Tauber Institute alumni bring their operations expertise to leadership roles in a wide variety of fields, all over the globe. Read about what some of our alumni are doing today, and learn about the impact their Tauber experience has had on their career paths.
MBA 2006
Senior Vice President, Strategy
Mahindra & Mahindra
The Economic Times' "40 Under Forty" honors the brightest young business professionals in India. Congratulations to Tauber alumna Suman Mishra (MBA '06) for making the list!
Suman is now Senior Vice President of Strategy for Mahindra & Mahindra. She says that for her, success is "always giving it your best, in every small or big thing that you do, without being too worried about outcome."
Q: When you think back on your time with the Tauber Program, what stands out?
My internship - It was with Steelcase to optimize the supply chain of a particular model of chair. We traveled to Malaysia and France understanding the supply chain... Finally our recommendations were implemented. It was the first taste of getting things to impact!
Q: In what ways did your Tauber experience shape the professional that you are now?
Knowledge of operations is very important as it can influence many aspects of problem solving and strategy. It involves a certain degree of science and rigor, and some subjects like Supply Chain by Prof. Kapuscinski and Organizational Principles by Prof. Liker made a strong impact on me. Even when not working on operations topics, this understanding has been key to my success as a strategy professional.
Q: What’s the most important thing to remember in business?
Governance and Ethics are non-negotiables. Business cycles will come and go but you must always do the right thing.
Q. Describe your current role.
I work with various companies in Mahindra and Mahindra group developing and implementing strategies, looking after investment decisions and identifying new sector entry opportunities.
Q. What are you most proud of?
Managing to keep the fine balance between work and life... with a four year old daughter and an entrepreneur husband (also a Ross alum). It has been a continuum and I feel on an average I am able to maintain the required discipline and achieve some balance.
Q: What advice would you give to current or future Tauber students?
You will always be measured by what impact you leave behind, but more importantly by how people you worked with felt along the way!
Q: What would fellow alums be surprised to know about you?
I love Terry Pratchett books (have read all of them twice over....)