Post-Rotman Payoff: How this Mining Operations Professional Pivoted to Equity Research

Article by:
Meaghan MacSween
Date
Thursday, June 5, 2025
A smiling man

Before Juan Carlos Herrera Arauco (MBA, ’25) began his MBA at Rotman, he had built a solid foundation in business operations. Most recently, he worked as a mining operations supervisor for Cummins Peru – a large technology company based in his home country of Peru. His work involved managing day-to-day processes and solving logistical challenges.

While his experience gave him a strong understanding of how business operates, Herrera realized that he wanted to have a broader impact. “I wanted to move beyond just making processes run smoothly,” he says. “I wanted to understand how companies create value, how strategic decisions are made and how capital markets work.” With all that in mind, he decided to pursue Rotman’s Full-Time MBA.

When he arrived in Toronto, Herrera’s goal was to build a strong foundation in finance and strategy. He found key courses that he says had a major impact. “The finance classes - Finance 1 and Finance 2, as well as Business Analysis and Valuation, and Mergers & Acquisitions - they carried a lot of weight for me.” Through these courses, Herrera says he developed the technical skills to understand financial models and assess company performance and investment opportunities.

While at Rotman, Herrera looked for practical experiences to round out what he was learning in the classroom. “The case competitions and clubs were a huge help,” he says.  He adds that the Rotman Energy and Natural Resources Association (RENRA) (of which he became President in his second year) gave him the chance to chat about industry trends with his peers, and that case competitions forced him to think strategically under tight deadlines.

When it comes to building a community, Herrera says he benefited immensely from the Latin American Business Club, where he was on the executive. “I'm really proud of my roots and especially now that I'm here in Canada, I'm more nostalgic about where I’m from,” he says. “So I started leading the social parts of the club - like the parties and getting everyone to know the culture, and that’s how I got to know a lot of people.”

The biggest extracurricular payoff for Herrera came in winning the Valvur Competition, a case competition where participants use value investing methods to analyze different potential stocks and identify one that they will demonstrate is the best value investment recommendation.

Herrera graduated this spring and has already secured a spot in the Impact-Equity Research Stream Program at Scotiabankhighly competitive, 12-month program designed to prepare new graduates for strategy-level roles in equity research. The program allows participants to rotate through four different sector coverage groups, giving them exposure to a wide range of industries, valuation methods and investment strategies.

Herrera is excited about the learning opportunities ahead. “What really excites me about this program is that it feels like the perfect way to transition into finance after my MBA,” he says. “Coming from an operations background, I haven’t had direct experience in equity research, but I’ve built a strong foundation.”

“I’m eager to take the next step.”