Meet the Students - Julio Chang from Taiwan/Brazil

• What were you doing before you joined the MBA in International Luxury Brand Management program?

Before I joined the MBA in International Luxury Brand Management Program I was working in Shanghai for the SWATCH group as the Retail Operations Manager for 12 stores. This entailed taking care of the training of staff, visual merchandising, negotiation with department stores, and sales performances. It was also important for me to work closely with other departments to achieve optimal performance and also plan the opening of new stores. Before joining the SWATCH group I was working in different parts of Asia - mainly China, Japan and Taiwan, in project management, hospitality, PR/advertising, and IT management. 

• Why did you decide to join the MBA?

I decided to join this MBA as I wanted to do a MBA with a very specific focus on the luxury industry. After much research I found this program at ESSEC to be the best fit for me and it has a great reputation and a very long history compared with other available programs. I also talked with faculty staff before my application and they explained to me the content and subjects in the program and the deep dive into the luxury industry which is exactly what I was looking for.

• What do you hope to achieve throughout the year?

I'm very interested in understanding the luxury industry from a European, or more specifically, a French perspective, as most well-known luxury brands with a long-standing history came from either France or Italy. I hope to gain insights into how the value of luxury is created directly from these brands at the location where they were born. This is something that I would not have gotten the exposure to in Asia.

• What are your professional goals after you finish the MBA?

My professional goals after the MBA would be to find a position where I can fully utilize my abilities and passion, which is managing people. To manage people is important for all industries, as people are the key to what will make a company successful. It is about building a two-way relationship and understanding how to make the relationship work and fulfilling to both parties. I am particularly interested in the wine and spirits industry and also the watches industry. To be able to develop a brand successfully overseas it is very crucial to understand deeply the local culture and market. Hence, I would like to leverage on my international background and experiences (in South America, North America, Europe, Asia) to be the medium to help develop brands in new markets. 

• What advice would you give to someone who is applying to the program?

This is a very specific program so I would advise to fully do your research and understand where you want to go in your career. You must also have a real passion for the luxury industry as it is a special sector and behind all the beautiful brands there is a lot of hard work involved. Lastly, I would advice to talk to some current students and faculty members to understand a bit about about the program.