Clean Energy Engineering

Alumnus Story — Juan Carlos Viveros

With an interest in management consulting, Juan Carlos Viveros chose the hybrid MEL program to gain the credentials, network and knowledge he would need to launch his dream career.

Soon after graduating in 2011 with a degree in industrial engineering from Tecnologico de Monterrey, Juan Carlos Viveros set his sights on a career in management consulting. For close to six years he worked for General Electric in a series of roles in various business units, gaining international work experience and exposure to different sectors and responsibilities. In his last position, he applied his skills in data analytics as a sourcing operations manager for a GE business unit that manufactures energy transmission and distribution systems.

Guided by his original dream, Juan Carlos knew he needed a master’s degree if he wanted to move into management consulting. While he considered pursuing an MBA, he chose UBC’s Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) in Clean Energy Engineering for its alignment with his professional experience and because the applied science program made him eligible for funding through a federal scholarship initiative.

Seeing the big picture

Juan Carlos says that one MEL engineering class that really stood out for him was Energy & the Environment. This course would ultimately prove to be a transformative experience.

“Our professor, Roland Clift, got me thinking about the big picture and the importance of seeing the environment as a system,” says Juan Carlos. “I hadn’t seen that before. And as I took more engineering classes in this program, I realized that this course was foundational to everything else and it began to drive my sense of purpose. This was the most important engineering class I took and I will continue to apply what I learned as I make decisions in my career.”

Loving the business classes

While he valued the engineering courses, it was the business courses offered through UBC Sauder’s Robert H. Lee Graduate School that were Juan Carlos’s favourite part of the program. “I felt like I was in business school,” he says. “I’ve researched MBA programs and I think the content, assignments and experience I had here were very comparable.”

Juan Carlos entered the program with a very clear sense of his goals. That laser-sharp focus included investing time to grow his professional network, even before the MEL’s January start date. “I networked with MBA students before I came to Vancouver and I joined the Sauder Management Consulting Club soon after, taking on an executive role with the group. That opened doors in terms of mentorship and networking.”

Landing a job in management consulting

Before finishing the MEL program in December 2018, he got a job offer with Deloitte as a Senior Consultant in the Strategy and Operations practice. Juan Carlos says the business classes prepared him well for both the recruitment process and the onboarding period with Deloitte as he was already very familiar with key business concepts and issues.

“It’s a fluid role, and I am leveraging my experience in sourcing as I help clients improve their supply chain strategy and planning,” he explains. “All the team-based projects we did in our business classes – and the many business cases we worked on – have served me well in my new job, as I developed stronger presentation and communication skills during my year at UBC.”

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