“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Edmund Hillary
Mountains have their own special magnetism. When we gaze at them, we instantly feel inspired and possessed by deep curiosity. It seems as if they are calling us, we desire to peer from the top, to explore their vastness, then the need to challenge ourselves follows and we find ourselves energized with great passion.
My name is Arie and I was born in Santiago, Chile a bustling city tucked away in a valley surrounded by the Andean foothills. Like many of my fellow countrymen I would often escape the city noise by taking long hikes and losing myself into the quiet beauty of our mountain range. This scenery provided the perfect setting for longer sessions of contemplation and self-reflection. Quickly, I discovered that the more I explored this vast landscape, the more I was willing to explore inwardly and the more I felt like challenging myself to reaching new heights.
The parallels between climbing and life have always fascinated me and as such I try to approach life with the same mentality of a mountaineer: always desire to reach further, to explore and to succeed regardless of the obstacles.
For the past seven years I have been working in corporate finance roles, specializing in M&A and capital raise transactions across the Americas. In my previous role as M&A manager for Latin America at Diaverum, one of the largest renal care companies in the world, I was responsible for executing the inorganic growth strategy throughout the region. While I encountered many hurdles in the process of generating and closing deals, I always faced up to those challenges with determination and stillness, always remembering to appreciate the struggles for the reward of reaching the summit.
To continue my path of self-development, I decided to come to IMD to become more self-aware and polish my leadership skills. Much like mountaineering, the leadership stream offers the chances to explore inwardly, to understand who I am, where my limits lie and how I can live more and become more. Lausanne is also fittingly flanked by a chain of gorgeous mountains and as I stare at them for a few minutes every morning I draw the inspiration to explore the mountains to my own inner psyche, and set goals for my future.
“..in the end it´s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves” – Sir Edmund Hillary
Arie Bacal
