Maximilian Mayr, Germany
Full-Time MBA Class of 2021
LinkedIn
Academic Roles, Achievements and Activities
Besides surviving the GMAT I am extremely happy about my former decision to start an integrated study program in which I earned my Bachelor degree. During my undergraduate degree I developed from an undetermined person who spent too much time trying to fulfill social conventions into a self-paced, diligent person who is eager to work with people from diverse cultures.
The integrated-degree program provided me not only with the possibility to build a basic academic business knowledge, but also gave me valuable insights of what working in an intercultural environment feels like. After graduating I decided to join the sales team at POLI-TAPE because I was convinced that the manifold challenges in an international environment will most likely satisfy my beliefs of how I want to work.
One year after working as a Junior Sales Manager, I attained the fundamental knowledge necessary to begin external work activities. Promptly I overtook the responsibilities for all Spanish-speaking countries and so decided to learn Spanish. Besides my already demanding 50 hours job I took part in an evening Spanish course three times a week.
What helped me most to endure this challenging period is my high-level discipline paired with the gratification I experienced while having conversations with Spanish people at work or on vacation. A year later I was excited to see how clients started to perceive me in a different way. They appreciated my efforts. Hence it was much easier to build a personal relationship with my customers, especially because some of them are not business fluent in English.
In fact, most of our clients appreciate a contact person who is able to build a trustworthy relationship on an interpersonal level and not solely discusses business topics. The close relationships I have grown with my customers strengthened my social abilities in an intercultural environment. I learned that social skills are at least equally important compared to negotiation skills or product knowledge.
Another important aspect I grasped during my professional career is how important it is to have a strong group leader. Reading the book Start with Why by Simon Sinek, shaped my perception of Leadership. Leaders do not necessarily require exceptional business knowledge. Contemporary leaders understand how to inspire people and how to deploy them into positions that best suit their abilities.
My first personal experiences as a leader began, when our Sales Director hired a new employee and commissioned me to integrate him into our team. I tried to convey my personal mindset of how to approach customers by sharing my knowledge obtained during the time as project manager for claim management. The topic provides valuable information about the interaction with customers on negatively associated topics. Sharing my personal experiences and building up a personal relationship substantially influenced the development of our new employee. He is now an essential part of our sales team and recently started to conduct his first business trips independently.
What is invisible but essential about YOU? or ESADE? or Barcelona?
Following conversations with Alumni I realized that ESADE selects its students in a remarkable thoughtful manner. All persons I spoke with are extremely open-minded, helpful, positive-thinking individuals with a strong dedication to their jobs. Hence, I look forward to sharing my personal experiences in the different clubs provided by ESADE.
When I was a child my father worked as a salesman for Siemens. He is a passionate technician with an apprenticeship in electrical engineering. Because of my father I developed a similar enthusiasm for technical applications in my early years. Today I consider myself an early adopter of new technologies, which makes me a perfect fit for the Tech & Media club. For example three years ago I started to invest time and money in cryptocurrencies based on the blockchain technology, I read several books about artificial intelligence (e.g. Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark) and took part in the private study course Hands on Industry 4.0 offered by the online learning management system mooc.house.
Consequently I realized why innovation is important. Creating new values is crucial to positively shape the world of tomorrow. In the context of working as a salesman I recognized the crucial role the sales department has in channeling information to the R&D department. Today it is extremely important to stay close to the market, to value the information provided by customers and thereby maintain a successful business model. On the one hand becoming part of the Design & Innovation club will give me decisive insights about future business concepts, on the other hand I will provide valuable information for fellow students by sharing my personal knowledge about technology-driven start-ups.
Another noteworthy character trait is my passion for music, in particular electronic music. I am self-taught, having learned how to compose electronic music at the age of 15. Soon after, I started to DJ to be able to spread my own work through distinctive channels. After collecting my first club experiences I played on popular festivals such as the NATURE ONE. Retrospectively I would say that this chapter was one of the most enriching experiences in my life, not only because I have made meaningful friendships with various people coming from all over the world but also because I found a way to satisfy my obsession for personal fulfillment.
Nowadays I believe that starting a business of my own will most likely give me a feeling of long-lasting personal fulfillment. Genuinely thinking about starting a company I am most excited about joining the Entrepreneurship club to exchange innovative concepts with like-minded students. Looking at startups founded by ESADE alumni such as Fever, Verse or Paack shows me that ESADE provides an ideal habitat for highly ambitious people who want to harness their entrepreneurial spirit in order to extend their business acumen.
Invisible but Essential 