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When Montserrat Ponce de León logged into her Saturday morning classes from Mexico, it was still dark outside. “The sessions started at 5:00 a.m. for me, so I woke up at 4:40 every Saturday,” she recalls. “I asked myself, ‘How am I doing this?’ But it was truly in my heart to accomplish, so I put everything into it.”

While balancing a full-time role at Mastercard and an executive master’s degree wasn’t easy, it did pay off. Let’s find out why, and how being part of the IE marketing community can change your career.

Why choose the Executive Master in Strategic Marketing & Communication?

“I chose the program because I wanted to grow professionally and personally,” says Montserrat as we talk about her way into the Executive Master in Strategic Marketing & Communication. “The executive format gave me the flexibility to keep working and developing within the company while I studied. It was definitely challenging, but absolutely worth it.”

And while the choice to study was strategic, Montserrat also had a long-existing emotional pull towards the program. “Back in 2018, I wanted to do a full-time master, but I didn’t get the funding to go to IE,” Montserrat explains. “For so long I’d looked at this program and thought, ‘This is everything I need.’ Five years later, when I finally enrolled, I was more senior, already married, and it felt different to make life decisions.”

“The first time I sat in the classroom, I had tears in my eyes. After so many years, I was finally there.”

But why was Montserrat so enthusiastic about this program? “When I investigated the program content, I saw a balance between marketing and communications and other subjects like finance and strategy—a holistic vision,” says Montserrat. “I wanted to learn more about marketing—I have a BA in communications and a diploma in social media—but I wanted a career shift. I was also very attracted to the diversity at IE, with classmates from different industries, backgrounds, ages and countries.”

What makes the program unique?

Montserrat was right to be interested in the cohort’s diversity. As with all programs at IE Business School, the sheer breadth of experience provides a learning curve in itself. “It made the experience very rich,” says Montserrat. “I learned a lot from my classmates, not only hard skills but soft skills.”

Even now, Montserrat remembers how one colleague gave real insights on working in an executive role. “There was a woman who was the most senior in the class,” says Montserrat. “Watching how she managed every presentation—with confidence and preparation—was inspiring. Another classmate was very funny and very smart; he always had the perfect comment, delivering his opinion in a light way. Those personalities taught me as much as any syllabus.”

Combining this healthy collision of perspectives with rigorous academia worked wonders.

“My skill set changed throughout the program,” Montserrat says. “I work in communications at Mastercard, closely with marketing. I’m in charge of sponsorships, and sponsorships was one of our subjects. Now I think about them differently—what strategies to apply, how to leverage what we have at Mastercard to get what we want. It shows up in my everyday work, leveraging knowledge from the master’s.”

How does the program help with career progression?

If you want proof of the program‘s value, you need only look at Montserrat’s career progression after graduating. “I started the master in April 2023, and I was promoted in January 2024,” says Montserrat. “The feedback was about the way I handled things, having more seniority, and bringing more valuable ideas to the table. It wasn’t one specific thing. It was the overall effect.”

And, since the program is part-time and allows you to keep working, you can apply your learnings in real time. “Mastercard has its flagship event in Mexico—a very well-known  and established event within the industry—and I brought more ideas because of what I was learning at the time.”

“It was one of those moments when everything clicks: you’re in class, it makes sense, and you can take it straight into real life.”

Montserrat’s professional life is firmly on the rise. Even so, she still looks back fondly on her time with IE Business School. “All the in-person weeks were amazing. That was a heavy workload, but I didn’t care. I was excited to be there, to see professors in person, and to feel the different dynamic compared to Zoom. Graduation was a highlight of my life.”

Why learn the IE marketing philosophy?

Being able to study without putting your life on hold is a privilege. Montserrat, whose newborn baby can be heard in the background throughout our call, seems to have taken that multitasking approach forward. “Her name’s Almudena,” she says. “It’s not very common in Mexico, but I really like the name. It’s more Spanish than anything. Very from Madrid.”

Montserrat’s advice for those on a similar journey is simple: “Investing in yourself is the best investment you can make. It helps you build a strong professional network and pays off personally and professionally.”

“For me, it’s been an accelerator for growth. And IE has ways to help students who truly want to study there—you can find a way if it’s what you really want.”

That spirit of balance—juggling family life, career and study—sits at the heart of the Executive Master in Strategic Marketing & Communication. For Montserrat, the IE marketing philosophy was perfectly accessible through the blended format, offering a mix of personal space to learn, immersive face-to-face periods, and ongoing support from faculty and peers. It’s a way to keep moving forward without pressing pause on the rest of your life.