Professional Experience

- WIP

edgarpalenciarubio
Independent Consultant
China, Spain, Singapore, UK | September 2014 – Present
Independently advised multinational and start-ups on key strategic decisions
- (2021) PANTONE: Formulated plan to streamline operations to support D2C growth strategy in EMEA aiming to grow by 55% in 3 years, ensuring cross-functional alignment and presenting the final recommendation to global CEO
- (2021) IUIGA: Articulated APAC expansion strategy to help raise €XXmn Series B funding and generated business intelligence content, including customer cluster segmentation, store sales drivers, and sales time series analysis and forecasting
- (2014-2015) Delivered branding and web design projects for clients in the wine, forex, and home furnishing markets in China and Spain

Zephyr Ventures
Summer Associate
Singapore | July 2020 – August 2020
Venture Capital firm focused on South-East Asia market with 9 portfolio companies
- Conducted due diligence on 8 startups, recommended 2, investing in 1 startup in distributed-privacy space valuated at €XMn
- Performed viability analysis on 3 potential business lines, shortlisted 1, and devised go-to-market strategy to partner with startups looking to enter South East Asia

INSEAD
MBA Candidate, Class of December 2020
Singapore & Fontainebleau, France | January 2020 – February 2021
Consistently ranked among the world’s top business schools, ranking 1st globally in 2021, 2017, and 2016 according to the Financial Times
- Selected as one of the Poets & Quants, Best & Brightest MBAs of 2020
- Awarded with an INSEAD Alumni Fund Diversity Scholarship
- President of the INSEAD Consulting Club (ICC)
- VP of Innovation of the INSEAD Retail, Consumer and Luxury Goods Club (RCLG)

everis | Aerospace & Defense Division (Everis’ Corporate VC Arm)
Project Leader – Operating Partner (2 portfolio companies)
Madrid, Spain | February 2018 – October 2019
Corporate Venture Capital arm of Everis, an NTT DATA Company dedicated to IT consulting and outsourcing with an annual turnover of €800mn. Under Simulation Business Unit, managing two portfolio companies that developed ground (Simumak) and flight (Simloc) simulation training solutions
- Promoted to lead commercial due diligence to acquire flight simulation company; analyzed different aviation regulatory frameworks and attended industry-leading event
- Defined pricing and distribution strategy for Simumak, increasing distributor retention rate by 60%
- Assessed autonomous car industry to diversify Simumak core business; discovered 2 business applications and devised novel approach to reduce cost by 65%

Simumak, an everis Aerospace & Defense Company
Business Development
Madrid, Spain | June 2017 – February 2018
Everis’ portfolio company focused on developing simulation and training solutions. Joined the CEO’s business development team as an important axis to generate new business and manage distributors in LATAM
- Created new pipeline of €600k after selling VR innovative project; identified client needs, pitched idea, and negotiated pricing terms
- Managed 5 distributors and assisted CEO in closing alliance to access 9 LATAM countries, generating €1mn sales in 8 months
- Generated €450k in revenues over 2 government tenders, preparing documentation and leading project deliveries end-to-end
- Created processes and documentation to facilitate the implementation of the company’s first project management office
Manager, Operations Analysis
São Paulo, Brazil | September 2015 – June 2017
Co-led the scale-up of the aftersales operations of the largest simulation project in the world at the time with ~5,000 car driving simulators installed Brazil-wide
- Headed Expense Management Department; built and directed team of 4 analysts to support 150-member aftersales team; identified unbilled services increasing aftersales monthly invoice value by 45%
- Spearheaded digitalization of simulator sales and installation process, enabling 3x increase of installed base number
- Created spare parts management workstream; developed inventory forecast model with 90% accuracy and launched 13 storing facilities Brazil-wide reducing aftersales resolution time by 50%
- Resolved cash-flow crisis, championing cross-company collaboration, enabling transparency, easing inter-departmental tensions, and facilitating creation of aligned spare parts budget

2Open
Consultant / Project Manager
Shanghai, China | February 2013 – July 2014
Boutique consultancy specialized in e-commerce and digital market entry
- Conducted e-commerce strategy for leading ceramic company, producing €600k annual sales
- Led multicultural team of 7 consultants to deliver digital market entry projects
- Developed digital marketing strategy for leading ceramic company, generating 4.5M website views/year, 250k followers on Weibo, and 8.5k followers on WeChat
- Built data models with 7k+ entries, obtaining insights to support client decision-making

Vodafone
Information Specialist, Talent Programme
Madrid, Spain | April 2012 – January 2013
Leading technology communications company in Europe and Africa
- Selected among the top 1% of 3k+ candidates to join high-potential talent development internship program
- Created a relational database in MySQL to support a new issue tracking system and migrated existing data to it
- Outlined information system requirements specification, conducting interviews to assess the needs of the new system
- Selected as one of Poets & Quants 100 Best & Brightest MBAs of 2020
- Awarded INSEAD Alumni Fund Diversity Scholarship
- Master’s Thesis, passed with distinction
- Awarded half-tuition basketball scholarship during Bachelor studies
- Advanced Analytics: Regression, Clustering, and Segmentation
- Data Science: R, Alteryx, and Python
- Data Visualization: Tableau
- Databases: MySQL
- Web Design: HTML, CSS, and WordPress)
- Other tools: MS Excel, MS Project, MS Visio, Lightroom, Photoshop, and InDesign
- Spanish: Mother Tongue
- English: Fluent, TOEFL 113
- Portuguese: Fluent
- Mandarin: Basic
Education

- Selected as one of Poets & Quants, Best & Brightest MBAs of 2020
- Awarded with an INSEAD Alumni Fund Diversity Scholarship
- President of the INSEAD Consulting Club (ICC)
- VP of Innovation of the Retail, Consumer and Luxury Goods Club (RCLG)

University Carlos III of Madrid
MSc in Industrial Engineering. Management Intensification
Madrid, Spain
- Thesis: “Market research of sanitary ware industry and digital ecosystem in China”, passed with distinction
- Attended part-time while playing semi-professional basketball and working

Reykjavík University
Studies abroad, part of MSc in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
Reykjavík, Iceland
Selected under the Erasmus Programme to study as an exchange student in Reykjavík. Completing the first academic year out of two of the study program.

- Thesis: “Coaching Methodologies: From sport to business”
- Awarded half-tuition basketball scholarship and played basketball at semi-professional level