Ingrid Sanchez

As CEO and founder of her own company, Ingrid Sanchez, ’01, MBA, said she’s a “poster child” for the Meredith MBA. After graduating in 2001, Ingrid took the business expertise that she gained through her MBA, combined it with the extensive knowledge and decade of experience she already had, and founded an executive search firm in the financial services arena.

Ingrid is currently the CEO and managing recruiter of iSearchFinance, LLC. One of Ingrid’s primary focuses in establishing her own firm was a desire to create a more balanced life.

“There are tremendous pressures on women in this country to be successful both at home and in the workplace,” said Ingrid. “When you create a sense of balance, you’re able to accomplish more.”

Ingrid said her MBA experience assisted her idea generation by increasing her confidence and providing progressive ideas and examples – and her emphasis on a balanced life directly informs the way her company functions.

“My firm encourages people to work from home and use technology appropriately,” said Ingrid. “It’s all about being strategic in your choices, and creating a work environment that allows us to live a full life.”

For Ingrid, a sense of balance also means that she is a well-rounded person who plays just as hard as she works. A self-described eternally positive overachiever, Ingrid enjoys dancing and running in her free time.

“It’s not just that I’m always optimistic,” said Ingrid. “I have a way of allowing myself to feel a moment and then move on. I’m always asking, ‘What’s the lesson? How can we as a team learn from it?’”

Ingrid has remained connected to other alumni in the MBA program. According to Ingrid, nine of her classmates have been getting together once a month since they met in 1999. Last fall, a group of them ran in a 5K that raises aid and provides support for breast cancer patients and their families.

Ingrid’s focus on balance also extends beyond her own life and the lives of her employees to the larger world. She is passionately committed to service, based in her firm belief that all people are connected.

“Once our team hits our quarterly goals, we take a day off and serve together,” said Ingrid. “If we’re having a good day, we should make sure someone else is, too. It all comes full circle.”