Alejandro Villar Pineda
Alejandro is a physicist that has rebranded himself as a professional with more than 8 years of experience in executive assessment in Analytics, ML, Artificial Intelligence in EMEA and North America. He has worked at companies such as El Corte Ingles and Coca-Cola. During the master, SAS Institute hired him as Customer Advisor for Advanced Analytics in order to provide solutions and advisory to public and private institutions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked with different public and private institutions (Ministry of health, Regional teams and hospitals) helping them deploy awareness and predictive modelling systems.
He is also a speaker in public and private events (Smart Data Summit, IE Business School, El Español newspaper, #reactivamadrid for Madrid Townhall, etc.) as well as a lecturer at other business schools.
"Ditch the dream, be a doer. Not a dreamer. There will be many fears along your journey, however, remember that on the other side of your maximum fear are all of the best things in life."
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Q&A WITH ALEJANDRO
Define your experience in the Global Master in Business Analytics & Big Data in one word.
Game-changer
In what ways do you think the program has changed your life professionally and personally?
The master offers a vision: Data is about understanding. Big Data is a wide and long road and the master has taught me how to apply different techniques to different problems.
What was your favorite memory from your experience?
Face-to-face weeks. Every semester we had 1-2 weeks where we can have fun meanwhile presenting our semester’s projects.
Why did you choose to study this program at IE?
IE has created the most complete master in Big Data and Analytics that I have ever seen. It is an 18-month program that covers the most important areas in this field. You will have the opportunity to develop both business and technical aspects.
What were some of the main challenges that you encountered on your way? How did your master program and IE help you through these challenges?
The main challenges I faced were about the new technologies and languages that, at the time, I hadn’t learned yet. However, thanks to the faculty and management staff, we were able to easily and rapidly handle any issues, doubts, or problems that we faced. It’s amazing how well IE has managed this master.
What is networking like in the Global Master in Business Analytics & Big Data?
We were 30 students from more than 20 countries. What can I say? It has been like working in the UN. Our class was a hub where innovation and fun came together. My colleagues were between 29 and 45 years old, from managers to SVPs. We were like a family.
What was your experience of doing the master in a format that allows you to continue working while studying?
It was a tough period, but worthed. We had class every Saturday and many forums and projects during the week. Actually, being honest, I know that without this workload many of us would have left the program. As mentioned, the effort was worthed.
What advice would you give to students who are about to begin the program?
If you are seeking a change in your professional life, this is definitely your program. Not only because of the huge number of things that you are going to learn, but also the experience you are going to live. Your classmates will be your family and those friendship will last for life.
Finally, joining the IE family will boost your professional life to unknown levels. Trust me and remember that on the other side of your maximum fear are all the best things in life.