Freddy Leon, currently a CTO for Miami-based Manta Technologies working out of Colombia, has certainly racked up the frequent flier miles on his way to earning his Advanced Certificate for Executives in Management, Innovation, and Technology (ACE). Like many others, Freddy didn’t initially set out to earn an ACE, but after earning his first Executive Certificate in Strategy and Innovation, he was motivated to keep going. When the world took a pause during the pandemic, he shifted temporarily to online courses.
Almost five years ago, working as a Cybersecurity Director for Sura (a South American insurance company for Latin America), Freddy was inspired by his CIO who was attending various MIT courses. Despite the obstacles in his way (distance, language barriers, budget), he convinced his manager to give him the same opportunity to learn and grow.
“MIT Sloan Executive Education was like a candy shop, filled with many subjects that mattered to me.” As Freddy reviewed the various courses, he tried to determine an appropriate place to start and quickly realized there was no right answer. The beauty of Executive Education was being able to start wherever you wanted. “Everything is on the same level, just a different subject.” The options available can be daunting, so he focused on finding courses that would either help him implement effective strategies specific to his challenges as well as courses that addressed his natural curiosity towards new topics.
Impactful courses
“After my Cybersecurity Executive role, I moved into R&D for Latin American branches. I switched my focus from cybersecurity and IT to innovation and design thinking and courses related to that.” As Freddy’s professional responsibilities shifted, he was able to find courses to help address new challenges. “All the professors are great at explaining things simply. They’ll go through strategy and frameworks step-by-step to help you reach a solution. The way they can take a very complicated subject and break it down is genius.”
Marketing Innovation with Catherine Tucker remains one of Freddy’s first and favorite courses. “I’m an IT guy. We speak in bits and bytes, so I never knew how to explain a new product to the general public. There are many techniques I learned from this course that I’m still implementing when communicating with customers or board members.”
Freddy was also inspired by Understanding Global Markets: Macroeconomics for Executives, taught by Roberto Rigobon. Aside from forming a special bond with Roberto, due to their shared Venezuelan background, the content was timely and presented in a dynamic manner. “I always recommend this course to others independent of their role – this is a course that everyone needs to take.”
MIT Sloan faculty Roberto Rigobon (L) and Freddy (R)
Surprisingly, Freddy also found a lot of value in Essential IT for Non-IT Executives despite being very much an IT executive! He was already comfortable with the content and terminology, but he wanted to learn from those in the classroom that weren’t quite as experienced in the subject. He wanted to gain a better understanding of their perspective and pain points and how he might best be able to communicate with them in the future. “MIT gave me the bridge to connect the two points between IT strategy and business strategy and a method of how to communicate with a business regardless of the industry. Now I feel confident discussing business strategy from an IT background, but I can also speak about the product to a wider audience.”
Sharing knowledge
Freddy was so impressed with what he learned during Essential IT for Non-IT Executives, that he designed a presentation for his team based on the frameworks and best practices from the course so they too could benefit from his MIT experience. “I traveled to all our branches in the company explaining lessons learned. Everything I’m implementing, even with our customers, is related to something that I learned at MIT.”
"When I speak about the benefits of MIT courses with people, I mention that it’s not only the brand, it’s really the content – the way the professors explain everything, and how you can easily connect with the subjects every time you take a course."
Freddy also became a resource for other colleagues as they contemplated their own journeys. He fielded questions about the experience, made recommendations about courses, and encouraged folks to apply. “When I speak about the benefits of MIT courses with people, I mention that it’s not only the brand, it’s really the content – the way the professors explain everything, and how you can easily connect with the subjects every time you take a course.”
To his surprise, during his most recent in-person course that would result in his ACE, there was a familiar face in the room. A friend he hadn’t heard from in the past year was talking his first course. “He said ‘I’m here because of you! Remember last year when you talked about MIT? Now I’m here!’” While his friend’s journey is just beginning, it doesn’t mean Freddy’s journey is ending despite earning an ACE.
What’s next?
Freddy plans to continue taking more courses and already his eyes on Digital Strategies for Transforming Your Business, along with a few longer form courses. He cites the discount Executive Certificate holders receive as a big help when it comes to budgeting and reinvesting in his education. The newly introduced Certificate Planner also helps him clearly see his progress and keep him focused.
“I want to continue with new classes and I see there’s a new Digital Business Executive Certificate, too. I’ll probably take some online courses and try to come back to Boston, when possible, but I want to continue learning—no matter if I have the highest level of certification!”
Learn more about Executive Certificates.
Contributed by Elaine Santoyo Goldman