Seemhar Anand is currently the director of operations at DBDS Robotics Private Limited and has over 8 years of experience. He attended UCLA OMP in 2019-20 and shares his experience of the program.

What are the factors that influenced you to enroll in UCLA OMP at this stage of your professional journey?

The main driving factor was that I could continue my business commitments while pursuing further education. Another factor was definitely to gain global perspectives. This is something that will greatly help my business.

What have been your key takeaways from the program so far?

That would have to be leadership techniques and operational excellence. Prof. Abe’s strategies and decision making session was really helpful. As was branding by Prof. Sanjay Sood. These two classes have been immensely helpful.

What was most useful to you in the recent module?

I can’t really choose one. I have sincerely gained so much from the whole module. Nothing has been ‘less’ important. I have been able to take away something from all the lectures and topics.

How has your peer group impacted your learning and program experience?

All of us are from different parts of the world and from different businesses, so I have learnt how all of us have tackled similar problems in different ways. This has given me confidence in my own decision and also allowed me to see other perspectives on a global scale.

Are there any specific areas where you have already seen significant benefits as a result of the program thus far?

Many, actually. My leadership skills have definitely improved. I am better at being creative and also ideate more constructively. My communication has become more clear and I am focused on bringing some value addition when I am working on any project.

What unique aspects of the program have resonated with you so far? Please mention any specific event / class / anecdote.

The Birkman analysis session with Prof. Bob Mc’Cann was really shocking for me because I realized there is a lot that I did not know about myself. I learnt so much about my own practices through this, which has helped me improve myself.

Srividya Srinivasan is a dedicated human resources professional with over 16 years of experience in IT and the ITES industry. An expert in managing recruitment at various levels for new or established organizational setups, she has the ability to work with the senior management team to integrate HR functions driving corporate goal attainment. Through her career she has worked with brands such as HCL, Valgen Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Doyen Systems PVT Ltd. and more and gained experience in recruitment, performance management, organizational development, people policy design/implementation, resources allocation, employee relations and performance appraisal. She participated in the pioneering cohort of NUS HRLP in 2022 and shares her experience of the program.

How was your program experience?

The 6-month NUS Global HR Leadership Program was an immersive experience for me. The great thing is that it is designed in a way that it helped me develop a keen sense of what HR leadership looks like in the future of work. Unlike other programs, this program focuses heavily on opportunities for individuals to further develop their self-awareness as leaders of the current trend.

What are your views on the HRLP curriculum?

Overall the course curriculum is fantastic and is suitable for the current VUCA world. It helped me understand the importance of factoring in a digital mindset in the workplace and the role of HR in implementing a people strategy in the digital age. I was able to understand the digital strategy in an organization, as well as the impact of technology on people in organizations where emotional intelligence (EI) meets artificial intelligence (AI).

Digital transformation is not just about transforming the organization to digital, it is all about employee experience using our design thinking.

Another thing that really resonated with me was that thought leadership is not about technology, rather the core thought leadership areas include selflessness, compassion and empathy together with purpose, values and sustainability. DEI is not only supporting a diverse workplace but also equalizes opportunities across all areas of workplace life such as decision-making influence, access to sensitive information, career advancement, job security.

What impact did the learning journey have on your professional growth?

During my learning journey, I was able to build upon my leadership story within the context of my organization as well as the industry. The focused action plan that we worked on helped me to understand my core strengths as a leader and the areas where I need further development. I was able to ask myself and dive deep to build upon essential questions such as; what are the environmental and economic trends shaping the direction of the industry that I work for? How will these trends impact my organization? What is the call to action I have to take as a leader?

What is your overall takeaway?

I have learned that the human brain is capable of learning new things at any age, in any situation, under any work pressure, and with personal priorities. At the end of the course there was a case competition in which my group won first place. It was a completely new experience to learn and compete with other participants. This whole learning experience has given me a sense of fulfillment and happiness.

Pallavi Kulkarni is currently the director at Power Fabricators India Pvt. Ltd. She attended UCLA OMP in 2019-20 and shares her experience.

It seemed to be the perfect time to meet new people who are in similar professional positions and situations as myself. Additionally, the course structure also makes it perfect because it doesn’t demand as much time as a full-time course does.

What have been your key takeaways from the program so far?

My single biggest takeaway is the insight to become more focused on people. The psychological aspects of running a business ultimately is about people. Demand is from people and supply is through people, so understanding them goes a long way for any business.

What was most useful to you in the recent module?

Operations management was what really stood out for me. The content was super relevant and definitely something I can readily start working on. It was also a good combination of theory and practical work. I also loved Prof. Bob Kulhan’s session. That was great too! A must for each cohort.

How has your peer group impacted your learning and program experience?

It is an intimate group with a great set of people. How the program is structured, helps in getting to know everyone really well. Most importantly, I realized I’m not in this alone. Someone else is always going through very similar experiences. Listening to their experiences helped me get perspective with regards to my own.

Are there any specific areas where you have already seen significant benefits as a result of the program thus far?

I have learnt to concentrate on my interpersonal skills and I now make sure I take in a lot more from general conversations with colleagues. I find myself being more patient and have also been forcing myself to think positively.

What unique aspects of the program have resonated with you so far? Please mention any specific event / class / anecdote.

The business improv session for sure. I went from being extremely skeptical to having learnt so many new things from it. I also helped the group bond and that, inturn, helped me immensely.

Lorenzo Gonzalez is currently a venture capital investor at Brainbest Capital Global Partners. He has approximately 16 years of experience in top managerial and leadership positions with an expertise in business strategy, team leadership, strategic planning, sports marketing, negotiation and more. He attended UCLA OMP in 2019-20 and shares his experience.

What are the factors that influenced you to enroll in UCLA OMP at this stage of your professional journey?

Since I have recently taken on the role of a leader at my company, this program is useful to my new needs. It also provides me with the required tools to develop my skills. Additionally, it is a great opportunity to attend one of the best universities in the world.

What have been your key takeaways from the program so far?

I have been able to improve my leadership skills greatly and I am able to involve all my colleagues in a project in a strategic manner. It has also helped me improve my listening and team building skills.

What was most useful to you in the recent module?

For me, especially in this module, the improv session has been most useful. But I also did learn alot from the teachings on supply chain operations. And, overall, the leadership training has been great. I can’t wait to apply what I have learned!

How has your peer group impacted your learning and program experience?

It has impacted my experience very positively. I think I have found a great group of people and professionals who have become friends. Everybody supports and helps the others out so I am very glad to have met them and be part of this alumni.

Are there any specific areas where you have already seen significant benefits as a result of the program thus far?

It has definitely given me a global perspective. Meeting professionals from different cultures and countries has opened my mind to the world. It has also helped me improve my English, which will help me in a global market.

What unique aspects of the program have resonated with you so far? Please mention any specific event / class / anecdote.

For me it would be the improv class, leadership skills, and the class by Professor Felipe Caro.

Traven Teng is a bilingual regional recruiter with over 7 years of professional experience across the Southeast Asia region for companies such as ByteDance/TikTok, Google, Alibaba, Ant Financial, Lazada, and more. With a strong background in recruiting the talents and a passion for helping people advance in their career, he is also the awardee of the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Gold from the former President of Singapore, Tony Tan. He attended the pioneering cohort of NUS HRLP in 2022 and shares his experience of the program.

How did the program benefit you?

Though I have been a recruiter throughout my career, this course allowed me to gain a further understanding about the different aspects of HR. There are plenty of interesting topics, such as strategy in digital organisation, strategy in DEI, leading in times of uncertainties/hybrid working, executive presence and influence in the C-suite, people analytics, employee wellbeing, managing growth, and more, that have truly helped me expand my skills.

What was your experience with the program?

It has been a fruitful 6-month learning journey, especially because of the faculty. Professors Michael Jenkins, Andrew Delios, Shaily Gupta, Dr. NEO Kok Beng, Dr. Guo Lei and Shrestha Sengupta from Northwest Executive Education made this program incredibly interesting and knowledge-packed. The Project Work Presentation gave us a chance to deep dive into researching case studies, and I am so glad that my team got shortlisted for the final stage.
The future of HR is full of possibilities, and I want to be part of it to make all the dreams possible!

Sumit Sharma is a product lead at Microsoft with over 15 years of experience in web, mobile and desktop products with MNCs and startups for B2B & B2C. She has a strong background in product management for SaaS products in real estate, travel, revenue management and location intelligence (GIS) mobile-first products. Within the realm of product management, her expertise lies in product strategy, market fit, go-to-market strategy, product requirements gathering, prioritization and more. She attended UCLA PGPX in 2019-2020 and shares her experience of the program.

Why UCLA PGPX?

I chose this program because I wanted to upgrade from a functional leader to a T shaped leader. I wanted to improve my acumen specifically in the areas of finance and marketing.

What insights did you gain through the program?

There were two things that really stood out to me. The first insight I gained from the program was understanding entrepreneurship as a process – moving from ideas to business models and applying finance to be able to get profitability was an experience in itself.

The second was how to develop leadership skills and the act of persuasion negotiation. These are some of the learnings and skills that I will value for life.

How would you describe the program?

If I had to sum up the value of the program in one word it would be upgraded business acumen. I am now able to connect the dots between my functional area of expertise and business as well as carry out my existing responsibilities even better.

Rammohan Sundaram is the country head and managing partner for integrated media at DDB Mudra Group, a part of Mudra Worldwide. With over 20 years of experience, his expertise extends from marketing, strategy and digital media to advertising and business development.

A multiple award winner, Sundaram has worked with brands such as C1X Inc, Jio, Yahoo, Tribal DDB, Madison, Monster, Microland and Indian Express across India, Middle East, Africa, APAC & US. He attended UCLA PGPX in 2019-2020 and shares his experience of the program.

Participant Profile

Hello, my name is Ram, full name is Rammohan Sundaram, but you can call me Ram. I’m from Gurgaon, which is very close to New Delhi in India. I am the country head and managing partner for integrated media at DDB Mudra Group, which is part of Mudra Worldwide. I was part of the UCLA PGPX cohort of 2019-20 and it was an awesome experience.

Why did you choose UCLA PGPX? 

I chose this program because I wanted to stay relevant. I have been an entrepreneur thrice and I’ve sold two of our businesses in the past. But the rapid changes that are happening in the Indian market required me to refurbish all the knowledge. Some of it you have to unlearn to relearn.

That said, I did not want to just unlearn everything that I knew. Because all that knowledge came with experience, and some of it could be relevant in today’s world but a lot of it seemed irrelevant. So, I had to reinvent myself and I wanted to push myself as a leader by staying relevant.

India’s demography is substantially different from a lot of other countries in the world. It has the youngest population globally – 65% of India’s population is below the age of 30, which means that they come from a very different mindset in terms of how they think and how they plan compared to myself, someone who is 46 years old. And while I have been there and done that, I come from a different era. So, I thought it important that I understand how these people would reciprocate to what I might do as a leader. And that is one big reason why I did UCLA PGPX.

What insights did you gain through the program? 

The biggest insight that I gained from UCLA PGPX is that fundamentals don’t change. The fundamentals are laid down whether it’s leadership, whether it’s marketing, whether it is financial models, and on top of that you create innovation and new methodologies. But those are all extensions of what has already been laid as ground rules. That is something that I think is very interesting simply because the way we now think with the changing needs of the market is way different than how we probably thought about it 10, 15, 20 years ago. And the best thing about that is the fundamentals are still the same and you continue to innovate as per the needs of the market.

How would you describe the program in one word? 

If I had to sum up the value of this program for any individual in one word it would be – transformation. A transformation of how you think, a transformational journey towards being a better leader, a transformation as a human being – you will become a better individual.

The word ‘transformation’ can have many subsets depending on how you want to analyze yourself and what you get out of the program. And I realized several subsets under the word transformation. So, overall it’s been a transformational journey for me.

Sanjeev Bhattacharya is the Global Head of Business Intelligence and Data at Link Group. With 21 years of experience in the banking and financial industry, Sanjeev is a seasoned professional who works with technology and business partners. He has previously worked with brands such as Barclays, GE Capital, and Capgemini.

As a strategic thinker, Sanjeev uses technology as an enabler for superior business outcomes by aligning business and IT objectives. He is not only proficient in the areas of global engagement, technology leadership, CXO stakeholder management, strategic management, and more, but is also adept at tools and technologies such as Oracle 10g and Oracle Exadata, among others.

Sanjeev was part of the UCLA PGPX 2020-2021 cohort and with the help of the Northwest Executive Coach has since been able to secure his current position at the leading financial service organization – Link Group – an Australia-based ASX-listed company spreading across APAC and EMEA regions.

Zoeb Rajkotwalla is currently the Chief Sales Officer at Cognatics. He has over 18 years of experience as a skilled business leader with a demonstrated success in sales, marketing, business development, and operations. He has led large cross functional teams across verticals and geographies for projects which have resulted in tangible and significant improvement.

His experience lies in the telecom, media, real estate, and logistics industries and he has worked with brands like MSMEx, Infollion, Avant Group, and Go Green Logistics Pvt Ltd.

He attended Chicago Booth ADP 2018-19 looking to gain new perspectives and knowledge from the global business market. He was also looking to benefit from the exposure the program provides through its curriculum as well as his global peer group. He shares his experience.

Abhishek Prakash is currently the vice president of business development at mTalkz Mobility Services (P) Limited. His expertise lies in enabling enterprises to achieve 10x business growth through communication solutions such as Whatsapp, SMS IVR, and ecommerce solutions. He also consults for the implementation of digital communication channels.

He is proficient in leading new alliances and streamlining sales processes and has worked with brands like Wipro Technologies, HCL Technologies, HCL America Inc., and IBM over his 18+ years career.

More recently, keeping post-COVID-19 recovery in mind, he is working on newer methods of client engagement and transactions. His aim is to enable organisations towards success with the help of communication solutions, marketing automation, and voice solutions.

Abhishek attended UCLA PGPX in 2018-19 with the goal of improving his people management, communications, and networking skills. He shares his experience.

Siddharth Sharma is CEO, Kolkata & WB at Bharti Airtel. With over 18 years of work experience, he is an experienced international business leader with a proven track record of delivering business growth, leading large and multi-cultural teams, and driving innovation and has previously worked with brands such as Singtel in Singapore, Bharti Airtel Ltd., and BPL Mobile.

Throughout his career, his key strength has been to combine analytical skills with the understanding of what the consumer and market needs, and to offer innovative yet practical solutions to real business issues. He has a proven track record in building and turning around businesses in emerging, as well as developed markets, and has received various prestigious awards in internal and external forums.

Siddharth was part of the UCLA PGPX 2018-19 cohort and came to participate in the program with the belief that everyone needs to redefine themselves to continue progressing; and with the understanding that what he learned in college needs to evolve over time. Here is his experience.



Reema Ghosh Dubey heads marketing and IT at her family-run business, EverSuccess Consultants. She has vast experience as a senior solutions consultant and heading IT projects for top companies in the pharmaceutical industry across India such as Zydus, Cipla, Dr. Reddy’s, and more. She attended UCLA PGP PRO in 2019-2020 and shares her entrepreneurship journey since the program.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

After I took a short break from work to look after my newborn I knew deep down I would not want to go back to work for someone else if given a choice. And I had always wanted to create something of my own; something I could be proud of. I wanted to channel my skills and passion to start my own business and take my own creative liberties.

HOW DID UCLA PGP PRO HELP YOU GROW AS A LEADER?

UCLA PGP PRO ticked all the boxes in a management program I was looking for. The content, price, and pace were apt for me. The classroom modules were the best since the discussions with the professors and my peers opened up new knowledge areas for me. It was a great learning experience because I got to work on all those knowledge areas in my own business and can relate to and apply what I learned.

Leadership is a practice, it’s a way to be part of the team. If you dictate, you are a boss; if you direct, you are a leader. UCLA PGP PRO equips you with everything you need to be a good leader, but you need to apply it everyday as you work towards your goals.

TELL US ABOUT THE GROWTH OF YOUR BUSINESS AND WHERE YOU SEE YOURSELF AND YOUR BUSINESS IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

The company is still at an infancy stage at just 3 months old. And, Craftisco is our first project. It is said you need to work hard to nurture your business for 1000 days and then measure the actual growth. So, that’s what we are doing now.

With respect to our first project, we want to see Craftisco among the top websites for beautiful and unique home decor, handicrafts, and handloom products. While, as a company, we will be introducing more services in the IT and project management domain in the future.

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGES WHILE SETTING UP YOUR BUSINESS?

Challenges will always be a part of the daily humdrum when you start a business. Deciding on what technology I should use was one of them. Another one was financing. Since I have been bootstrapping, I have been doing 90% of the work. And, there’s a lot that I don’t have any domain experience in, but I learned and applied. Getting the right vendors on board was also quite a challenge. And of course, balancing work and life.

WHAT MARKETING STRATEGIES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR YOU?

There are 2 main strategies that have worked for us. Applying the 3Cs and 4Ps of marketing is one. We charted out a few strategies and tested each to see its success. But our focus has always been to keep prices low and give quality services. The second is targeting the right audience for our products, the right market, and focusing on locally sourced products to keep the cost low.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?

Think hard and think strong because the journey is challenging, yet satisfying. Be fearless, trust yourself, and don’t hesitate to delegate when required. And, most importantly, get your finances in order so that you can sustain yourself and your business till you actually start making a profit.

Suprita Vohra is currently working as the Director, Risk Solutions Group at Barclays, Singapore. She is an engineer and finance MBA, from India. Most of her career so far has been in the financial industry, working at HSBC, Citi, and now Barclays. Working across India and Singapore, she has had fruitful experiences in private banking, foreign exchange sales, foreign exchange, and commodity structuring. She attended TLP in 2019 and shares her thoughts about her experience of the program.

WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION BEHIND CHOOSING TLP?

One of the things that has happened in pretty much all the businesses including mine is that every time we talk about a strategy to grow the business, a large part of the strategy is focused on technology. How can we use technology better to be relevant to our clients, and to beat the competition? I realize that I am a domain expert in my traditional area of expertise but I need to be able to speak the language of technology and be able to build partnerships with my technology stakeholders in order to drive solutions that form a part of my strategy.

WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT THE PROGRAM?

When I found out about TLP, I liked a couple of things about the program. First, it’s by MIT Professional Education, the industry leaders in technology. So, I would be directly going to the source of what is driving global innovation today. Second, the program is not a 1-week online program like many other institutes are offering. MIT Professional Education is offering a comprehensive blended program with on-campus and online modules along with project work.

HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE TLP FACULTY?

What I truly benefited from, and which I probably value the most, is the teaching methodology that the professors used. I had the chance to connect with new people, hear from the best professors in the industry, and immerse myself in a deep learning journey. One of the things that I have gained is the learnings that were shared through a sheer range of company case studies and examples showcased during the program. It was an enriching experience through the narration of the professors that they explained the key messages on making us understand how we can become technology leaders and grow our businesses.

WHAT DID YOU GAIN FROM INTERACTING WITH THE PEER GROUP?

The classroom is clearly international and culturally very diverse. There were people representing banking, healthcare, technology, education, etc. including entrepreneurs and technology leaders in the group. It was great to put them all together in a room and see very different kinds of questions and very different perspectives come out during open discussions. The sheer diversity of conversations and perspectives was extremely enriching.

WHAT OBJECTIVES DID YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE THROUGH THE PROGRAM?

I had clearly come to bridge the gaps. The average work experience is 17 years for this cohort. So we are all at a fairly advanced senior stage of our respective professional journeys where we have a pretty clear idea of what we need to do to get to the next step either professionally, as a team, or as a company. My objective was to take some ideas from this program back to my company and implement them in a specific context. The plan and the aspirations were already there, and this proved to be an enabling tool to help me achieve my goals.

Andrew Matheou is the managing director, capital markets at BMO Capital Markets. He has 17 years of experience in revenue growth, market strategy, transformation, people management, and risk management. He has worked at BMO Capital Markets for 9 years and before that he worked at Deloitte. He attended Chicago Booth ADP in 2018-2019 and shares his experience of the program.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE CHICAGO BOOTH ADP?

I think that at any time in someone’s career you need a bit of an inflection point to think about what you’re doing now, where you are, and where you want to get to in the future. And I think it becomes difficult to do that in your day to day because you’re so busy with life and busy with your job. For me it was beneficial to step back, walk away a little bit, and have some dedicated time to sit back and reflect on where I am or where I want to go. So I think this is a great opportunity for me to kind of hit pause a little bit so that I can look towards the future and move forward in a new direction, or a different direction, or leverage what I’ve already learned into something bigger and better.

WHAT DID YOU GAIN FROM INTERACTING WITH YOUR PEER GROUP?

The peer group interaction was really fantastic. There was a great diversity in the group with people coming from various industries, big and small organizations and with diverse experience levels, which is what I was keenly looking for in this program. During the classroom discussions, hearing about what has worked for other people was helpful to understand the best practices for many kinds of situations.

HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE CHICAGO BOOTH FACULTY?

The Chicago Booth faculty is great! I think it’s effectively the same faculty that you would experience in an MBA program. So, a very very diverse faculty, with a global perspective. You’ll find that they are pretty much Booth professors based out of the University of Chicago. But overall really high-quality.

WHAT HAS YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE?

It is international in nature and brings in different perspectives from the University of Chicago Booth program – so it’s interesting because you get a good mix of the academics from the professors and real-life work experience from all of your peers. And then what’s really unique about this program is it’s in a global setting. Doing it in four cities around the world, in Hong Kong, India, London, and America, kind of wraps it all and gives you a global perspective. So, it’s been a pretty neat mix of interaction taking the academics, the practical experience, and into a global setting.

HOW HAS THE GLOBAL PEER GROUP IMPACTED YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE?

Yeah, it’s a very diverse crowd. Where I live in the United States, we have diversity but it’s not to the extent of this program. You interact with a lot of people from around the world – South America, Europe, India, China, other parts of Asia, so, having basically the world in a classroom is a pretty unique experience and I don’t think that most of the students would get that in their home base cities.

Ritesh Singh is currently the co-founder and MD at ARM Worldwide, a marketing and communication consulting company. He has over 18 years of experience in digital and activation and has spearheaded business for noteworthy national and multinational brands. His vision is to emerge as a digital consulting company from India, having a global presence, doing innovative work which adds value to the ecosystem while creating value for all stakeholders. He attended UCLA PGPX in 2018 and shares his thoughts about his experience of the program.

Katherine Todd is currently the director of strategy for AMP Capital head of strategy and operations, funds management at Challenger Ltd. She has extensive experience in managing and overseeing the origination and execution of mergers and acquisitions transactions, complex strategies, projects, and operational initiatives. She has a deep knowledge of financial services across funds management, investment banking, insurance, and institutional banking. She attended Chicago Booth ADP in 2018-2019 and shares her thoughts about her experience during the program.

Parag Bhagat is the global supply chain COE finance manager at GE Healthcare. He is responsible for the centralized execution of key supply chain processes in areas of direct sourcing, product costing, supply chain analytics, inventory measurement. and transfer pricing. His expertise lies in finance, finance systems, product costing and variance analysis, measurement, analytics, and inventory valuation. He attended UCLA PGPX in 2018-2019 and shares his views about his experience during the program.

Ankita Subba is the HR DGM at Cairn Oil & Gas in charge of compensation and benefits, performance and talent management, workforce analytics, and HRBP. She is an all round business-focused HR across COE verticals, business partnering, and internal consulting. She attended UCLA PGPX in 2018-2019 and shares her views of the program.

Eduardo Santos is partner and the head of sales planning at Stone Pagamentos. His expertise lies in strategic planning and OEE. He attended Chicago Booth ADP in 2018-2019 and shares his experience of the program.

Abhishek Kumar is the vice president at Infogain where he heads sales for the India market and is responsible for developing and executing growth strategies for the region. He specializes in go-to-market strategy, global account management, and integrated deals across a range of industries, including hi-tech manufacturing, network equipment, and telecom. He attended Chicago Booth ADP in 2018-2019 and shares his views about his experience during the program.

Pritha Mukherjee handles manager relocations at Crown Worldwide Group. She has around 8 years of experience in varied service industries. Her expertise lies in international business development, relationship management, and inside sales. She attended UCLA PGP PRO in 2018-2019 and shares her experience during the program.

Anand is currently working at Nike, Inc. as an Engineer – GSM. He has over 11 years of experience in manufacturing and sourcing in the sportswear, FMCG, and automotive sectors. His expertise extends to production, engineering, operations management, vendor development and sourcing, process excellence and optimization, quality, etc. His interests include networking, team building, training and learning, etc. He attended the UCLA PGP PRO in 2018 and shares his thoughts about his experience during the program.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE UCLA PGP PRO?

I am an Engineer by profession, currently working with Nike, Inc. as the Manufacturing and Sourcing Lead. I had a huge list of options. Then I shortlisted them to a few based on brand image, value, area of specialization in management, whether they were classroom or online, frequency of classes, curriculum, fee structure, and location. The confusion was whether to go with institutes like IIFT, Symbiosis, BITS Pilani, IIM, etc., some of which were granted degrees, or to go with an internationally renowned university with great brand recognition. I chose UCLA PGP PRO for the international exposure, brand image, flexibility, and the extensive curriculum, which is taught by a world-class faculty from UCLA.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROGRAM EXPERIENCE?

UCLA is one of the best universities in the world and the brand value attached to the Anderson School of Management makes any program offered by it very attractive. The program curriculum is most suitable for working professionals like me so I chose it over other options like ISB PGP Pro. This program is meant for working professionals who want to enhance their knowledge about the broad functioning of businesses across the globe and power their career forward. The program is world-class in its content and delivery. I strongly recommend this program to those who want to accelerate their career growth.

HOW DID UCLA PGP PRO IMPACT YOU PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?

When I moved from the functional side to the managerial side in my previous organization, I found several gaps in my ability to be a good mentor and a leader. That is the time I learned from my peers (and my personal network) that a management qualification is necessary at this stage. The assignments were truly helpful in widening my thinking and being able to practically apply concepts in a real work environment. I have learnt extensively about other functional areas as well as strategy. I have also been exposed to new ways of thinking and problem solving as well as better operations management, which I have deployed at my workplace and have got great results and recognition from my peers and superiors. The change in my work style is visible.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR FUTURE PARTICIPANTS?

I would recommend this program for those who have career aspirations and have a North Star goal to achieve. The candidates should fully understand the concept of a blended learning program – a classroom based as well as self-paced program where the participant has to put as much effort as the course providers (be it faculty, program designers, or organisers). If one is willing to put this effort along with a career then the whole experience will be extremely rewarding.

Himanshu Shah is the director, clinical research for Asia Pacific at MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd. He also involves himself in pro bono consulting and volunteering. His specialties lie in phase I, II, III clinical trials, procurement, IT in clinical trials, and virtual learning. He attended UCLA PGP PRO in 2018-2019 and shares his views about his experience during the program.

Shivanand Kumar is currently the director, strategy and business development, advice and wealth Management at Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. He has over 13 years of experience in the banking and financial services industry. His specialities are business development, consumer behaviour, brand awareness, and omni-channel marketing campaigns. He attended UCLA PGPX in 2018-2019 and shares his experience during the program.

Nikhil Gupta is currently a senior advisor, strategic business development at Dell Technologies. His expertise lies in business strategy, analytics consulting, corporate strategy, management consulting, consumer electronics, e-commerce, retail, startups, circular economy, equity, and debt investments. He attended UCLA PGP PRO in 2018-2019 and shares his views about his experience during the program.

Abraham Vela Torres is the customer project office manager at Schneider Electric and is passionate about business strategy and business development. He makes business solutions more efficient by simplifying the process, focusing on the core values, and aligning business strategy with project execution. He attended UCLA AMP in 2019-2020.

Rejni Pradeep is the general accounting lead at North Oil Company, Qatar. She is a seasoned finance professional with over 22 years of experience in spearheading complex accounting, consolidations, financial reporting, and auditing functions. Her expertise lies in the areas of financial planning, control, and financial reporting in compliance with IFRS. She attended Chicago Booth ADP in 2018-2019 and shares her experience of the program.

Pablo Mancuso is the owner at Accion Group. He has an expansive experience in business development in the media and communications industry of Latin America. Through his 19 years of experience he has an expertise in negotiation, business development, product management, content acquisition and distribution, deal making, research, and executive consulting. He attended UCLA AMP in 2019-2020 and shares experience during the program.

Stuty Sarkar is the head of operations at Antly. She is a process-improvement enthusiast with in-depth experience in IT operations and digital transformation across several functions. These functions include supply chain management, product development, spend and budget analysis, people management, strategic sourcing, process improvement, change management, and overall organisational management. She attended Chicago Booth ADP in 2018-2019 and shares her thoughts about her experience during the program.



Biplab Chaudhuri is the founder and chairman at Cognatic Solutions. He has over 15 years of experience in the field of IT consulting and services, data management business strategy, big data analytics, BPO services, call centre business management, and corporate workforce restructuring. He specializes in IT and heavy engineering services, big data analytics solutions, BPO services, MSP and master vendor, engineering and IT consulting, and project management. He attended Chicago Booth ADP in 2018-2019 and shares his views about his experience during the program.

Meher Gaurav is the HR and Business Consultant at EVENTZFORCE. She is a human resources executive with 15 years of experience with a passion for building HR infrastructure through technology, compliance, and people, especially with early stage ventures and startups. She attended UCLA PGPX in 2018 and shares her thoughts about her experience through the program.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE UCLA PGPX?

I chose UCLA for many reasons. After having a little over a 12 year long career, I embraced motherhood and took a sabbatical to focus on my child. During that time I also realized that I had jumped into the workforce a decade ago and never had the time to focus on my education. So I decided to ensure that I was relevant and up-to-date to be a modern day career oriented professional.

While I looked out for potential opportunities to forward my career, I also spoke with several professionals and realized that I needed to do a great executive education program. And UCLA‘s PGPX fit all the criteria. My sister-in-law was a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA. Learning the values of her university and knowing UCLA’s association with several ISB professors further strengthened my resolve.

HOW HAS UCLA PGPX HELPED YOU?

For the first half of my career, my professional journey revolved around core human resource management. The second half was focused more on helping organizations find success through better employee relations and rolling labour laws to keep the organization legally compliant. One place where I struggled during my career was to understand and manage the tactical side of business implementation.

UCLA PGPX has been incredibly insightful, not only to help me understand where and how I could’ve been more effective in the past, but also to discover so many different opportunities that I see today in areas of operations management, entrepreneurship, supply chain, and marketing. This helped me connect the dots to the bigger picture and realize my strengths beyond the core HRM domain.

WHAT ARE THE KEY TAKEAWAYS OF UCLA PGPX?

For me personally the key takeaway is the ability to view the business from a more holistic point of view. Being in HR, my learnings were very limited to my subject matter, but today I understand the business from all its relevant aspects. With this knowledge I aspire to lead my teams with more confidence and complete business acumen.

HOW HAS THE PEER GROUP IMPACTED YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE?

Modern day professionals are evaluated in a manner where they are observed constantly. That is the glass box approach to how they’re expected to perform while being constantly observed. The genesis of the peep and peer groups at UCLA exposes us all to this reality and makes us comfortable with this modern-day phenomenon of success.

IS THERE ANY OTHER POINT THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT ABOUT THE PROGRAM CURRICULUM, FACULTY, MODULES, ETC.?

One of the key reasons for me to select UCLA PGPX was the exposure to not just a brand name in education but also the understanding of great business practices, and the exposure to a realistic and future looking faculty. Being able to view modern day business from a magnifying glass and zoom in to see your future possibilities has to be hands down the most promising element of my experience.