Beatrice Assenza
Beatrice is originally from Italy, where she lived until age 19. During high school, she spent eight months in Australia learning English and experiencing living abroad for the first time. She later moved to Madrid to pursue a Bachelor in Communication & Digital Media at IE University. While she enjoyed the creative side of communications, Beatrice always wanted to explore more. So when IE University announced the launch of the MS in Management at IE New York College, it felt like the perfect opportunity to understand how businesses make decisions and, eventually, move into leadership roles.
“The MS in Management gave me the business foundation I was looking for while also helping me reflect on the type of leader I want to become.”
Why study the Master in Management in New York?
For Beatrice Assenza, the decision to pivot from communications to business leadership was driven entirely by ambition. After a six-month internship in Milan, she realized that she wanted to move beyond creativity and sharpen her business acumen and managerial skills.
More importantly, she wanted to finally launch a career in luxury fashion, and what better place to do that than New York?
“New York City is one of the world's most important markets for the industry,” she explains. By studying the Master of Science in Management at IENYC, she hoped to tap into the city’s extensive fashion ecosystem and the unique opportunities it offers.
With this experience as a foundation, she’d eventually move on to work at a major European headquarters. “I believe that understanding a local market first gives you a much stronger perspective and prepares you to become a better global leader.”
Living and studying in NYC
Beatrice thought she was ready for the New York experience, but the pace and exposure were much more than she expected. “Everyone is driven,” she says. “Opportunities seem endless, and there’s always something happening.”
The level of access was unparalleled, too. Through IENYC, Beatrice and her classmates enjoyed exclusive guest lectures and networking events, as well as visits to leading companies such as Tiffany & Co. and the NBA headquarters. “These experiences were especially inspiring because they allowed us to see how global organizations operate.” They also made the business world feel much more tangible, motivating her even more to pursue her goals.
In the end, she learned to push herself to achieve ambitious goals, but balance it out through intentional self-care: a skill that she continually leaned on throughout her time in New York.
The Altuzarra project
Beatrice says that one of the highlights from the program was the capstone project with Altuzarra, the luxury women’s ready-to-wear brand.
Capstones are essential to the IENYC learning experience, allowing students to solve a real business issue using everything they’ve learned. For Beatrice, the challenge was reducing return rates on Alturazza’s e-commerce platform.
The process was interesting yet demanding, but it gave her the opportunity to network directly with the CEO and Director of E-commerce. “Working directly with executives on a real business challenge showed me how valuable it is to combine academic knowledge with real industry collaboration.”
How New York accelerates professional and personal growth
Ultimately, Beatrice acknowledges that the MS in Management provided the business foundation she needed to launch her fashion career. Courses like finance, accounting, strategy and operations definitely pushed her outside her comfort zone, but they also reshaped her thinking for the next stage of her career
The IENYC faculty was also instrumental in her pivot from communications to management. As industry leaders in their own right, the faculty were able to share firsthand experiences, bring real-world insights, break down current business challenges and show how companies are adapting to today's rapidly changing environment.
“Learning from people who are actively shaping the industries they teach about made every class much more engaging and relevant.”
The city itself became key to her learning journey, too. Its dynamic, fast-paced energy challenged her to become more adaptable, resilient and open-minded to diverse people, perspectives and practices. “It taught me that leadership isn’t just about making decisions but listening, collaborating and continuously learning.”
What prospective students need to know
Beatrice encourages prospective MS in Management students to make the most of the experience by building relationships with classmates and professors, attending every networking event, and reaching out to established professionals for mentorship or career advice. “New York rewards people who take initiative,” she says, “So step outside your comfort zone as often as possible.”