Download - Personal statement
Rafael del Aguila
QUESTION:
You have just participated in an important meeting with your superior. How will you ensure that
every part of the instructions you received will properly reach all subordinates, suppliers and
clients, located in different parts of the world?
I started in IASACORP International in March 10th of 2010, and during my first meeting I received
from my boss the mission and of course the authority to transform a family business into a
corporation with a unique style, strong processes and an organizational perspective towards
innovation. In order to do this, the first question that I asked myself was: do I start from zero and
hire new people who can help me to lead the change, or work in the existing scenario trying to
maintain the values from the people who were there and showing them a new path. Finally I
decided for the second choice and two years since then I consider that to have been the better
decision.
IASACORP 2010:
I found a company with great people, probably not highly educated, but with so much motivation
and expectation to succeed as a major Latin American corporation. At that time we had
operations in Chile and Colombia but they were working independently of the headquarters in
Lima. The first logical step was training our employees in corporate culture.
Rafael del Aguila
After I presented the Human Resources Strategy and the implementation schedule I received the
approval from all the members of the executive board. Later in 2010 we developed our first
Organizational Culture workshop for all the employees in the company, and since then we have
conducted one every quarter.
In the next quarter we held our first institutional event inviting entrepreneurs who could present
their path to success.
Rafael del Aguila
IASACORP 2011
After the success and good employee reception of the strategy, we decided to work in the key
processes of the company. Firstly we focused on breaking the communication barriers, creating a
commercial reporting position for Chile and Colombia, and involving these new positions in the
kick off of our main processes like budget construction, presentation of new projects for 2011 and
the assignment of personal business objectives for the company leaders.
Rafael del Aguila
At that time we had the whole company motivated and with clear objectives. However, we felt
that something was missing, so in the Porter context of competitiveness we saw the necessity to
get our main stakeholders, suppliers and area leaders from Chile and Colombia more engaged.
To accomplish this goal we developed a second and improved event with the clear objective of
reinforcing our new corporate culture.
Rafael del Aguila
In the same year we saw the results and the main stakeholders started to see IASACORP in a
different perspective. We began selling the franchise in Ecuador and Venezuela complete with a
solid business plan that included expansion to the Mexican market. In an interview for the most
renowned business magazine in Peru, our CFO explained the financial perspective and I the
corporative perspective.
Rafael del Aguila
Rafael del Aguila
IASACORP 2012
For this year we already have consolidated our leadership in the region.
Rafael del Aguila
I believe that the company is different now, because we are a team who has commitment,
innovation, perspective, employee input and better communication, but the most important thing
probably is that for us, the job is always a pleasure. Mission Accomplished.
Rafael del Aguila
QUESTION
If all of the world´s cultural heritage (sports, music, fashion, architecture, literature, painting, etc..)
was contained in a time capsule, what would you include to demonstrate the legacy of your
country?
When I decided to answer this question my first impression was that this would be very easy. That
was two days ago and just today, a few minutes ago, I became very sure about what my answer
should be.
In a business magazine I was reading a research article headed by one NGO which is seeking to
find correlations about the question: how do you see your country twenty years from now? This
study was applied to a sample of 2000 children from every socio-economic level between 8-10
years old in every Peruvian province. In the article they focused on just a few answers, all of them
full of hope and optimism. Then, I thought about the possibility to put in this capsule a letter with
the ten most visionary phrases of these children. Could anything be a more appropriate legacy
than the Peruvian childhood expectations about the future of our country? I believe no and for a
number of reasons. They already know the most relevant things that identify us as Peruvians from
the perspective of a person who still has the essence of childhood innocence. However they also
are being prepared to express our most valued traditions. Traditions such as the accepted manner
of interacting with non-Peruvians and other relevant cultural constructions like our gastronomy or
our commitment to a strong work ethic whether it is here or abroad.
Allow me to illustrate some examples: “I believe that my country won´t be a poor country
anymore”, “I want all the children of Peru to have the same education that me and my friends
have”, “I think that in twenty years everyone in the world should have tried ceviche and lomo
saltado, typical Peruvian dishes”, “I see my country winning the world cup of soccer”, “I think that
in twenty year Peruvians shouldn´t have to leave the country seeking a better future”, “I believe
that in twenty years everyone in the world will consider a visit to Peru as essential”. These children
´s phrases reflect our society in its purest aspects and should be a road map for improving the
nation for the next generations.
For the reasons that I have already shown I believe that a letter of this kind could be the best
legacy for the future, because if in twenty years we haven´t followed an agenda for the
Rafael del Aguila
improvement of the country we should make reconsiderations about ourselves and about where
our children dreams went. Finally, I believe that when people have done something, perhaps not
worth so much at the moment (because human work is always imperfect) but dream and start
something that will be finished for the next generations is a really valuable thing.
Rafael del Aguila
QUESTION
What do you believe are the greatest challenges facing the sector or industry you would like to
specialize in at IE? What role do you hope to be able to play in this sector or industry in the
medium term?
Last year in November I had the opportunity of be at IE for the Senior Management Program with
eleven other executives from Peru and the experience exceed my expectations. This was because
we made an overhaul of the main reinvented trends and innovations currently used to make
businesses global. I have under my charge the Human Resources & Administration areas of my
company. I always consider the perspectives of all divisions within my company and of every area
in the organization - focused on the main business and its potential ramifications. Since the IE
experience, I have a new approach of what is happening in the business world and what we should
do to be more successful as an organization.
For my sector the biggest challenge, and specifically for my role, is to get a strong corporate
culture geared towards innovation, with the clear objectives of ensuring company growth and
efficient processes. These consequently will increase the value of the corporation.
This vision implies the whole organization, despite the location of the country in where we have
operations. In reviewing at the tools we have already implemented, the majority of them are
related with new technologies. Some of them were successful and others were not, it depended a
great deal on the previous employee training in change management. On the other hand, in a
globally competitive environment it is really important for the leaders of the company to be ready
to identify the advantages or disadvantages in a Porter scenario, not only by intuition but more
from research and good analysis of the existing context.
In the medium term and, of course, when I have accomplished the first step of creating a strong
corporate culture, the next step for my role should be more oriented to successfully developing
and implementing a number of strategies related to expansion and growth of the company. The
ultimate goal however is always maintaining an innovative perspective. For this I need to be
always updated and learning from other company´s experiences, regardless if it is in the same
industry. The most important thing is to see what´s happening in the market and what can I do, to
replicate and improve those trends within my company.
Rafael del Aguila
Through my brief IE experience in the Senior Management Program, I had a great learning
experience, for that reason I consider that the IE International MBA program will reinforce my
current capabilities to face the challenges in my role, my sector and my country