Breaking The Glass Ceiling: From Amazon’s Headquarters To The Amazon Rainforest

Final Client Deliverable day with Speedio (permission taken from the client)

My second year at London Business School (LBS) has been transformative, shaped by experiences that expanded my perspectives and sparked personal growth. Reflecting on two key highlights, I can’t help but draw contrasts and similarities. The first was spending summer as an intern at Amazon in Luxembourg. The second was embarking on an LBS Global Experience trip to Brazil, which concluded with an awe-inspiring solo trip to the Amazon Rainforest. Although one was in a developed country and the other in a developing one, these experiences were intertwined and deeply shaped my views on work, life, and sustainability.

AMAZON LUXEMBOURG: AN AMALGAMATION OF FORMALITY AND VIBRANCE

My second year at London Business School began with a two-month long internship at Amazon’s European headquarters in Luxembourg. It was a country I first heard about while applying for the role. For many First Generation Low and Intermediate Income (FLII) students like me, it’s common to encounter new places without much information. Sometimes this may result in a positive outcome, as one enters the situation without any preconceived notion. Other times, the lack of familiarity can be a disadvantage. For me, the blank canvas of Luxembourg provided the ideal foundation to shape my experience exactly how I envisioned it.

While riding Luxembourg City’s famous free tram to my Airbnb, I caught myself pondering the duality of the city. On one side, the city conveys an aura of structure and esteem — everyone greets each other with respect, adhering to the formal conventions of other European cities. On the other side, the colourful tinted windows of the tram gave off a feeling of vibrancy, adding a whimsical layer to the otherwise formal atmosphere.

Divya enjoying the Day 1 culture on Day 1 at Amazon Luxembourg Office

This duality continued to unfold layer-by-layer over the next two months, both during work and short trips in and around Luxembourg. Just like my class at London Business School — which has over 67 nationalities in the cohort — Amazon and Luxembourg are a melting pot of cultures. Regularly, I interacted with people from varied backgrounds, expanding my knowledge of various cultures and the nuances that came with them. Luxembourg is a crossroads of languages and cultures and became a laboratory for me to explore these dynamics. I remember walking into my Airbnb only to find all instructions printed in not just one but four languages — English, French, German, and Hindi. On top of that, a link to translate the instructions to any other language was also provided. This simple act of embracing multiculturalism in daily life deepened my appreciation for the importance of adaptability in a globalized work environment.

Being an avid reader, I took advantage of Luxembourg City’s Readers’ Club. The perspectives brought forward by people blew my mind. These gatherings connected me with people beyond my workplace and helped me appreciate the diverse viewpoints of these people. As a FLII candidate, I believe in leveraging hobby-based clubs and activities to foster meaningful connections. These spaces allow me to build relationships based on shared interests, without drawing attention to the socio-economic differences that often accompany a FLII candidate. By focusing on common passions, these experiences enable deeper, more authentic interactions that transcend background and create a sense of unity.

Each weekend, I would devote time to walking in Luxembourg City or taking a free ride (thanks to the free transportation in the country) to the surrounding countryside. These walks cemented my belief in the possibility of growing in the fast-paced, high-demand work environment while simultaneously appreciating nature and embracing one’s history. Luxembourg city centre is the epitome of this belief. Tucked between the bustling shopping district and my favourite patisserie Hoffmans was the Bock Casemates, a well-preserved military castle surrounded by greenery. The juxtaposition of modernity and deep-rooted history was both inspiring and humbling to me, particularly as I have often seen developing countries sacrifice their historical heritage in favour of progress.

As much as I learnt from Luxembourg’s calmness and historical richness, it was Amazon that taught me the true meaning of hustle and innovation. One must be an Amazonian to truly admire how a company that has over 1.53 million employees operates with the agility and creative energy of a startup.

Glamazon Pride Walk

During my internship, no two days were the same. While some days flew by in a split second, others seemed to stretch on forever—especially the day of the project and internship review. This felt never-ending due to the anticipation and excitement. Even with these dissimilarities, there was one common theme across all my experiences: every day brought in opportunities to learn new things, meet remarkable people, and innovate continuously. From gaining insights into Amazon’s expansive vendor operations across the EU to developing strategies for managing accounts, each conversation I took part in at Amazon presented an opportunity to push the limits of my knowledge and skill set.

For my internship project, which focused on designing a new vendor management and negotiation process, I faced two significant challenges. First, there was a lack of uniformity in the way vendor managers consumed the surplus data to generate insights. Second, there was a variation in the negotiation process due to the non-uniform understanding of negotiation psychology.

My previous experience as an Insights Analyst at Google came in handy to solve the first challenge. At Google, my role focused on identifying trends and distilling reports into recommendations. To further solve this lack of uniformity, the case-based learning methodology at LBS proved instrumental. Case-based learning encourages deciphering real-world business problems through understanding business needs and conducting active discussions and analysis. Leveraging these learnings, I built an automated tool to identify top vendors, analyse trends, and recommend negotiation actions. As a proof of concept, I built a prototype and tested it with a selected group of vendors. The results were unparalleled with significant time savings and action-driven insights.

Solving the second problem, the variation in the negotiating process, was critical to drive the adoption of my proposed tool among the vendor managers. I utilized the learnings from the Negotiations and Bargaining class at LBS, particularly the importance of highlighting the long-term wins to bring uniformity in the process. While nuances of human behaviour could not be hard-coded in the tool, the key principles from the course were instrumental in designing and pitching the tool to the stakeholders. On a day-to-day basis, I was able to implement the past learnings from my coursework at LBS and my past experiences, while also enriching my knowledge with new things.

Beyond work, I participated in events such as the Pride Walk at the annual Glamazon event (LGBTQIA+ focused events) and packing back-to-school supplies for children impacted by war. I sometimes wonder if I could ever prioritize the pursuit of money above all else. Advocating for belonging and representation feels so much more important to me, as it creates a sense of purpose and connection that transcends financial gain. These experiences have made me realize that true fulfilment comes not only from personal success but also from making a positive impact and fostering inclusivity.