Kriti Bakshi

IMD Business School

“Woman in tech, improving delivery of better-quality healthcare by embracing technology.”

Hometown: Delhi, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a fitness enthusiast with a weakness for cookies. I love being active whether its yoga, HIIT or running. On the days I am unable to get some movement you will find me dancing in my room!

Undergraduate School and Major: Shiv Nadar University, B.Tech in Computer Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Alcon, Team Lead

What has been the best part of being in a small class with this group of classmates, known for their talent and versatility? Our class is a very close-knit community. The small class size allowed us to familiarize ourselves with each other within just a few weeks. And this familiarity goes beyond mere names; we genuinely understand everyone’s background and motivations, and the peer learning approach of IMD allows us to gain insights from each other’s diverse perspectives, backgrounds and industries. This understanding helps build friendships and networks that last beyond graduation, and bonds which can open doors to future collaborations, job opportunities, and ongoing personal and professional growth.

Aside from classmates, what part of IMD’s MBA programming led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? IMD offers a unique curriculum focused on experiential learning. We are not just handed frameworks in class, but we also learn to put these theories into practice, allowing us to validate their effectiveness and relevance. This sentiment is echoed across all the streams, from leadership to finance and accounting. An important aspect for me was to choose a business school which not only teaches theories and frameworks but also helps students actively engage with the material learned. At IMD, we get our hands dirty through real-world simulations like MarkStrat, a COP simulation and Crisis Consulting. These interactive experiences have transformed how I learn, pushing me to test my skills in a real-world environment and quickly adapt to changes.

IMD is known for academic rigor. What is one strategy you used that would help a future IMD MBA better adapt to the workload early on? My only advice would be to create a support system at IMD. The rigorous coursework, tight deadlines, and pressure can be overwhelming However, having friends who understand the challenges and offer encouragement makes the experience more manageable and less isolating. IMD is the best place to make mistakes and to fail, providing an essential safe space. So, participate in all the challenges, and don’t be scared to give presentations and to ask questions, because the kind of access one gets to top leadership through guest speakers and lectures is not possible outside of IMD.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Since childhood, I have seen my mother create an impact on students by being a compassionate teacher. Taking inspiration from her, I started teaching at an underprivileged school on the weekends while I was working in Bangalore, India. Student motivation was low, and learning was disrupted at the school. This pushed me to increase my involvement, and I even inspired some of my colleagues at work to volunteer. After one year of concerted effort, we witnessed a paradigm shift at the school. The number of students scoring above 70% doubled. We also remodeled the school calendar to include activities such as field trips and science/art competitions. I learned how to effectively channel limited resources by managing a team of volunteers and teachers and, most importantly, I learned that everybody wants to help and give back to the community.

Describe your biggest accomplishment at IMD so far: As I came into IMD with a technical background, my problem-solving skills were limited to quantifiable “yes or no” answers. However, at IMD, I have learnt that in business, problems are rarely solved with cookie-cutter solutions and qualitative nuances go into strategic decision making. My biggest achievement at IMD has been the evolution of my skill set to where I can ingest quantitative and qualitative information, convert them into feasible recommendations, and story-board it to the audience.

Where is your favorite hang-out in Lausanne? Why do you (and your classmates) gravitate there? The usual suspects are the White Horse (a local bar), Lacustre (a lakeside restaurant), and Parc de Milan (a large park just behind the campus) – all of them are within easy walking distance from the campus. However, my favorite hang-out spot is the MBA study room area, known as the dungeons. This is where most of the action is! You will at any point find MBAs holed up in their rooms studying for upcoming exams, preparing their elevator pitches, or on conference calls with IMD alumni. In the background there will be a buzz coming from the Table Tennis recreation room or from the microwaves in the mini kitchen area, and someone will always be brewing a hot cup of coffee.

What do you hope to do after graduation? I have worked in the tech industry for almost 7 years, building digital platforms and solutions for clients in the healthcare industry. I chose to come to IMD to build my business acumen and to complement my technical skills so that I can be part of all stages of product development, from problem discovery to strategizing to planning for delivery. After graduation, I would love to work for tech companies to build products that improve the delivery of healthcare. The healthcare industry right now is at the brink of digital transformation, and I want to be the one to drive this change.

What has been your best memory at IMD thus far? In line with IMD’s focus on experiential learning, we worked with agile and nimble startups to bring their unique vision and innovative ideas to market. My startup team was working for a medtech company that is revolutionizing the way early screenings of cognitive disorders are conducted. In this process, we conducted interviews with CMOs (Chief Medical Officers) at top pharma companies to understand the clinical trial process.

Working first-hand with real-world companies provided an opportunity to see the ins-and-outs of what makes a startup tick. Three months of preparation and hard work culminated in a tense two days of presentation to a jury of venture capitalists and our founders. It was a bittersweet ending. My fondest memory is of the last lunch we had together as a startup team with our CEO, who was an IMD alumnus from 2004. She not only gave us guidance about life after MBA, but also talked about all the wonderful memories she made at IMD decades ago. As all of us listened to her stories we thought about all the memories we were making together now.

“Woman in tech, improving delivery of better-quality healthcare by embracing technology.”

DON’T MISS: MEET THE MBA CLASS OF 2025: INSPIRING, INVENTIVE, IMPACTFUL