Felipe Masanés-Didyk in class. The native of Santiago, Chile is pursuing an MBA at Indiana Kelley with a double major in supply chain and business analytics. Courtesy photos
Felipe Masanés-Didyk didn’t take the traditional path to business school – and that’s exactly what makes his story so compelling.
A member of the soon-to-graduate MBA Class of 2026 at Indiana Kelley School of Business, Didyk brings with him more than two decades of experience, a commitment to his community, and a belief that strategy starts with self-belief.
His journey to where he is now has many bumps and curves.
Felipe Masanés-Didyk: “I feel like I’m in a really good situation right now. I’m studying in a great school in the United States. But this isn’t the chance that everyone gets”
“I would love for my story to be shared with someone who has been in my same situation, someone who early on felt lost. To them, my main message would be to believe in yourself,” he says.
A MAN WHO HAS WORN MANY HATS
Born and raised in Santiago, Chile, Didyk grew up in a humble, middle-class family. His mother was a school bus driver for 30 years, and his father worked as a mechanic. At just 14, Didyk began working first to earn money for basic needs, then to fund his favorite activity – summer Scout camps. “I started from scratch,” he says.
The Boy Scouts teach a wide range of skills like leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving that translate directly into success in business school. Didyk joined during a tough period in his early teens and stayed for 12 years. “This was my first experience in leadership,” he says, recalling how he led 30 teenagers at age 25.
He’s a man who has worn many hats and worked many jobs – over 20, in fact. His positions ranged from cleaning bathrooms at McDonald’s, waiting tables, driving tractors, and even filming a soda commercial in Honduras.
Part of his experience involved volunteering at a nursing home during high school and helping organize relief efforts after Chile’s devastating 8.5-magnitude earthquake in 2010. “I offered my experience in leadership to help organize people,” he says. “I really believe that if we can help each other, we may develop a better community.”
‘THIS ISN’T THE CHANCE EVERYONE GETS’
Before going to graduate school, Didyk earned a scholarship to study business management at Universidad Diego Portales. He and his brother are both the first in their family to attend college.
Some time after graduating with his undergrad degree, he landed a role in growth marketing and coding. “You’re basically a one-man army in marketing,” he says. “You have to think of innovative strategies.”
One of his more unexpected roles was managing a professional women’s volleyball team. “I loved it actually, and I knew nothing about volleyball,” he laughs. “Most of these women had more professional experience than me. I had to learn the rules of the game, how to set the players up on the court, and how to manage the team. I really learned a lot about how to work with people.”
Felipe Masanés-Didyk with his wife and daughter
Kelley has hundreds of student-led clubs and extras to join. Didyk’s involved in the Consulting Academy, Leadership Academy, and Latin Club – and he also coaches first-year Latin students. “It’s not a small step,” he says of the MBA. “It’s very expensive. So you have to be very clear and secure regarding your goals.”
Now at Kelley, Didyk is pursuing an MBA with a double major in supply chain and business analytics, and a minor in leadership. He ultimately chose Kelley among the other business schools for the program’s value, scholarship support, and proximity to home.
“I feel like I’m in a really good situation right now. I’m studying in a great school in the United States. But this isn’t the chance that everyone gets,” he says.
GIVING BACK TO HIS COMMUNITY
Didyk is continuing to work on evolving as a leader. “People always say that workers don’t run from bad jobs, they run from bad leaders. I want to be a good leader.”
Felipe Masanés-Didyk and a group of Kelley students
During the pandemic, Didyk returned to Universidad Diego Portales for a master’s in marketing management. He later co-founded a business unit called Clicker, which used AI to help low-income individuals improve their credit access. “It was a really interesting intrapreneurship project,” he says. “Helping people is what I’d like to do for the rest of my life.”
That mission continued during his MBA internship in Mexico with Grupo FI, a microfinance company serving rural women across Latin America and Asia. Didyk helped design a digital growth strategy to boost adoption and retention while lowering acquisition costs.
As his ultimate goal, he aims to work to help low income people get credit, by teaching banks what they can do to assess them for credit – all with using technology. He says helping them is what he would like to do for the rest of his life.
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