Alumni: Martín Casals

After 28-year-old

Martín Casals graduated from La Salle, he began working for Hewlett-Packard as a Business Planner and later he became a Category Analyst in the same company. After a few years, when he was ready for new challenges, he joined the Volkswagen Group where he now is working as a pricing manager. Martín enjoys his job in the Volkswagen Group. When I asked him to describe a normal working day, he told me that the only thing that is constant in his day-to-day work, is the “push” factor. He always needs to make sure that each task and project moves forward according to the scheduled plan and that no project misses a deadline.

Even though Martín’s days at work are really different, there are certain activities that he carries out repeatedly. Martín spends a lot of time talking to diverse product- Fleet-, RAC-, New Car- and operations managers; discussing the opportunities, risks and potential solutions for the Volkswagen Group when it comes to residual values and prices. He also travels to the headquarters in Germany, where he meets up with other product managers to influence the equipment and specifications of the cars to make sure that the final products are more appealing - not only to the end customers, but also to rental companies.

When Martín graduated he knew that he wanted to work in something to do with strategic consulting or marketing, but he had not really expected to do exactly what he does today. When I asked Martín if he had any recommendations to current La Salle students, he said, “It is really important to manage your own manager, as the managers always have hundreds of things to do.

The last thing they want is to have to think for you too. Don’t accommodate, and if you see something that needs to be done, present it to him or her. This will allow you to create and form your own projects, and also to earn respect from the manager.”

If you want to know more about Martín, you should check his LinkedIn profile.

A new addition to the blog this year is the alumni network. I have, and will continue to interview several professionals who graduated from La Salle. Here in the blog you can read summaries from the interviews and gain inspiration for where the degree obtained at La Salle can take you.