Continuous learning has been a recurring theme for Francisco Gallegos. Born in El Salvador, he moved to the United States at 15. When he arrived, everything was new.
“The basic language, system, how people work—I didn’t even know what a GPA was,” Gallegos says.
But he was intrigued by business, leading him to study finance at Florida International University.
After his first year as an accountant, Gallegos decided to expand his knowledge by enrolling in Harvard Business School Online’s Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB) program.
“One of my biggest dreams was to attend Harvard,” he says. “When I got the acceptance letter, I promised myself that I was going to really do it and attend all these courses with the purpose of taking away all the value that I could.”
Gallegos’s career path took him through accounting roles in various industries, including hospitality, an ice cream company, and a law firm. Yet, he struggled to find the right fit. A turning point arrived in his last job when his manager left for a role at investment bank Morgan Stanley.
“She kept talking about how wonderful it was,” Gallegos says. “Something sparked in my mind.”
Gallegos applied to five different positions at Morgan Stanley, received two offers, and accepted a role in cash management. Now, two years into the job, he’s finding more fulfillment than ever.
His CLIMB enrollment came at the perfect time—just as he transitioned into a management role at Morgan Stanley.
“I could take notes in CLIMB and apply concepts in real-time,” he says, noting how impactful the Dynamic Teaming course was. “I’m managing a staffer, and it’s so great to sit down with him and teach him the concepts I’ve learned.”
Another course that helped shape Gallegos’s career was Business Strategy. He applied its lessons around willingness to pay to his own team—reframing it as a willingness to make changes. This mindset shift helped him propose a solution to a longstanding, seemingly unsolvable problem at the firm. He’s now managing the project to implement that solution.
By the time Gallegos began CLIMB, he was already familiar with HBS’s signature case method, having analyzed several cases as an undergraduate.
“It was fascinating,” Gallegos says. “It makes the concepts more realistic. Sometimes, we think corporations are perfect—everything just works out magically. But in reality, that’s not true. There’s a whole bunch of strategy and ideas. Having a window to see what they struggled with is fascinating.”
One particularly memorable case even featured his workplace: Morgan Stanley.
For Gallegos, the peer interaction was one of the most valuable aspects of CLIMB.
“When I read other people’s perspectives, it made me open my mind a bit more,” he adds. “Someone would say something really interesting, and I would see things a different way. It made me learn to be more empathetic with others’ opinions.”
Gallegos attended HBS Online’s annual learner conference Connext, where he met many peers in person—connections he believes will last long after the program.
Looking ahead, Gallegos hopes to continue building processes and projects at Morgan Stanley. He’s also considering pursuing an MBA, but with a clear intention: “I want to do it with a purpose. I want to come in with a problem to solve in the industry.”
In the meantime, he remains focused on growing as a leader.
“More than my job, I want to be impactful for the world,” he says. “I want to be a person people can look at and say, ‘That’s a good professional. I want to be like him.’”
Do you want to develop a robust set of vital, forward-looking business skills to grow as a leader? Explore our yearlong Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB) program, comprising seven courses for leading in the modern business world. Download the CLIMB brochure to learn more about its curriculum, admissions requirements, and benefits.
