Alumni Spotlight: Rubén López Rivas (MBA ’12)

CBPP: Welcome to the Distinguished Alumni Spotlight Series, where we celebrate the accomplishments and insights of our Georgetown graduates who are making a meaningful impact around the world. Today, we are thrilled to be joined by Rubén López Rivas, MBA class of 2012 and current president of the Georgetown Club of Spain. Rubén has had an incredible career spanning international development, consulting, and leadership in multilateral projects.

Rubén, thank you so much for joining us.

Rubén López Rivas: Big pleasure.

CBPP: All right, so Rubén, your career has taken you from systems engineering in Spain to international development at the Inter-American Development Bank, and now you are the Head of Multilateral Business Development at Deloitte. Can you share with us what initially inspired your interest in international development and how it has shaped your professional journey?

Rubén López Rivas: Okay, this is a very good question. So the reality—I think when I was at Georgetown, I had the opportunity to better understand the kind of  internal values that I have; also professionally what I wanted to become. I had the opportunity to deal with different cultures, with students all over the world, with leaders—so, I clearly saw at this moment in my life that I had to change a little bit my perspective to try to be more open because I feel much happier when dealing with international projects and with complex environments with different cultures.

So basically, it made me happier, so I decided just to focus on a career based in international development. And I started working at the Inter-American Development Bank—it was the easy path, having been at Georgetown, and being the IDB there in Washington, D.C. And then, because of personal reasons, I decided to come back to my country where I had my—at this moment, it was my girlfriend, now my wife—so it took me to my country.

And, in Spain, I had the opportunity to join Deloitte. Deloitte was a top company, and I had the opportunity to open a business path through multilateral institutions. And then, in these ten years, we’ve been doing a lot of projects with different institutions, and I’m happier having done this. I’m still happy, and I want to continue growing my career in this specific activity line.

CBPP: That’s wonderful. So it sounds like you have really made a direct impact around the world for countries that have limited resources, limited capabilities. What was one of the most rewarding or impactful projects that you’ve worked on in your career?

Rubén López Rivas: I think we have done several projects, so it’s difficult to choose or to pick one. But, probably, if I had to decide—for instance, I’m going to take one, that is the intercity train in Brazil, Campinas-São Paulo. You know, it’s been a very, very tough project with a lot of complexity from a technical standpoint.

But, in a big city like São Paulo, you are changing a little bit the way people circulate, using the cars and polluting the atmosphere, and changing this way of moving or using cars to try to move and use the train in a more stable way. This is something that, from my point of view, is interesting because you sometimes have poor people that maybe were using the cars and took a long time just to arrive to the center of the city to work every single day.

And then now, with the change, people can use the train, and it saves—also, in terms of pollution, it’s a much better solution. So, it was a very, very complex project.

So, it’s just one example of the infrastructure projects we do, but basically, in this world, when you work with international development banks, the reality is that you make an impact. Basically, with this tool, you allow isolated people just to provide connectivity solutions for them, maximizing impact and minimizing costs.

And it’s been a wonderful solution because, thanks to this, some multilateral institutions have provided some loans to the countries just to provide connectivity to reach these isolated areas. And it’s also a nice solution because otherwise, these people that are very far away wouldn’t have the possibility to have connectivity because the private world—it’s not economically feasible. So, if you don’t have institutions supporting this, it won’t happen.

CBPP: That’s incredible. So you are working on these major projects with major implications for many, many people. These days, it seems like the world is spinning fast, and we are more interconnected than ever. So, when we think about what a single day in your job looks like when you are making progress on these projects, what does a regular day look like for you?

Rubén López Rivas: I think, at least in my job, I don’t have the possibility of getting bored, you know? I have too many things sometimes to do, so basically, time goes very fast.

I get up early—probably in the early morning, I can read the newspapers digitally. And then through the day, I start reading emails, and basically, when I reach the evening—since I work a lot with Latin America and the Caribbean, and, you know, it’s morning time there—it’s already evening here. So normally I have calls, I have different calls.

So, I have to do my best to balance because, at a personal level, I arrive home. Normally, I like staying with my kids a little bit. Then I can have dinner, and then when they go to bed, I continue working a little bit or having some calls.

So, it’s interesting because you have to combine sometimes, and you have to be flexible. So this is life. And probably the weekend is where I have to try to benefit from some personal time, because also, I travel a lot. Normally, if I travel and stay for two weeks, I work during the weekends.

So, it’s a question of finding the balance and doing a lot of things. But you have to be efficient because otherwise, you don’t get to everything.

CBPP: It seems like you just have a very rich and storied life, but that must be built on a very strong foundation. So, let’s talk a little bit about your time at Georgetown. You pursued the MBA at the McDonough School of Business while also completing the honors program and the International Business Diplomacy program. So, what drew you to these programs, and how did they complement each other in preparing you not only for this career of yours but also for a very storied life?

Rubén López Rivas: I really think that these two programs are very strong together, and you combine two magnificent schools at Georgetown. The business program at McDonough is very rich, and you get the tools you require to make progress at the business level, at the firm, at the private firm. And even you develop some soft skills, and you get some, I would say, self-trust, or you can trust yourself in a better way when you discuss with leaders all over the world.

Sometimes, if you don’t do it, you could feel a little shy, or you could have some respect, and I think you just have to lose it, no? And when you are at McDonough, you lose this fear, and you are ready to do this.

In my case, the reason why I took the combined program is because before going to Washington, D.C., I had been at a state-owned company here in my country. And I saw—I detected a lot of issues, a lot of problems when dealing with the private sector. Sometimes, governments look at the private sector as if firms were at a different level. They don’t want to discuss very openly.

It’s like, I don’t know—it’s sometimes like corruption, or if I talk with somebody from the private firm, it looks like something quite interesting. But it’s not the reality. It’s a question of values, and you have to know what you have to do, but you need to work together.

So really, I decided to take this program. I took a look at different ones. I took a look at one in Harvard, but Harvard took three years. And I really didn’t see this program as better than the one that you could obtain at Georgetown.

Georgetown is in the middle, in the heart of the U.S., with all these big institutions—the multilaterals, even USAID or other similar institutions internationally. So I said, it’s very clear for me. Besides, the King of Spain also—so, you know, he’s a reputed guy. I knew him with the values, and I said, I have to be there.

And after I had the opportunity to do this, I lived it. And it’s true, you know—combining the two worlds gave me the opportunity to first work at the Inter-American Development Bank, and then afterwards, work at Deloitte. And now, I work from the private sector but dealing with the public sector in countries and with multilaterals. And it’s a nice—it’s a very nice job to have. And if you enjoy what you are doing, you can do it better.

CBPP: I love that. That’s such a good piece of advice to leave our listeners with. So while you were doing your MBA, you were very busy. You were the Vice President of the European Club, and you were also a research assistant at the Center for Business and Public Policy—one of our very first! So, is there a particular skill or lesson from your time with the CBPP that has stuck with you?

Rubén López Rivas: I think what I remember specifically, that is quite interesting, is you are with very good people, with top people professionally speaking, and doing research at the very top level.

But at the same time, they know how to do it in a relaxed way, in a mood that you really require to make progress. And this is something important because you could be under a lot of pressure, and you could feel a mood where you don’t feel confident.

But if you are working with the best, and you have this mood, and you can feel how people get along in this, you develop more. And this is something I saw there—even being with very top people, research technically speaking.

I remember all the events organized in different top venues—in the capital, at Georgetown, even organizing international events or receiving people coming from other countries. I remember one specific activity with Switzerland—students coming to Georgetown.

And the reality is that sometimes you don’t think of it as it is, but with this mood, you work much better. You enjoy what you are doing. And this is a feeling I still have by being at the CBPP.

CBPP: Oh, that’s wonderful. That just really encapsulates the cura personalis pillar of Georgetown. So, since graduation and since your time with the CBPP, you have been very actively involved with the Georgetown Club of Spain, and you are even its president since 2022. Under your leadership, the club saw a 33% membership growth and won the International Club of the Year award twice. How did you do it?

Rubén López Rivas: I suppose—you work and try to set up the highest possible goals. Sometimes, you think they are too high, but the question is that if you don’t do this, if your goals are going to be at a low level, then you are not going to reach.

I mean, if you set up the goals very, very high, you will get something interesting.

So in this case, it was just a case of enjoying, also trying to give an example. Because here, really, I didn’t do anything by myself. It was a question of creating an executive committee where you have people—you need to be very close with them. You need to have this mood that I found in the CBPP.

You need to be, you know, almost colleagues—almost friends. And, you do it because you like it. And when you are with more people like this, they help, they create, they innovate. They have the feeling that it’s something that is theirs, too.

We started with four people on the executive committee, and now we are almost twelve people from different cultures. And now, next week, we have the executive committee dinner, which we do because we want to. All of us have busy jobs, we travel, but we enjoy doing this.

CBPP: It really is a testament to the power of intentionality and building this community. So, how has your involvement with the Georgetown alumni community enriched both your personal and professional life? It sounds like you’ve got a really great group of people over there.

Rubén López Rivas: Yes, for me, it’s connected completely. I don’t think professionally you can be a top executive or a top leader without these values.

Probably now the world is changing a little bit—maybe because of a lot of reasons. You know, maybe we have everything now, and new generations, they have everything, so it’s more difficult to think about the effort it takes to fulfill a goal.

But I still think that we need to enhance the real values of people—the core values. Georgetown is a university with values. And you have to use this in your personal life and your professional life. You don’t lie—simply, you don’t lie. You tell the truth. You have this commitment: if you say something, you do it. If you write something or promise something, you deliver.

You don’t do bad things. You try to support people, donate if you can, and be helpful. And you will be happy. You will go to sleep at night and sleep well. You won’t be hiding or suffering. And if you do this every day, year after year, people will know you. People will trust you because they know you will always do the right thing.

This is very important. If you want to close a big business deal and assume risks, you are going to do it with someone you trust. And trust is built on these values, these principles, over years.

So, for me, I do not understand life without these very strong values that have to be with you for your whole life.

CBPP: That’s incredible. So you are really building a legacy on these foundational principles that you use to follow your own life. What goals or aspirations do you have for your career in the future or for your work with the Georgetown alumni community in the coming years, building on these values?

Rubén López Rivas: Now, I think we did a good job with the club here in Spain. But now I would like to also play a role in Europe—at least starting with Europe. I think the Alumni Association of European clubs has a lot of relevant clubs, but not all of them are very connected or active.

I feel that we can connect with each other. All of us—we have a magnificent opportunity. I think the Georgetown brand, the university’s values, are extraordinary. In every country, you will find incredible people.

And I think now is the moment. We can get the UK club, the German club, the French club, the Greek club, the Swiss club—try to build something together. Because if we strengthen our network, it would be much more relevant. It would help the university bring in even more students in the future, and even more people to support Georgetown to grow.

So, I think we have the momentum now, and I would like to contribute to make this happen.

CBPP: And professionally?

Rubén López Rivas: Professionally speaking, I would like to continue the job I’m doing but probably expand into other regions of the world. But I like what I do. This job is crazy—it’s amazing because every single day, I enjoy it.

I have a lot of different topics, I meet a lot of different people, and I learn something new every day. It’s impossible to get bored. And for me, that’s important because if I were doing the same thing every single day, I don’t know—I couldn’t do it.

CBPP: Well, Rubén, I see the vision for both the Club of Spain and also for your career, and honestly, I am fired up for you! So, as we wrap up, what does being a Hoya mean to you, and how has Georgetown shaped the way that you view the world?

Rubén López Rivas: Being a Hoya is something very difficult to explain. You have it internally. It’s a feeling.

It’s incredible because—why am I doing this now at the Georgetown Club of Spain? Nobody is paying me, you know?

I think it’s a feeling that you have. It’s also a kind of power to know that there are other people who behave in the same way. You are not alone in the world, facing difficulties. Life is difficult—you face challenges every day.

However, you’re not alone. You have your community. And if you do well, other people are doing the same thing, and you feel a little better.

If we continue this way over the years, I think we will be much better. I am Christian, so I think the sky is right there after this life. I don’t see life any other way.

Why do I have these values? Why do I act this way? I don’t know. It’s an internal spirit you have to do things well. If you don’t do it, you feel very bad.

CBPP: That’s incredible. So inspirational. Rubén, thank you so much for sharing your journey, for sharing your insights and your passion for making a difference—both at Georgetown and in the world. It has really been inspiring to hear about your incredible work, your dedication to the Georgetown community. We’re proud to call you a Hoya. We’re proud to call you an alum of the CBPP, and we really look forward to seeing all of the great things you continue to accomplish.

Rubén López Rivas: Thank you. Thank you very much, and a big, big pleasure.