The WHU Master in Finance: the launchpad to a dream career

"I wasn't going to pursue a master's degree if I didn't know what my goal was after graduating." This is the determined and focused Alejandro Diaz Rivera, who, despite completing his Master in Finance only this year, has already secured a job offer in his chosen industry—one in which he has no prior experience. "I made sure to work in different fields as early as possible," he explains. “Do the internships, decide what you want to do in life, then chase that dream no matter what.”

Alejandro's trajectory has been a clear path for some time. At a young age, he already knew he enjoyed finance, and after completing his bachelor's degree, he went on to work for HSBC and EY-Parthenon. Despite learning a great deal from these roles, he realized his goal was to work on the buy-side of financial markets. "I was looking for something that would be more meaningful, technical, and dynamic. I wanted a team environment and somewhere to think more creatively. A job where I could be closer to investors and decision makers." That's when he set his sights on asset management. “I knew that to break into this specialized industry, I would need a master's from a top business school. WHU was perfect for this, where professors were highly knowledgeable and able to break down complex ideas easily. I felt I was able to learn everything I needed.”

With family split between Mexico and Spain, Alejandro is no stranger to international life and was very conscious in his choice of country for his master's studies. "I knew living in Germany would force me to learn another language. It has a reputation for offering a very high level of education, and there's a lot to learn from the German work ethic. Plus, I was already familiar with the culture through friends, and I was keen to study abroad to help me internationalize my career." 

One unique aspect of WHU is its dedicated Career Center, located on campus. Through regular networking events, dinners, and career fairs, students have access to some of the largest companies, including BCG and Thyssenkrupp. "I was so impressed by the type of companies that came to recruit at WHU", adds Alejandro. “This was just within the first month of my degree. We had dinner with people from JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs. The quality and commitment from these companies to come to WHU were remarkable to me.”

Alejandro has been so clear about his path to the role he wants that, in fact, he recently received a job offer within the investments team of Robeco, one of the largest European asset managers. “I'm drawn to this kind of work because not only do you have the responsibility of managing huge amounts of money for clients, but you're also investing in sectors and industries that you think will shape the future. These kinds of jobs allow you to have a positive influence on society, as asset managers are becoming increasingly aligned with ESG principles. It's less about being competitive like in other finance professions, where people compete negatively against each other. It's a more passion-driven, intellectual, and meritocratic environment aimed at making an impact.”

Now that Alejandro's master's studies have come to an end and he has achieved his goal of entering his dream industry, how does he reflect on his time at WHU? “Studying at WHU helped me internationalize my career and improve my CV to stand out on the job market in the eyes of the best companies in the sector at a European level. Entering asset management and achieving my goal felt like a dream that I had visualized many times, but it is even better in reality. It's one of the best things that can happen to an ambitious person like me. My time at WHU was where I formed lasting friendships and learned from world-class professors and companies. More importantly, I matured and grew as a person, with memories I'll never forget from my time in Germany.”