Chaitanya Chintakayala

Arizona State University, W. P. Carey School of Business

“I am a perpetual learner and a team-based leader constantly on the lookout to solve problems.”

Hometown: Ongole, Andhra Pradesh India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have had 17 nicknames to date. Some of them are Chintu, Chaitu, Chi-Cha, Chapathi, Chitze.

Undergraduate School and Major: Bachelor of Technology in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology – Roorkee

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: City Operations Head at Swiggy, India’s largest hyper-local delivery startup.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: As junior manager at SAIL, I modularized plant maintenance by dividing ore handling plant (OHP) into 43 sub-sections and persuaded management to incorporate sub-section breakdown rate into KPIs of executives, enhancing the accountability of 400+ employees and reducing breakdown rate by 30%. This experience was an important lesson in leadership and is my biggest professional accomplishment so far.

At SAIL, though I was mainly responsible to achieve our annual material handling targets while managing a team of 34. I also had taken the responsibility to improve processes in my department. OHP spreads around a vast area of 10 square kilometres (6.2 square miles) and includes numerous equipment such as 36 kilometres (22.4 miles) of conveyor belts, 6 stackers, 6 reclaimers, 2 wagon tipplers, and various facilitating equipment. In my early days, I realized that when every employee is responsible for everything at OHP then no one is responsible for particular equipment or areas within the department. I saw that this led to minimal ownership and frequent finger-pointing.

To tackle this problem, I divided my department into 43 subsections and matched responsibilities of these subsections to 43 executive employees based on their experience, skillset, and interest after consulting them. I pitched my idea to upper management who were reluctant to accept my proposal, as they cited that given the workload not everyone would be enthusiastic to be given added responsibilities.

Undeterred, I argued that adopting my proposal would reduce the workload and briefed the benefits of my proposal to heads of mechanical, electrical, and operations, who in turn influenced their subordinates for the proposal. Following this, these sub-sectional responsibilities were added to key performing indicators of 43 executive employees and subsequently their 400+ subordinates.

This increased accountability and ownership of our entire workforce. Further, breakdown of equipment decreased by 30%. From this experience I learned that leadership is all about taking initiative, influencing people, and being undeterred to achieve tasks. These learnings have been vital over my career as I sought enhanced responsibilities and diverse roles.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Hands down, my classmates are the most helpful folks I have met to date. Most of my classmates help others before being asked. This is unique, as well as a consistent trait among my classmates for which I am grateful.

For my MBA, I traveled outside India for the first time. Realizing this, my classmates went above and beyond to help me quickly assimilate to the new culture and surroundings in the U.S. Further, I recently planned a multi-country trip to Europe and discussed the same with a few of my classmates. Within a few days, I was amazed by how other classmates jumped in to offer their advice and insights and checked in to help me with my trip. Knowing that I have classmates who are willing to unconditionally help me is important because it boosts my confidence immensely and allows me to take informed risks.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I strongly feel that as the business world becomes more complex, organizations need to replace the widespread functional view with a supply chain management model that holistically orchestrates the entire business. Determined to prepare for this challenge, I spent over five years before MBA initially at SAIL (the leading steel producer in India) before moving to Swiggy. I had taken up various operations and supply chain roles to build a strong foundation in leading teams, agile decision-making, and supply chain competencies such as warehouse management, logistics, and quality improvement. However, to achieve my long-term goal of building industry-standard supply chains as a senior supply chain executive and influencing the wider world by sharing my insights, I realized that I need an MBA that complements my practical learning at work. I also wanted a broader understanding of business to effectively work with cross-functional teams and contribute to overall business goals.

As such, I chose the W. P. Carey MBA because of its pioneering position in supply chain management and forward focus curriculum that is relevant to today’s VUCA business world. The supply chain management concentration at W. P. Carey presented the best opportunity to complement my practical supply-chain skills gained at work. I identified that combined insights from Strategic Procurement, Logistics in the Supply-Chain, and Operations Planning and Execution courses taught by eminent professors would be vital to refining my knowledge of interdependencies in a global supply chain, knowledge necessary to assemble robust end-to-end supply-chains.

Also, W. P. Carey MBA’s emphasis on integrative thinking with courses in core business functions and Intellectual Fusion Learning Labs was important to me, as it would refine my cross-functional intellect. Collaborating with master’s students from Business Analytics and Information Management for action-learning projects had the potential to not only prepare me to solve supply chain problems that transcend disciplinary boundaries, but also enhance my team skills.

Arizona State is renowned for its innovation. How have you seen innovation in the philosophy, curriculum, or resources at W. P. Carey? Camp Carey, one of the most fun and rewarding parts of the Full-time MBA orientation, is a prime example of innovation at W. P. Carey. This is an exciting team-building opportunity where first-year students get to know classmates and forge friendships that last a lifetime. Camp Carey also allowed us to internalize the culture at W. P. Carey. Activities such as the interactive drumming session, mindfulness kick-off, success-visualization exercise, and team chant, along with inspired interactive sessions led by Dean Amy Hillman and MBA Faculty Director John Wisneski. These events were geared to achieve three vital things: to relax, reflect, and relate. Camp Carey helped us accomplish all the three things and imbibe the W. P. Carey culture of “Business is personal” in the most innovative way possible.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? My admission interview for W. P. Carey consisted of a set of questions based on a mini case study. I found this to be the most challenging part of the admission process. The interviewer recited a two-minute case, and I was asked a set of follow-up questions. These questions involved assessing and responding to the case adopting three different roles: as a candidate, a board member, and an external consultant. These questions tested varied skills such as listening, analyzing, and prompt and concise communication. They were challenging because of the need to alter my response and communication style according to three assumed roles in a short time.

How did you determine which business schools best fit you? To determine which business school best fits me, I concentrated on the following factors:

• Supply chain strength; learning environment that emphasized practical learning
• Small class size to enhance classroom discussions and provide ample leadership opportunities
• Collaborative and close-knit environment that allows me to build life-long relationships
• Diversity of experiences among professors and classmates to enhance critical thinking.

I used varied tools to evaluate schools concerning the mentioned factors. First, I gathered initial data on class size, employment outcomes, and supply chain rankings from various websites such as Poets & Quants, U.S News & World Report, and MBA.com. After making a preliminary list of schools (around 15-20), I furthered my research through individual B-school websites. I was primarily assessing whether the school emphasized a few of the factors I was looking for. After doing this, I was able to narrow the list. Most importantly, I got a feel for a school and its culture by attending their information sessions both physical (if possible) and virtual. I would speak with members in my network who were already associated with the school and finally by interacting with current students and recent alumni.

Though most of the schools emphasized collaboration and diversity on their websites and information sessions, it was not until I had direct interaction with a few members from the school community that I truly understood the principles and the values that the school stood for. Once I got a first-hand feel of a school’s culture, it was easy to decide on the business school. For example, throughout my interaction with current students and alumni of W. P. Carey, it showed that they are proud and passionate to be Sun Devils. Especially, recent graduates and current students with whom I interacted proactively enquired about my application progress and helped me throughout the admission procedure. This showed me that “Business is personal” is an adage that is followed more than professed at the W. P. Carey School of Business and drove my desire to be a part of this culture.