Palak Sona

“I’m all about stories, not small talk. Skip the surface-level chatter, let’s dive into meaningful conversation”

Hometown: Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India

Fun Fact About Yourself:

Undergraduate School and Major:

School – Vellore Institute of Technology
Major – Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title:

Employer – Société Générale Global Solution Centre
Job Title – Business Analyst

What makes Manchester such a great place to earn an MBA degree?

The perfect mix of so various nationalities and rich history of innovation and industry. Home to a world-renowned business school, it provides access to top-tier faculty and global networking opportunities.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Alliance Manchester’s MBA curriculum and programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you?

What really drew me in was the live consultancy projects. They offer the perfect opportunity to apply theory in real-world scenarios, all while working with actual clients in a supportive, guided setting.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most at Alliance Manchester? 

Being an Advisor at 180 Degree Consulting has been a major highlight, allowing me to collaborate with passionate, like-minded individuals eager to use their skills to give back and make a positive impact. It’s been an incredible learning journey!

Alliance Manchester is known for its hands-on consultancy projects. Tell us a little bit about a project you worked on? What did you learn that will make you a better professional?

Last December, my team and I successfully completed our first consultancy project— a Social Impact initiative for Chorley Youth Zone, one of the 15 OnSide Youth Zones dedicated to making a lasting difference in young people’s lives. Foremost, working with my team, which was made up of four different nationalities, was an enriching experience—learning to communicate and embrace the diverse perspectives each of us brought to the table. Additionally, coming from a different country, this project allowed me a chance to familiarize myself with UK regulations for non-profit organizations and to fully embrace the UK culture – the art of being excessively polite (I now say “sorry” for things I didn’t even do!)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:

My career’s biggest achievement was becoming the first offshore Entity Manager, overseeing clients in over 70 countries. The two-year project taught me invaluable lessons, such as how to adapt my approach with different clients—some needed a proactive strategy, while others required a more hands-off approach.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in Alliance Manchester’s MBA program so far:

This will hands down be being the runners-up in the VCIC competition! Our team was given an opportunity to analyze and perform valuations for real world startups, plus we got the chance to interact with founders to dig deeper into their vision. It was an incredible opportunity to dive headfirst into the world of Venture Capital.