MBA Bridges Technology, Design Foundations for José Lara Silva

As a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, José Lara Silva’s job description doesn’t explicitly mention building bridges. But that’s one of the skills he’s introduced to his team since enrolling in the University of Washington Foster School of Business Technology Management MBA.

“We’re learning how to build more solid foundations with the people we work with,” Lara Silva said about the 18-month MBA program he’s halfway through. “It’s not just about connecting with others to get the job done, but how we can build bridges in more meaningful ways.”

But the building doesn’t stop there. Originally from Mexico City, Lara Silva also builds bridges between cultures, bringing his background and experience into the classroom to help offer a “transformative perspective.”

“When we’re looking at our case studies from different perspectives,” he said, “it brings more nuanced and rich discussions.”

Working side-by-side with diverse classmates

Those discussions have been a highlight for Lara Silva, who says one of the reasons he applied for the Technology Management MBA was to “connect with a diverse set of people as classmates, and potentially future colleagues.”

One of the Foster School’s four MBA programs for working professionals, the Technology Management MBA offers an accelerated business curriculum taught through the lens of technology and innovation. Students have one main thing in common – a love of technology – but their various backgrounds aren’t always grounded in tech.

“Working side-by-side with diverse classmates has helped me further grow my skills,” Lara Silva said. “They represent varied cultures and companies and have their unique ways to approach challenges.

“Even if discovering how to best collaborate may be challenging at first, the different approaches that everyone brings to our class teams have enriched my perspectives and grown skills beyond the academics.”

The Foster School of Business also supports and celebrates an inclusive and diverse approach. This month, it is featuring alumni and students such as Lara Silva in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place each year from September 15 to October 15.

“Recognizing the cultures that have made this land and society what we are today is crucial to paving the way to belonging,” said M. Michelle Purnell-Hepburn, Associate Dean for Inclusion & Diversity at the Foster School of Business. “Honoring our ancestors, uplifting our unique cultures, and making the space for our children and our children’s children to thrive is our calling and our duty.”

A Foundation in Technology

The path to technology was a simple one for Lara Silva. “I was always curious about technology. I liked to take things apart – and sometimes put them back together,” he said with a laugh. “And of course I liked video games, so computers felt like the right next step.”

After earning a Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems Engineering from the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, Lara Silva started working as an intern at Microsoft and was hired back full-time in 2010.

Since then, he’s continued diversifying his career in different roles and departments across the company. “It doesn’t feel like 2010 because of the variety of experiences I’ve had at Microsoft,” he said.

“Every job has felt like moving to a slightly different company, giving me the chance to understand how different organizations work, how different products get built, how target customers differ, and how priorities change across organizations.”

A Convergence of Technology, Design and Business

As Lara Silva continued to explore career opportunities at Microsoft, he started hearing from colleagues about educational opportunities at the University of Washington that he thought could complement his experience and help him grow even more.

In 2019, he built on his technology background to focus on his growing passion for design and user experience by earning a Master of Science in Human Centered Design and Engineering.

“Building things for humans felt like a good next step,” Lara Silva said. “But I still felt like something was missing.” By that point, he had interacted with enough alumni from the Technology Management MBA to start wondering if he was ready for another master’s program.

“I was always curious about some perspective they brought up in our discussions, like ‘This is how we should think about our road map,’ or talking about ROI (return on investment),” Lara Silva said. “I understood the concepts, but I wanted to know how to articulate those concepts in a context for decision-makers.”

In 2023, Lara Silva took the next step and enrolled in the Technology Management MBA. He calls his new foundation of combined experience and education a tripod that will help him amplify his impact in a scalable way, whether he’s “working at a smaller company or appointed to lead a bigger team at Microsoft.”

“It’s not just building bigger things,” Lara Silva said, “but also the satisfaction that I have the right tools to deliver positive things for people across the world who use technology.”

Learn more about the Technology Management MBA here.