Luke Lindsay

Imperial College Business School

“I am a builder. I like to figure things out and keep moving forward.”

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Fun Fact About Yourself: I was the president of my high school theatre club and a varsity pole-vaulter.

Undergraduate School and Major: Santa Clara University, BS Mechanical Engineering major with a Computer Engineering minor

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: SI-BONE, Manufacturing Engineer II

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Imperial’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school? Why was it so important to you? Data analytics and an association with a STEM-focused school were the key factors in my selection of the Imperial programme.

When researching MBA programmes, I knew I had to narrow down the expansive field of options. Having seen the power of data analytics in my previous jobs, I started my search by looking for programmes with an emphasis on data analytics. No matter which list I looked at, Imperial was always ranked, and always near the top. What differentiated it in my eyes from the other ranked schools was the incredible medical and scientific knowledge base of Imperial College London. I knew if I chose Imperial, I would have a more quantitative experience with exposure to cutting edge medical advancement. The final key factor was the massive opportunity cost savings of only losing a single year’s worth of salary versus the typical two years. That really locked everything into place.

What club or extracurricular activity excites you most at this school? MBA Connect and the exposure it affords us to the innovative ideas and fellow entrepreneurs of Imperial is the club I am most looking forward to this year.

MBA Connect is the bridge from Imperial College Business School to Imperial College London and all the brilliant minds it has to offer. Students from the entire university can submit ideas to MBA Connect and be paired with an MBA student to coach that idea into a budding business. It is a close partner with the Imperial Enterprise Lab which also works to help students commercialise their ideas. I think this support structure is invaluable because it forms highly effective partnerships, and many viable business relationships that extend beyond the initial coaching period.

What makes London such a great place to earn an MBA? How have you taken advantage of London to further your business education? London has been doing business longer than my home country has even been a country!

In classes, we have already discussed conceptual examples that pre-date the US constitution. I will be competing against thousands of other MBA graduates for a job. Whether I am bringing an American business perspective to a British company or a British business perspective to an American company, I trust a broadened outlook will give me an edge.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Being selected to assist the CEO of my startup commence negotiations with international investors in Paris has been my biggest accomplishment to date.

NeoDyne had a big “hands up if you have bandwidth and want to do it” culture. From my very first meeting, I put my hand up. Everyone was willing to take the time to teach each other their part of the business so we could share ideas and discover solutions together. Thanks to that openness and to my assignment to model the supply chain from advertising dollar spent to component order placed, I learned how each department functioned, what it required, and what it could provide.

When it came time to begin the Paris negotiations, the CEO told me I would be joining her on site for the meetings. Astounded at first, I believe I was selected because, if a question arose on any topic, I was the best positioned to have an educated answer and make an estimate about how it would affect the business modeling. That trip was a validation of the work I had done learning the other departments and wrapping my head around how they functioned.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Having worked as an engineer, delivered as a project leader, and advised executive leadership as an interdisciplinary expert, I felt it was time to take a leap. Ultimately, I want a seat at the executive table. That may be a few roles away, but an MBA is the next big step towards getting there. An MBA is the best way to refine and build on the business acumen I have collected on top of my engineering bachelors. What comes between the MBA and that seat at the table? A lot of hard work and hands-on learning, but I will be ready.

What was your defining moment and how did it prepare you for business school? Summer camp 2010: I was thrust into the role of counselor three years before expected.

I was a 15-year-old working as a “Camper In Leadership Training” at the camp where, only a summer before, I had been a camper myself. A full counselor and I were in charge of eight rambunctious 9-year-olds until the full counselor left without warning early in the summer. A string of temporary counselors provided adult supervision until a replacement was found. As far as the campers were concerned, I was their counselor.

That summer challenged me to step up to a position of responsibility I had not been expecting, but knew I could handle. By the end of the summer, the replacement counselor recognised me for keeping the cabin together while providing a consistent, safe, and positive experience for the campers. It was that opportunity to prove I could assume responsibility and tackle challenges that prepared me for business school and the wider working world.

DON’T MISS: MEET IMPERIAL COLLEGE’S MBA CLASS OF 2021