After starting her career in human capital consulting and investment banking, Arati Venkatram (Stern, ‘20) enrolled at NYU Stern to broaden her understanding of strategy, leadership and change management. In addition to taking classes in these fields, Arati has thrown herself into numerous activities and leadership positions and invested her time and effort into strengthening the Stern community, such as through leading student organizations, and working with the Forté Foundation to empower and coach female MBA applicants. In our interview, Arati sheds light into her thoughts behind choosing these experiences, and what she’s gained from her involvement in the Stern community.
MBASchooled: What did you do prior to business school and why did you choose to attend business school?
Prior to business school, I worked with Deloitte Consulting in their Human Capital Consulting practice. My passion for HC Consulting emerged during the three years I spent in investment banking, focused on equity capital markets. As I advised companies on going public and raising secondary equity, I focused heavily on their financial statements. Eager to go beyond the numbers, and understand what differentiates companies on an operational level, I began to toy with the idea of consulting.
Digging deeper, I realized companies once listed, or acquired, faced various challenges when dealing with their human capital in a larger/integrated organization. In order to advise large organizations on these topics, I realized the need to broaden my understanding of business beyond finance. I thus chose to attend Stern where I am specializing in Strategy, Leadership and Change Management while building a global network.
MBASchooled: At Stern, you are involved in numerous leadership positions and student activities. Why did you choose to take these on, and how are they helping you learn and grow?
Outside of classes, I chose to divide my time among club activities, mentoring roles, and on-campus jobs. I took these on to stay engaged with the community, and constantly meet new people. Two years is a short period of time to meet so many amazing people. Leading a club has taught me to value different perspectives, and is allowing me to develop my own leadership style in a safe environment. Hierarchy has always played a role in the corporate settings I have been in, and it has been refreshing to work with peers when planning various events and workshops.
Mentoring first year MBA students and women in Manhattan applying to business school has been another extra-curricular close to my heart. It has taught me to be patient and understanding as I empathize with their stresses having been in their place very recently. I chose to do this simply because I felt like I had a lot of information and experience to share with respect to the application and recruitment process – and had received invaluable help from my mentors when I was applying. With respect to on-campus jobs, I have worked with the Office of Career Development as a Career Mentor and will be a Teaching Fellow for a class on Inclusive Leadership in the coming semester. These jobs help me use my time productively and keep me connected to Stern.
MBASchooled: As Co-President of the South Asian Business Association, what is your role, and what does your club do?
As Co-president of SABAS (South Asian Business Association at Stern), my role is twofold. The first is to ensure we grow as a community, and help each other as we navigate life and careers in a different geography. This is done through recruiting prep, alumni mixers, and mentorship initiatives. The second is to spread awareness of our culture among the broader Stern community. We do this through celebrating festivals (like Diwali, Holi, and Eid), conducting food tours, Bollywood dance workshops etc.
MBASchooled: What are some of the challenges of leading an organization? What have you learned from this experience?
Some of the challenges I have felt leading a student run organization are the need for self-motivation, understanding how to mix friendships with business, and sometimes working with peers who may prioritize these voluntary roles lower than others. It is more similar to the real-world than I had imagined! My biggest learning has been to separate my individual relationships from the roles at hand – which I learned early on when forming our board along with my co-president.
MBASchooled: You also work with the Forte Foundation. Can you talk about your role there, and what you are doing?
I was granted Forté Foundation fellowship on joining Stern. At the organization, I volunteer as peer advisor, mentoring eight women in Manhattan applying for MBA programs. The ‘MBALaunch’ program is a carefully crafted course that guides women applicants touching upon all areas including resume reviews, school selection, and essay guidance.
Mentoring these women was an absolute pleasure and I enjoyed sharing my current MBA experience with them as they made important decisions through the application process.
MBASchooled: At Stern, you get the chance to interact with other student leaders as well as administrators and professors. What have you learned from your fellow community members?
Working with other student leaders and administrators has taught me the benefits of collaboration, and proved in practice the negotiation technique of ‘expanding the pie’. This has shown me the amazing results we can provide to beneficiaries (mostly students), staying within the boundaries, as long as everyone has the same goal in mind.
Working with leaders from other affinity groups has been interesting, as we endeavor to work together to gain strength through numbers. We come from different backgrounds but the similarities between cultures have amazed me.
MBASchooled: How do you see your leadership experiences helping you as you advance in your career after business school?
I feel my leadership style developing through these various activities at Stern. I have moved from a participative style to a more democratic and transformational style. I have no doubt that working with peers from different backgrounds to get things done in a short period of time has prepped me well for my consulting career going forward. Business school has also been a safe environment to make mistakes and grow as a leader. It has proved to be a good place to adopt trial and error methods – in an environment that mimics corporate situations.
Lastly, it has taught me to be more patient and empathetic towards others needs and requirements. Stern’s collaborative environment has taught me how to navigate complex situations and difficult group environments focusing on the bigger picture with a calm mind.