Interview for Executiva: The Lisbon MBA played a critical role in defining my career.

In this interview to Executiva magazine, Maria Pais do Amaral, Senior Strategy Manager at Accenture, stresses the profound impact that The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova had on her remarkable career path.
When Maria Pais do Amaral realized she didn’t want to work as an engineer, she decided to invest in an MBA to complement her education. The Lisbon MBA Católica | Nova was the right choice that led her to the position of Strategy Senior Manager at Accenture.
A civil engineer by training, Maria Pais do Amaral started her professional life at Portugal Telecom in a strategic consulting team to define the company’s cloud strategy. When she realized she didn’t want to work as an engineer, she decided to invest in an MBA to complement her education. The Lisbon MBA Católica | Nova was the right choice that led her to the position of Strategy Senior Manager at Accenture, which she has held for six years.
What is your background?
Civil Engineering and Master in Hydraulics at Instituto Superior Técnico, as well as an MBA – Master in Business Administration at The Lisbon MBA (Nova SBE, Católica, MIT) and Executive Education at Harvard Business School.
What were the main stages of your professional path?
When I finished my engineering degree at Técnico, I joined Portugal Telecom in an internal strategic consulting team (Business Unit Cloud) to define the cloud strategy for the Group. After 2-3 years, I decided that it would make sense for my career to deepen my knowledge in Management, and I chose to do an MBA. During the MBA, I did a summer internship in the strategy team at Accenture. I really enjoyed the experience in consulting and Accenture Strategy in particular, so at the end of the MBA, I returned to this team. I have been part of the strategy consulting team at Accenture since then, which is more than 6 years.
What added value do you draw from each of these professional experiences?
I would say that the first experience is always important because it starts to format us as professionals. I was lucky to have a very good team at PT Telecom, which taught me a lot and with which I developed a series of skills that I didn’t bring from university. In the second part of my experience, in consulting, which is also the longest I have, I think there are several added values. In consulting we have the advantage of being able to work in several companies, from different sectors and different geographies. It allows us to have many different experiences and also to leverage those experiences in future projects. At Accenture, I’ve worked in utilities, retail, financial services, public sector, among others. In every experience, we meet different people, face new challenges, and grow as professionals. In consulting, this added value of diversity of experiences is very important. Additionally, the opportunity to work with experts at a global level on specific themes is also something very differentiating and a great added value.
What is the biggest professional challenge you had to deal with, and how did you face it?
My biggest professional challenge is to be able to balance my professional life with my personal life. Although consulting is an intense job, I have a very full personal life as well. I am married, I have a daughter, and I compete internationally in Dressage (an equestrian sport), so my biggest challenge is definitely to balance all the aspects of my life. I face this challenge by trying to be as organized and efficient as possible in order to make the most of the time I dedicate to each thing, be it at work or on a personal level.
What is your role as Strategy Senior Manager at Accenture, and what are the main challenges you face in this role?
In my current role, I have two main focuses. The first is the delivery of projects together with the teams I work with. The second is the commercial component and the generation of new sales. Something that I try to make a priority at all times is the relationship I create, either with the internal teams or with the client. At the end of the day, consulting is a people business, and on the internal side, my priority is to get the teams motivated, with a feeling that they are learning, growing, and also having fun on a daily basis. On the client side, the goal is to ensure that we deliver what is expected and that with our work, we contribute to the success of the companies and the goal of the projects we develop.
Why did you decide to take the MBA, and why did you choose The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova?
My background is in civil engineering. When I realized that I didn’t want to work as an engineer I concluded that it would make perfect sense to invest in an MBA to complement my education. The Lisbon MBA turned out to be a good option for me since it is in Portugal, although I have some of the experience part of the experience at MIT Sloan. It had a good ranking and reputation, and being in Portugal, allowed me to stay close to my family and continue to compete.
How did you reconcile the MBA with your professional and personal life?
I did the full-time International MBA, so I wasn’t working during that year. On a personal level, I reconciled in a natural way, since I live in Lisbon. The experience at MIT Sloan was, without a doubt, the highlight of the MBA, and during that phase, I was in Boston for a while, which allowed me to be more focused.
How did The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova contribute to defining and implementing your purpose and achieve your professional goals? What has this management training changed in your professional life?
Effectively it was The Lisbon MBA that led me to Accenture Strategy, so it played a critical role in defining the career that I am now pursuing. It was an experience that allowed me to clarify the options I had and to decide in a more informed way the next steps I wanted to take.
How did you live the learning by doing experience so critical in The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova?
It was a good experience, I would say mainly because of the colleagues and teachers I had. We had a very diverse class with very good people from different nationalities and backgrounds, which made the discussions and debates very interesting and enriching.
What advice would you like to leave a young executive?
My advice is that whatever you are doing, do your best, and put focus and effort on what is the highest priority for you. At the end of the day, the effort is rewarded. Sooner or later, if you do your best, you get where you want to go.
Read the full article (original) in Portuguese here.
Source: Executiva Magazine