception to completion. He designed the program, ran it, and is now closing it out. The fun part: he did all of it remotely. He puts the delivery down to two things. “Honestly, it came down to ownership and clarity. From the leadership side, it meant taking full responsibility: not just for strategy, but for execution, stakeholder management, and outcomes. There’s no hiding when you own something end to end.” The remote setup forced the rest: “clear communication, structured updates, and building trust without being physically present.”
Joining AstroLabs as employee 42
The other thing Amir is quietly proud of is timing. As the International MBA prepared Amir for the real world of business, he found the opportunity to put this new mindset to work as a senior strategy manager at AstroLabs, a sector-leading business expansion platform in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. He joined in 2023 as employee number 42 — when betting on the company was still a risk.
It was a bit of a bet, but the upside was clear. Since then, the company has tripled in size, and I’ve grown with it.
Amir has been promoted three times and reports directly to the C-suite. “It’s been a fast ride,” he says, “but also a very intentional one.”
How the International MBA prepared Amir for impact
Many people pursue an MBA to open the door to new opportunities, and often, it does. For Amir, however, the motivation ran deeper. Long before applying to the program, he was driven by a strong sense of purpose and ambition. Yet he recognized that his big ideas sometimes lacked the structure and strategic frameworks needed to turn them into meaningful impact.
When he discovered IE Business School, he saw a way to bridge that gap. The International MBA’s hands-on approach, which challenges students to tackle real-world projects for real companies, stood out immediately. Amir believed the experience would give him the tools, perspectives and discipline to channel his energy more effectively and transform bold ideas into tangible results.
What stood out for me was how practical it was,” he shares. “We were constantly put in situations where things were messy, fast-paced and sometimes uncomfortable. You had to figure things out with a team, under time pressure and with different personalities involved. That’s very close to real life.
He says the Business Impact Lab is perhaps the best example of what he means: an intensive series of workshops and mentored sessions that tasks participants with finding solutions to challenges businesses actually face. Amir knew that in this context, the stakes were real, and the outcomes mattered to the clients.
Navigating a region that keeps moving
Operating across Saudi Arabia and Bahrain means planning around rules that haven’t been written yet. “You’re not just dealing with current regulations; you’re dealing with what might change next. That creates a lot of uncertainty.”
Two things keep him steady. The first is the IE alumni network in the GCC: “Having people on the ground who can give you real insights makes a big difference.” The second is a discipline the program drilled in: “No matter how complex something looks, if you break it down properly, you can manage it.”
Why study the International MBA?
For Amir, the program has been about transformation. Although his idea of what growth looks like has evolved since he enrolled, his career trajectory has remained upward. And what an impact he’s made! “It’s been a fast ride, but also a very intentional one,” he says.“IE University has a strong reputation in the region, and that helps open doors. But the real ROI comes from the decisions you make afterward.
For me, a key moment was being pushed not to follow the typical post-MBA path,” Amir concludes. Instead, I was encouraged to look for opportunities where I could grow faster and have more impact.
That’s why the International MBA is right for professionals who want to understand different markets or drive business success across borders. Its flexible structure means you’ll master core fundamentals and complement them with practical, personalized concentrations, electives and labs.
You’ll also gain global perspectives through immersion experiences that take you to some of the biggest hubs across Europe and beyond. But, as with any experience, it really depends on what you make of it.
