Rosa Mello took a great risk early in her career when she had to choose between two career offers at Nestle - managing the local IT support team in Brazil or managing a complex systems implementation project in Latin America. She chose the latter, riskier option to pursue her dream of an international career. The Latin America project involved implementing a new system across 17 countries and overcoming many cultural and organizational challenges. Through strong leadership, the project was successfully completed on time and under budget. As a result of taking this risk, Rosa gained valuable international experience and was later transferred to the US to lead finance for Nestle Waters North America. She views taking risks that push her outside her comfort zone to be important for career growth.

1. The
Greatest
Risk
By Rosa Mello
IE Business School Application

2. Question C. Describe a time when you
took a great risk. What was the outcome?
• The greatest risk that I took was when I received
2 career offers within Nestle and I had to choose
between one of them.
• In early 2005, I had to decide between managing
the Local IT Support Team
or manage the systems
implementation in Latin
America.

3. What choices to make?
• Managing the Local IT Support team was the safest
approach and I would continue developing my career
in Brazil.
• The Latin America Implementation
was much more rewarding but
the challenges and the risks were
greater. It was going to be my first time
managing a big team and a complex
project.

4. But I decided to take the risk….
• And follow my dream of
an international career.
• The LATAM Implementation
was one of the most complex
ISIT Projects of Nestle in
terms of project scope, cultural environment
and organizational complexity.

5. The scope was to implement the new
system and deliver business solutions in
17 Countries represented in 5 Regions.
Argentina
Panama
Dominican Republic
Chile
Colombia

6. And here everything started..
• I was based in Sao Paulo
and strategically started
planning the project.
• At that time I couldn’t
imagine all the challenges I was going to face.
All the sleepless
nights…
But the passion for the
project and to pursue my
career dream were my fuel!

7. And then the project started to get a
shape…
• I travelled all over Latin America to negotiated
resources with Markets’ Execs.
• Strategically allocate resources and costs.
• Strong Leadership and Change Management skills
were required to deal with cultural differences
and the complexity of each of the organizations.
• Assessed risks and proposed mitigation actions.
• Planned and managed the project to achieve
defined objectives!

8. And then a face…a face….
I led a team of 10 direct reports and
over 20 team members.
The whole team worked together
towards one common goal!

9. And the project was completed.
•
•
•
•
•
The system was implemented in 17 countries 1,5 year.
Over 300 users started working in the new system.
Process were
harmonized and standardized . One
common
language share in LATAM.
A broad set of
best practices used in a variety of
business
situations.
Reduction in
Operational Costs.
•
“The success is
outside your comfort
zone.”
But the most important for me
was the experience I got, the
lessons I learned, the
friends I made and to
know that I was right in
accepting the challenge.

10. The final award!!
I was transferred to USA and accepted the
position of Finance Leader in Nestle Waters
North America.

11. Today I live in Manhattan
and I hope to expand my
international career even
more by taking the EXMBA+ at the IE
Business School.