Your Interviews

Ten minutes with… Alberto Lopez-Valenzuela (EMBA 2001)

What is your current position / occupation?
I am the Founder and CEO of the corporate reputation analysis firm Alva (www.alva-group.com)

What does your typical day involve?
I enjoy the peace and quiet of the early morning, so I normally get up between five and six to prepare for the day. That’s when I sit down for my daily session of meditation and follow it with a run in Greenwich Park.

After a bite of breakfast, I get to the office around 8.30 am. The focus of the day varies from one day to another, but most of my time is dedicated to client and prospect meetings, product development sessions, building relationships with key stakeholders and meetings with the investors and board members. I normally leave the office around 7.30 pm.

If I don’t go straight home and relax in the evening, I like to go out for dinner with friends or go to a concert.

Why did you choose to study at Cass?
I was in the very privileged position of being sponsored, and the company gave me the option to choose the business school I wanted. I chose Cass as I liked the combination of programme, reputation and location.

What did you specifically like and enjoy about the MBA?
I really enjoyed some subjects such as Strategy Development and Entrepreneurship. But also my intake was very social and we had a great time both in and out of the lectures. We used to go to Cannes every year for the MBA reunion. We enjoyed the high life!

How has your career developed since you left Cass?
My career did not really take off after the second year after graduating from the MBA. After that I held senior management positions for global companies until I founded Alva.

What are your expansion plans for Alva?
I read today at the Financial Times that reputation is everything which is good news for us as this is a sign that companies are getting more aware of the importance of reputation. Most of our clients and prospects operate globally and our objective is to support our clients in every market that they operate, which means that in the long-run Alva will have to be a global company. We are looking forward to that challenge.

What advice would you give someone just starting out their own company?
Understand your market and take time to make your plan, commit fully to achieve your objectives and don’t panic when things are not happening as quickly as you would like.

What would you consider to be your greatest achievement in life?
I think it is yet to come. But I’m glad that I’ve learned to turn negative experiences into positive ones. I guess that knowing when to let go is what you have to do to survive.

Where do you see yourself in the future?
I would love to be in a position to help people to achieve what they really want, and be in a position to support them to be the best they can be.

What’s your favourite thing to do in London?
I love music and dining out and London is probably the best place in the world to enjoy both.