Why Karen Aguilar Chose UTEP EMBA to Grow as a Leader

The Ke Flauta owner is pairing hands-on entrepreneurship with a more deliberate approach to strategy, leadership, and growth.

OrganizationKe Flauta LLC

Leadership scopeOperations, people, finance, marketing, and growth

Next moveGuide the restaurant's next stage

The Big Picture

Karen Aguilar built Ke Flauta LLC from the ground up. As owner and manager of the Mexican restaurant near the UTEP campus, she oversees daily operations, staff development, finances, marketing, and long-term planning.

That hands-on experience has given Aguilar a working understanding of every part of running a small business. With the restaurant firmly established, she began the UTEP Executive MBA in spring 2026 to step back from its daily demands and strengthen how she approaches strategy, leadership, and growth.

Karen Aguilar is using the UTEP Executive MBA to pair hands-on ownership with a more strategic approach to Ke Flauta's next stage.

The through line

Turning ownership into enterprise strategy

Running a restaurant demands constant attention to people, service, costs, marketing, and operations. Aguilar is creating the strategic distance to see how those decisions fit together.

01 · Build

From the ground up

Aguilar established Ke Flauta and developed a working knowledge of every function by leading the business day to day.

02 · Step back

Strategic distance

The EMBA gives her space to move beyond immediate demands and evaluate the business through a wider lens.

03 · Grow

A deliberate next stage

Stronger frameworks and better data can help turn new opportunities into sustainable growth.

Why UTEP EMBA

Experience built the business. Strategy prepares it to grow.

Aguilar sees the EMBA as an opportunity to complement her entrepreneurial experience with stronger frameworks for evaluating opportunities and making complex business decisions.

“The opportunity to pursue the UTEP Executive MBA came when I least expected it, but at the exact moment I needed it most.”

16 monthsProgram length

30 credits10 graduate courses

Every other SaturdayFlexible hybrid rhythm

15–20Students in the cohort

Building the Next Stage

Aguilar plans to use the program to make more informed, data-driven decisions and identify new opportunities for Ke Flauta.

The EMBA also represents a personal investment in becoming a more deliberate leader with the clarity and long-term perspective needed to guide an established business into its next stage.

What’s Next

Aguilar is building the strategic capacity to guide Ke Flauta through continued growth without losing the hands-on understanding that shaped the restaurant from the beginning.

The business began with entrepreneurial drive. Its next stage will be shaped by clearer strategy, stronger data, and more deliberate leadership.

UTEP Executive MBA

Bring your experience to the next cohort.

Explore a 16-month Executive MBA built around experienced professionals, a close-knit cohort, executive coaching, and a wider view of business leadership.

Explore UTEP EMBA → Contact the Graduate Business Center

Connect With Us

The University of Texas at El Paso
Woody L. Hunt College of Business
Business Administration Building
500 W University
El Paso, Texas 79968

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P: (915) 747-5174
F: (915) 747-5147