From a young age, Leticia Corona Gómez, EMBA 26, knew she wanted to work with numbers. Leticia’s family put down roots in California’s Central Valley, where her parents, immigrants from Mexico, worked in the fields. Resources were scarce, but her parents were determined that Leticia and her sisters would attain what they had not been afforded: an education.
Leticia recalls the challenges of learning English as a second language at school. But math was its own language. “Using numbers and broken English, I could communicate with my teachers,” she said. By middle school, Leticia was putting her math skills to work helping her uncle set up a small business selling Western apparel and cowboy boots he imported from their family’s home state of Guanajuato, Mexico. When Leticia was in high school, her parents used their hard-won savings to buy two investment properties. That is when Leticia “learned to translate financial and legal documents, manage tenant payments and pay property taxes,” she said. “My parents’ experience showed me how much change real estate investment can create for families and communities at the micro and macro levels.”
Now, as a student in the Berkeley MBA for Executives (EMBA) program, Leticia is investing in her own future. Leticia knew that “the EMBA program would encourage critical thinking and challenge me to grow as a leader. I would be engaging with professors who bring to the classroom real-life case studies that merge theory and practice — all the tools I need to become a more strategic investor.”
The EMBA program’s distinctive format: a concentrated 22-months, three days of classes on campus once a month, and five field immersions, also appealed to Leticia. Plus, she wanted to study with people who bring their own lived experience to the classroom. “We learn from each other. We share one another’s challenges and successes. We show up for each other in different ways that make this cohort special and Haas a place of belonging,” she said.
Leticia decided to apply for the Berkeley Haas EMBA program at a pivotal moment in her career. In 2021, she and three other Latinas co-founded Tierra Firme, with the vision of creating a biodegradable, vegan leather, free of plastic coatings, from jackfruit waste. “At the heart of our mission was a commitment to sustainability and ethical sourcing. We partnered with small farmers and families in Mexico who harvested the fruit to ensure they benefited from the innovation as well,” Leticia said. “In the absence of friends-and-family capital, we raised government, philanthropic, and angel funding to cover our startup costs and research and development. With about 70% of our prototype complete, we were gaining traction and making meaningful progress,” she said. However, as they navigated the demanding realities of entrepreneurship, the co-founders found themselves at a crossroads. Their evolving visions for the company diverged. Like 60% of pre-seed startups, Tierra Firme did not survive.
Leticia went on to manage a multi-million-dollar investment portfolio for the Candide Group which included real estate and agriculture assets. Now, she is a member of the Investment Committee for the Fibers Fund. Along with screening investment opportunities, she advises the managing director on fund construction, risk mitigation, portfolio alignment, and diversification.
In that role, she leverages the insights gained in her EMBA classes. “Professors like Matteo Benetton are introducing us to finance and investment portfolio construction to mitigate risk to improve investment decisions and how to structure a diverse portfolio. That is precisely why I decided to return to school: to apply what I learned in the classroom, help make better investment decisions, and construct stronger portfolios with effective risk mitigation,” she said.
Leticia’s focus, at the intersection of real estate, agriculture, and sustainability, reflects her personal and professional stories growing up between her family’s rancho in Mexico and the Central Valley. Like her parents and sisters, Leticia worked in the fields during the summer. “I grew up in a traditional Mexican home, yet my mother broke with gender traditions and managed the household finances because my father didn’t know how to read or write."
Leticia horseback riding in Guanajuato, Mexico showcases an other element of her life, rural life in Mexico—an important element of her life, family, and identity.
“My journey is a continuation of my family’s legacy of taking risks not just for survival, but for long-term prosperity. Deepening my expertise and expanding my perspectives puts me in a better position to build stronger, more resilient investment portfolios that generate financial returns while fostering intergenerational wealth in the communities that mean so much to me,” she adds.
True to the Beyond Yourself Defining Leadership Principle, Leticia served as the class representative for the Introduction to Finance course, alongside Fernando Grandez, EMBA 26, a former chief financial officer originally from Peru. “I am a natural problem-solver and bridge builder, and this was an opportunity to provide support, especially for classmates who had never studied finance and needed additional support.” Her problem-solving mentality is also getting a workout as co-VP for Sustainability along with Rupert Mayer, EMBA 26, a climate tech entrepreneur originally from Austria. “We are excited at the prospect of offering impactful events that explore how the private, public, and nonprofit sectors are integrating sustainability into their decision-making. Our aim is to inspire and empower our peers to make more informed and responsible business choices,” she says.
Leticia with panelists from the Latinas in Business panel which she helped co-design and create for the UC Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association's Alumni Summit at Casa de California in Mexico City, 2023. She was honored to moderate the panel.
Taking on those responsibilities happened after Leticia spent the first term “in a cave, exhausted. It was intense.” Even though Leticia is proud of being a Student Always, returning to the classroom was stressful. “My brain wasn’t quite prepared. It took a while to find my rhythm, while managing a job, board service, and family,” she said. “But when I ventured out, I found friends among my classmates. We are all going through this intensive program together, taking time away from work and our families, so we have to make every moment count.”
The next chapter of Leticia’s story will take her to a place she never imagined. From working in the fields growing and navigating two countries and cultures, Leticia and three classmates will travel to the green fields of Oxford, England. In June 2025, they will participate in a Real Estate course at Saïd Business School through the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM), exploring the intersection of investment theory, financial analysis, and real estate investment.
“Global opportunities like these position us as business leaders to think about the future differently, to understand the roles of technology and innovation, and to recognize how they shape evolving industries—in this case, real estate, she said. “My journey is not just my own—it is part of a greater legacy, and I am determined to pay it forward, ensuring that more doors open for those who come after me.”
Interested in having an impact through your own career? An MBA from a top business school can help you grow your network and leadership skills so you can take the next step towards a fulfilling career.
