Eddie Hsu

Can you tell us a little about yourself, where you come from and your professional career path so far? 

I was born and raised in Taiwan. Before INSEAD, I was a CPA working for Deloitte and I realised that auditing is more of a backward looking process, examining the accuracy  and appropriateness of financial figures rather than through more strategic lenses.

I firmly believed that I would be able to pivot into a consulting or finance career that is more vigorous and dynamic. INSEAD proved me right, and I have been an intern for six months in Morgan Stanley’s trading room at their Taipei office after I graduated.

During this time, I have developed interests in equity research and the semiconductor industry. Now, I’ve been working with TSMC as a senior investor relations professional, which is a fantastic fit for my interest, capabilities, and aspiration. 

What was your experience on the MIM programme like for you? 

We are all proud to be INSEADers. It was a life-changing and fruitful experience and I couldn’t ask for more. I not only learnt from some of the best professors on Earth; more importantly I made some lifelong friends. It was a year of COVID but we together proved our resilience and developed deeper bonding at such a tough moment in history.

Looking back, the only regret for me was the scarcity of time.

These great memories occasionally still spring out at me vividly. I wish the journey could have lasted longer. 

Did INSEAD Career Development support you in your post-graduation job search efforts? 

Indeed, there was a lot of support from the CDC, spanning from help connecting with alumni and potential opportunities to discussing personal career goals. The resources are slightly more skewed to consulting and less on others, but the help was invaluable. 

The most direct help came from Stephane Ponce, Associate Director at INSEAD, who sent us job openings directly from time to time, and tried to help us connect with recruiters. I also did personal goals development sessions with Emma Lansari, Career Coach at INSEAD, during the programme.

Other support was more broad, including several CDC workshops that helped us get a holistic picture of post-grad route opportunities and also mock interviews.

In general, I think everyone was willing to help, and indeed I should have leveraged more on all these resources and that’s why I advise newcomers to reach out more proactively. 

How have you applied the learning and skills you gained during the MIM to your current role?  

The most helpful parts are the thinking process and the ability to solve all sorts of problems, as my current role deals with all kinds of investor questions which are the core of our business. Those are some toughest issues including technology, business strategies, financials, industry dynamics, competition and even geopolitical tensions recently.

I’m constantly putting myself in our top management shoes and reflecting back on some of the most basic strategy frameworks that I took from INSEAD, which give me a rigorous starting point to research, analyse and react.

I'm appreciative of the chance to collaborate closely with TSMC, especially when it involves looking at important business decisions at such a high level. But more importantly, INSEAD not only got me here, but also prepared me with skills I needed to tackle real-world challenges. 

Of note, TSMC is the 10th largest company in the world in terms of market cap, and there’s also one INSEAD MBA alum in our Investor Relations division.

Would you have any advice to incoming students of the MIM programme as to how INSEAD might help in their search for employment? 

Reach out proactively. There are more resources available than you can imagine, but you need to take action first. Everyone would love to support and help you to succeed.