We talked to International Master in Finance graduate Martin Idoyaga about his experience at EADA and his position as Financial Analyst in Novartis. Martin holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from his home country of Uruguay and he came to EADA with experience in investment and private banking.
Tell us a bit about your current position.
Staying in Spain after graduation was a big decision – I wanted to continue growing professionally and personally and not returning home is a way of getting out of my “comfort zone”.
My current position is in the financial department of the oncology division at Novartis. The main tasks of my team are to develop the yearly budget, taking into account all of the areas and activities of the division.
During the year, we perform ongoing analysis to spot any deviations between the predicted figures and the actual figures. This involves meetings with all the other teams to discuss the strategy and corrections of the future months. Achieving the smallest deviation from the budget is key to the efficient allocation of the company’s resources.
The master's gave me the confidence to have a competitive advantage over other candidates.
How did EADA prepare you for your career after graduation?
The master’s focuses on preparation for the professional world as a whole. This means in all stages of the process: from preparing your CV and knowing how to stand out in an interview to the technical aspects of finance analysed through case studies. The combination gave me the confidence to have a competitive advantage over other candidates.
The diversity in the classroom at EADA also helped my integration into an international company like Novartis. In the Finance programme, there were more than 30 nationalities, which was an enriching cultural experience, and definitely helped me become comfortable with my team at Novartis.
What aspects of what you learned at EADA to do you use in your day-to-day at work?
Graduating from the International Master in Finance at EADA is great preparation for a position as a financial analyst. For me, the most important area of learning was the soft skills. Good results-based performance is very important, but in order to achieve that, teamwork is essential.
During my year at EADA, I developed my teamworking skills through our classroom groups, with presentations and work together in class. This was an excellent simulation of working in an office with the ups and down in motivation, anxiety and pressure. The final project was also very similar to a big project you might present at work, requiring presenting our ideas to a panel of experts with clarity and confidence.
This, combined with the leadership modules in the Residential Training Centre, helped me out of my comfort zone by interacting with classmates and students from other master’s programmes.
What advice would you offer to graduates?
I recommend always expressing an eagerness to learn more and be a team player – in Novartis, teamwork is the way that everything works, and working well in a team really makes the difference.