Grant Lewis

Kelley School of Business at Indiana University

“Driven Indiana native, businessman, and husband who is passionate about maximizing life’s adventures.”

Hometown: Avon, Indiana

Fun fact about yourself: I competed on the swim team at Purdue University.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Purdue University, BS Industrial Engineering

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Eli Lilly & Company, Sr. Associate – Device Assembly Operations

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? Deloitte, Chicago, Illinois

Where will you be working after graduation? Deloitte, Senior Consultant

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Business Marketing Academy consulting engagement with large food conglomerate
• Globase Botswana consulting engagement with skin care company
• Life Science Academy, graduate
• The Washington Campus, graduate
• Globase Argentina, client engagement leader for a team of first year MBA students consulting with an industrial client
• Graduate Assistant for marketing professor Joshua Gildea
• MBA Association Golf Club President
• Hoosier Host for prospective students

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of the impact I have made through the Globase program. With my client in Botswana, we were able to quickly build a relationship, establish trust, and leave a lasting impact on her business. I am proud I earned the opportunity to lead an engagement my second year in Argentina and look forward to leaving more lasting impact.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? While I was at Eli Lilly, I worked in operations in the dry products packaging area. One of the drugs we were packaging, Baricitinib, was approved by the FDA for emergency use authorization during COVID-19. Our demand quickly exploded, and I was on the team who helped manage this transition to ramp up our capacity. I am proud of this achievement because I saw the impact of my work at Lilly benefiting patients and savings lives in real time.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose the Kelley School of Business because they have a focus on educating life science business leaders. I knew coming into business school that this was the industry I wanted to focus on, and IU has specific programs tailored to supporting life science students.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor is Greg Fisher. I took Venture Strategy (W511) with him. Greg is my favorite professor because of the passion he displays for his class and students. He does a great job of crafting each lecture to make it interactive and engaging, and he brings in great real-world examples and stories. His lectures are a nice blend of hitting on core business skills focusing and discussing leadership lessons that are necessary to succeed in business.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course as an MBA was negotiations (W505), taught by Richard Ash. I felt this class challenged me to develop new skills and build confidence while negotiating. The class had many opportunities to negotiate head-to-head with classmates which was informative and fun.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite MBA tradition is Globase. This program is powerful both in terms of business knowledge and cultural experience. I enjoyed building relationships with business leaders across the world and tackling challenges together. This program also gave me the chance to make lasting memories with peers who I traveled with.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? If I could do one thing differently, I’d allocate more of my time to experiential learning opportunities outside of the classroom. The classroom experience was excellent, but the programs I experienced beyond the classroom (Globase, Washington Campus, etc.) were most impactful to my development. I did a bunch of experiential learning, but I’d seek out even more and would advise prospective MBAs to do the same.

What is the biggest myth about your school? The biggest myth about the Kelley is that it is a smaller program. While the total enrollment in the MBA program is on the smaller side compared to our peers, Kelley is a massive school between undergraduate and other graduate programs. There are an unlimited number of resources and opportunities students can take advantage of to maximize their MBA experience.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? I love that the city of Bloomington revolves around Indiana University. The town supports the school tremendously well. Bloomington and Southern Indiana are peaceful and beautiful, particularly in the fall and spring. I also appreciate how everything, and everyone, is close. It’s easy to get around to hang out with friends and its affordable to have fun here.

What surprised you the most about business school? What surprised me the most about business school was the friendliness of the IU community. I anticipated more of a competitive, cut-throat environment. However, faculty, staff, and students pull for each other and it feels like one team. I admire the culture of collaboration IU can create for its MBA program.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I admire Aidan Dillon for many reasons. He served our country at West Point and the Army, is an accomplished student, and delivers exceptional work in projects and during his internship. What I admire most, though, is who he is as a person. He’s a great husband, loving father to two awesome kids, and miraculously still has time to hang out and be an awesome friend! I’m so thankful I was able to share this experience with him and know he has a great future ahead of him.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? The top two items on my professional bucket list are: (1) Pursue an international assignment and (2) Strive to make a meaningful difference and drive innovation in the life science industry.

What made Grant such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?  

“Grant Lewis possesses a unique combination of work ethic and personal drive alongside a constant desire to support his classmates and build a community. His work ethic was undoubtedly honed as a Division 1 collegiate swimmer (for a particular in-state school up north). His drive for success is seen in how he has leveraged his background in the life sciences at Eli Lilly & Company and through the Business Marketing Academy, the Life Sciences Academy and his major in Business Analytics. Grant has positioned himself to join the Deloitte Strategy and Analytics Practice upon graduation.

Grant has also been instrumental in promoting the community at Kelley. A big part of that is always being present, whether that be at social functions or review sessions. Beyond that, however, he has also been a leader. Grant was selected to be a leader for GLOBASE 2024, leading a consulting team on a project for a skin care firm in Buenos Aires, Argentina—again showing how he can use his experience in the life sciences to support student experiences in our program. This GLOBASE leadership role was particularly important as it builds connections between our first- and second-year MBA students.

Grant is one of those students whom a professor particularly notices in class—one whose academic performance rises to the top and whom classmates look to for support. As a professor, noticing such a student is the moment when you realize there is a leader right in front of you: unassuming, but doing everything the right way, for the right reasons. Shaping his own career, and helping his classmates do the same. This describes Grant perfectly and is the reason why he is an outstanding nominee.”

John D. Hill
Faculty Chair, MBA Program

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2024