Chilean based Compliance Officer, Orlando Cartoni graduated from MIP in 2008 and has since been working both banking and education.  Six years on, he’s taken a moment to share with us his experiences at MIP and how the MBA helped him to cultivate his soft skills, and working across a variety of nationalities.
Where do you live now?
After an amazing MBA experience living in Milano and then working in Bergamo, I am now living in Santiago, Chile.
What’s your job?
I am currently working as a Compliance Officer for the Dodd-Frank project, at BCI bank in Chile. We are implementing the Dodd-Frank regulations in the trading desks of the bank, in order to comply with strict American requirements that are essential to guarantee the bank’s access to international financial markets. 

Right after the MBA, I worked in the largest technical university in my country, as Viceprincipal of different campuses and in charge of several cost-reduction and procurement projects. After a few years there, I moved to my present position in the banking industry.
What’s your main skill you worked on or you enhanced within your MBA experience?
For me, Flexibility and Soft Skills in general were incredibly important during the MBA. I liked and enjoyed the fact that a large portion of the curricula, aimed at improving those skills on the students, which are essential to the present business environment. Needless to say, those skills were the ones that allowed me to make such an important industry change, from education management, to the banking sector. 

When you are in a classroom with so many different nationalities and backgrounds, working with several groups at the same time and dealing with company presentations, organizational check-ups, business plans and project works involving different European companies, you have to develop or enhance a set of skills that will help you deliver and also benefit from this environment. Soft skills are at the top of that set.
What did you learn from the Italian environment?
I learned a lot about the political issues that you have to acknowledge and work with, when you are in high positions in a company. How to lead, motivate and get things done in complex environments is definitely something you will learn, appreciate and benefit from in Italy. I also learned the perfect equilibrium between very hard work and the joy of living that the Italians manage to obtain. The competitive Milano, mixed with its art, food, nightlife and fashion is something unique in the world.
What is the vision of the future regarding your career?
My career development is definetly in the banking sector and in the long term I would like to combine it with academic work and/or advisory positions in the education industry. In the short term I am completely focused on developing the compliance projects I am involved in and add as much value as I can to BCI bank.
What do you suggest to people thinking about attending a masters program like this?
First get to know yourself and your objectives in life. Devote all the time you need to do that. Then, if you believe that an MBA is part of your game plan, be prepared for hard work, long nights of study, leaving your comfort area and of course, lots of fun. Be enthusiastic and fearless when it comes to take all the amazing opportunities that the MBA will give you and, at the same time, be humble and prudent to be able to learn all that you are going to be taught, and to be able to move around in the heavily multicultural environment in which you will be living.

I chose MIP for its model based on hands on experience (closely working with several companies and real life problems) and for its strong curriculum regarding soft skills development and scientific approach to problem solving. That was what I wanted and needed to face the challenges I saw for myself….you need to ask yourself what is it that you want and need, and be ready to take the first step once you get the answer.
