Rita Korkor Agyei

Kelley School of Business at Indiana University

“I am a vibrant and passionate doer who seeks to deliver value in any environment.”

Hometown: Accra, Ghana- West Africa

Fun fact about yourself: My favorite relaxing thing to do is to go candle shopping. I have taken a few candle classes and have now rolled up a project to collect handmade candles from each American state I visit. I currently have seven candles in my collection.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Ghana Business School, Bachelor of Business Administration

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Nestle Central and West Africa. Role: Brand Manager NESCAFE – Coffee Business Unit

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? EY in Chicago.

Where will you be working after graduation? EY in Chicago, senior consultant, Technology Transformation

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Community Work:

• President of Africa Business Club at Kelley.
• Member of Net Impact – Kelley School of Business chapter
• Consulting Case Coach- Kelley Undergraduate Career Services

Awards:

• Peter Stuar Holmquest Fellow
• Forte Fellow
• Mary B. Daily Fellow
• Norwegian Quota Scheme Fellowship

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? In my time at Kelley, I have been most proud of my successes with both internal and external case competitions. I have won a total of four case competitions, become a runner up in two other competitions and not made it past the group stages in two of the competitions. It has been a true test of my ability to respond to diverse business challenges and taught me a lot about my leadership skills and how I work with others. I am a career switcher — from a brand manager with interest in digital marketing to becoming a technology consultant — and I often dealt with imposter syndrome and the feeling of inadequacy. This is what prompted me to apply and participate in case competitions.

What started out as an opportunity to assure myself that I was competent and could succeed in the consulting field became an avenue to learn and grow in various disciplines. My successes with case competitions have not only assured me that I have what it takes to succeed in my chosen path but have also enabled me to meet and work with various people and improve upon my leadership and collaborative skills. My close friends refer to me as the “Girl who Can.” The can-do spirit has been a driver of success in my MBA journey and I am proud and excited to see where my journey takes me.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career?  I have had many successes in my six-year career prior to business school, including being named Digital Warrior in the Nestle Central and West Africa Region and Best Performing Employee in the Coffee Business Unit within the region in 2021. However, what I am most proud of is the work I did at NSANO, then a budding fintech start up operating in Africa as the company’s first-ever head of marketing. My job was to stand up the marketing organization and make it impactful. It is one of my proudest achievements to date because it came with no manual, and I was thrown into the deep. I only had two-and-a-half years of experience under my belt then from Vodafone Ghana. Here I was, leading a team and an entire unit in four African countries, managing a budget, working with other unit heads, and reporting to a CEO with the additional start up challenges of limited resources and increased need for speed and agility.

I put in my all, rolled out a strategy for both the company’s B2B and B2C arms, took charge of employee engagement, and expanded my role to include internal and external marketing. In my time at NSANO, I improved its brand, social media, and digital marketing footprints by up to 100% because I started from scratch. I also learned a lot about myself as a leader — my strengths and shortcomings. I am most proud of this feat because I see that the seeds I sowed have germinated and others continue to build on what I have done. The experience continues to help me as I strive to be a doer and an impactful leader who leaves a lasting trail of good work throughout my career journey.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose Kelley because of the culture. I grew up in a collaborative setting. Most African communities are known for their communal nature and my own upbringing in Ghana was no different. I thrive in collaborative environments. As a Ghanaian studying in a different country, it was important to me that I felt supported and had a sense of community. Kelley provided just that. Every interaction was testament to the culture of support and collaboration.

We truly look out for each other as Kelleys. In academics, job search, skill development and others, you can feel the genuine support from everyone in the program. I am glad I chose Kelley and, in my time here, have contributed to growing this supportive community. This is especially true for fellow Africans, who may find transitioning, academics and all the struggle of being an international student daunting, through my work as the President of the Africa Business Club at Kelley.

My team and I have initiated Pre-MBA and mentorship sessions for African Admits; created the Africans at Kelley Alumni network to ensure that we continue to guide each other throughout our journey wherever we find ourselves; and promoted Kelley MBA through the Africa Business Club IDEA pitch competition, Africa Business Club Mentorship Session and Consulting Program for U.S.-based African Businesses in Indiana.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor is Dr. Lopo Rego. He has been my favorite professor because he passionately taught marketing strategy with emphasis on providing us with the skills to formulate and analyze what good or bad strategy is. The emphasis was not about knowing models or regurgitating Porter’s 5 forces or BCG matrixes, but rather taking a questioning approach and asking whether it is relevant to your organization and the specific problem you are trying to solve.

As a person looking forward to a career in consultancy, this was such great learning. Always question the model. The questioning process is a good way to test the model with fire. Dr. Rego is also very open, encouraging and genuinely interested in supporting students. His class took a case-based method which allowed for great discussion from everyone without just hearing a lecture. The method of delivery is one of the things I believe has been crucial to the effectiveness of his class.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite MBA course was the experiential learning segment of the Consulting Academy course in first-year spring semester. It is a class by Consulting Academy Director Scott Laughner that gives student teams a real-life consulting project with top fortune 500 companies. The course was one of my challenging courses in school and became a personal favorite because of the practicality of it and the real likeness of it to core consulting work. It was one of the courses that prepared me mentally and gave me the soft skills needed to succeed at my consulting internship with EY. Scott Laughner does a great job with the Consulting Academy and prepares his students to go into the role with knowledge on what to expect. To me that is a great start.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Looking back at my MBA experience, what I would do differently is to network more with people who were not a part of my year group. I did have the opportunity to build relationships with some members of the preceding class of 2023 and I still have some relationships within the class of 2025. However, I believe I could have done more to strengthen those relationships and meet more people within those groups instead of centering my friendships primarily within my cohort.

What is the biggest myth about your school? The biggest myth about Kelley School of Business is that we have a great culture. I am glad to confirm that it is true! This is no myth but reality. Kelley is one of the places where you will feel supported to achieve your goals. You are not likely to feel alone or that a Kelley is being competitive in an obstructive way. We embody the collaboration of Kelley and uphold the Kelley values of Integrity, teamwork, and support. It is evident in our day to day.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? I love Bloomington so much. The pace and cosmopolitan nature of the town aligns with my personality, and I have really enjoyed being here so much that I dedicated a whole blog post on IU’s page to talk about some of the things I love about Bloomington. But very first on the list are the nature walks and the squirrels I meet daily as I walk in one of the most beautiful campuses within the country. I will really miss Bloomington when I start work in Chicago.

What surprised you the most about business school? Prior to business school, my expectations were to see growth in my ability to navigate the areas of business that I had gaps. These included finance, accounting, and operations. To my surprise, and pleasantly so, my greatest growth areas in addition to closing the gaps identified have been in essential skills of time management, prioritizing, effective communication, leadership, poise, and confidence. The soft skills I have acquired have been truly priceless and have been a great driver of my successes within the program. I believe they will also serve me well in the world of work.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I truly admire my MBA classmate Chabi Gupta. She is an Indian influencer who sought out her MBA in Kelley and has used her influencing skills to benefit many communities within Indiana University. I admire her for her ability to relate well with other cultures, face the challenges of recruiting with openness, resilience, and a smile and have a great handle on the social and educational aspects of the course. Chabi is truly admirable and inspiring in the way she leverages her strengths to help her and those around her to succeed.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

Deliver Global Impact: Since I started my career, one of my top desires has been to build a globally impactful career. I am looking forward to taking on engagements that have a global reach and working with multinational organizations to unify technology strategy across borders and cultures.

Mentor the Next Generation: I have always believed that the best life is one that has transformed others and left a legacy. I am looking forward to mentoring the next generation of people of diverse background and genders, sharing my journey, and guiding them to be exceptional strategists.

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

“Rita Agyei has been an engaged, lively, and all-around outstanding member of Kelley’s Class of 2024.

Rita’s MBA journey got off to a rough start. She applied for admission and was accepted as a member of the Class of 2023, and she planned to begin her studies in the fall of 2021. Unfortunately, the US Embassy in Accra was overwhelmed from a pandemic backlog of applications, and despite making Herculean efforts, Rita was unable to secure a visa interview appointment in time for the start of the semester. This was a crushing disappointment. True to her nature, though, she approached this setback with her “can do” spirit, deferred her admission for a year, and took that time to continue working and building her skill set.

Once she arrived at Kelley, Rita threw herself into classes and activities. Her greatest passion has been the Africa Business Club at Kelley, now in its second academic year. This club, thanks to Rita’s leadership, sponsored an outstanding Africa Business Week full of sessions about business and culture in Africa. The highlight of the week was a pitch competition, in which small businesses in Africa pitched their ideas to a panel of judges, hoping to be awarded a prize funded by Indiana University alumni and our Black Philanthropy Circle. This opportunity to support entrepreneurs in Africa was exciting and meaningful to Rita and the other club members, and the financial awards made a big difference to the winners.

Rita has been working toward making a career pivot from marketing to consulting, and her efforts have paid off—she interned with EY in their Technology Transformation practice and will be rejoining them post-graduation. Coming into Kelley, she aspired to land this kind of role and made it happen.

Rita has served as a resource and mentor to her classmates, students in the Class of 2025, and applicants and admitted students this season. Her positivity, openness, and cheerful nature have been an inspiration to all here. We are proud to call her a Kelley!”

Gale Gold Nichols, CPCC
Executive Director
Full-Time MBA Program

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