2018 Best MBAs: Smruti Sriram, London Business School

Smruti Sriram 

London Business School

“Passionate believer in young people as agents of positive change. Love working on creative and sustainable projects.”

Age: 31

Hometown: London, UK

Fun fact about yourself: Big house/ dance music fan

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Oxford, Philosophy, Politics, Economics

Where did you work before enrolling in business school? Supreme Creations/ Bags of Ethics – helping run my family business

Where did you intern during the summer of 2017? I stayed at the business though was going to join Octopus Ventures

Where will you be working after graduation? Supreme Creations – growing it!

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

30% club women’s scholar

Wings of Hope mentoring

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? 

Getting institutionalised mentoring – 10% of the MBA class mentored 14-18 year olds for Wings of Hope as part of a pilot

Back to School Day event in January 2018

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Promoting the people behind the manufacturing of our product – particularly the women who make the eco bags. These women have been featured on our clients’ social media and communications platforms (clients include Nike, and London Fashion Week)

Who was your favorite MBA professor? 

Too hard. Too many.

Simona Botti – Brilliant energy and crystal clear concepts.

Lakshman Shivakumar – Invaluable insight into financial statements.

Tahoun Ahmed – Non-traditional teaching methods which make the concepts stick!

Oded Koenigsberg – Loved the guest speakers.

Anna Pavlova – Really made corporate finance fun and approachable.

What was your favorite MBA Course 

Brand Management- It’s all about nailing your brand identity!

Pricing Strategy! Don’t forget to increase prices

Why did you choose this business school?

International

Collaborative student body

A lot of U.K. and Europe-focued case studies which helps my UK-based business.

What is your best piece advice to an applicant hoping to get into your school’s MBA program? Don’t portray someone you are not. Be authentic, and highlight some of the more interesting aspects about your background – don’t be a cookie cutter template

What is the biggest myth about your school? Not sure. But I thought MBA students would be more arrogant – at LBS they really are not! Super collaborative and supportive – socially and academically

What was your biggest regret in business school? None.

 Which MBA classmate do you most admire? So many!

Martina Machado- Energy, drive, and keeps supporting – never gives up

Samantha Kempe – creative genius

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? Fell into it. Dad was the greatest mentor I could have

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…at my business without as much knowledge.”

If you were a dean for a day, what one thing would you change about the MBA experience? Make the community more socially engaged – this needs to go much further. We are meant to be future business leaders. Our duty is to society and improving— not only to maximise profits.

What are the top two items on your bucket list?

Get fitter

Meditate more

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? Creative and energetic – but never lets people down.

What is your favorite movie about business?  The Pursuit of Happyness

What would your theme song be? Currently love “Peggy Gou” – Itgehane

Favorite vacation spot: Havasupai, Arizona

Hobbies? Kickboxing, singing, Barrys Bootcamp is my new fave, directing videos.

What made Smruti such an invaluable addition to the class of 2018?

“I was introduced to Smruti by a faculty member and booked in a 30-minute meeting to talk about the School and MBA programme. We ended up talking for an hour-and-a-half – but I knew within minutes that we had to try and get Smruti in the MBA class! During that meeting, she exhibited all the attributes we look for: drive, passion for learning, outstanding experience, a strong academic history and most importantly, the desire to learn from others from all around the world.

Smruti is a PPE graduate from Oxford – a degree probably most famous for producing Prime Ministers, CEOs and other leaders. But the element that drew my attention most was that she was working for her family business in the UK, with connections to India, making ethical bags for major retail companies.

I quickly found that we weren’t unique in our interest in her career, the following articles had already appeared in the UK media in Harper’s Bazaar and The Guardian. Smruti had already appearing in several rising stars lists, including Management Today’s 30 Under 30.

And this interesting article about father-daughter working relationships on the BBC. Perhaps most interestingly, Smruti had co-founded a charity called Wings of Hope.

During her time at London Business School she has been active in many clubs and activities, but it’s her work to involve her peers in the charity which was most inspiring. They put together an amazing event called Back To School Day, with big names from science, entertainment, and education (See Video).

I am delighted that Smruti is returning to her business and look forward to tracking her success over the next few years. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her become a high profile success, in business and society. Smruti is one of those students who make me so proud to be part of the London Business School family.”

David Simpson

MBA Admissions Director

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE LIST OF THE BEST & BRIGHTEST: CLASS OF 2018