Sonal Sinha MBA 2011
Sonal Sinha is finding the Berkeley-Columbia EMBA program a life-changing experience that enhances her professionally and personally. She is building a lifelong network of colleagues and friends, and developing an invaluable 360-degree perspective of business, able to see things from her current position as a Visa Senior Business Leader as well as from the position of a shareholder. “Berkeley-Columbia is an absolutely amazing program, a life-changing experience.” “It’s a long-term investment in yourself, in your capabilities. It helps you make better decisions and makes you a much more confident business leader and a more grounded person.” “The program has been so beneficial in giving me that broad overview of end-to-end business, which is something you don’t get from a single role in your organization. The program teaches you about how things fit together in the business world and how value is ultimately delivered to shareholder.” “International Business, taught by Laura Tyson, was one of my favorite classes. It gave me the framework to better analyze certain key decisions, such as, How do we want to focus our business? It helped me see how to better allocate resources at work on certain key projects.” “Private Equity, with Professor Phil Lin, is one of my favorite classes, because it provides an opportunity to examine the investment from different perspectives—from that of the venture capitalist or other investors—and forces you to explore the quantitative rationales in addition to that ‘gut feeling.’” “The Berkeley-Columbia EMBA Program program teaches us to use analytical tools in order to get to the most informed decision, and helps us take a step back and consider creative ways to look at things. The program opens your eyes, opens your thinking, it provides you with a different way to think and changes your perspective.” “One of the reasons I came to the Berkeley-Columbia Program is because both business schools are heavily focused on teamwork and collaboration. I believe that is the most critical component to being successful in the business environment. People skills—which is what the program focuses on—is the most important skill set.” “These are friends for life, on both the professional and personal levels. These alliances will help you in whatever you want to do in the future. I’m already getting business ideas from my classmates.” “The first thing I noticed when I stepped into class was the amazing amount of diversity of experience and industries, pharma and biotech, manufacturing, high-tech, financial services, retail. There’s a great diversity of ideas, based on all these different perspectives.” “My favorite professor, Laura Tyson, was very engaging in class and brought in a lot of speakers from the industry, who provided us with that real-world connection. Bringing in people from the industry helped us see how things are done and how we fit in. She also taught from her own, distinguished experience as former Chief Economic Adviser for President Clinton, which made it a very relevant and timely class for us in this global economy.” “This program gives you the opportunity to be a student again and take advantage of a campus. The library’s been very helpful, the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and even the gym. It’s a great getaway from the day-to-day at work, and, at the same time, lets you focus 100 percent on school.” [+] to top |
Senior Business Leader, Global Privacy, Visa Inc., San Francisco, California