Maitri Taneja

Rutgers Business School

“I am creative, driven, kind. My instincts make me want to lead in most situations.”

Hometown: Pune, India

Fun fact about yourself: I’m obsessed with puzzles whether it’s jigsaw, wooden, or Legos. My favorite is a 1000-piece jigsaw of the NYC subway map that sits above my desk.

Undergraduate School and Degree:

Cummins College of Engineering for Women, Pune, India

Degree: B.E. in Electronics and Telecommunications

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? StreamzAI, Product Marketing Manager

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? NVIDIA, Santa Clara, California

Where will you be working after graduation? NVIDIA, as a Product Marketing Manager

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Award: Dean’s Excellence Award

Leadership Role: President, Rutgers Association of Marketing and Strategy (RAMS), 2024

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Co-organizing Rutgers Business School’s 6th Annual Marketing Summit as president of RAMS has been, hands-down, my most rewarding experience at Rutgers Business School.

Having volunteered as a student ambassador the previous year, I was excited to take the reins.  Stepping up as the president of RAMS, I coordinated with the program director of the Rutgers Digital Marketing MS Program to build a marketing funnel across different channels, design eye-catching flyers, and create an engaging social media campaign. The result? A 50% jump in attendance! We packed the room so full that we had to book another.

I built a student liaison system to streamline the event and onboarded many more stakeholders for the event.  Moreover, this facilitated students to establish a rapport with the speakers and build industry networks.

And on the big day, I took the mic as the emcee, keeping the energy high, the schedule tight, and the audience engaged. Seeing the room buzzing with conversations and the overwhelmingly positive feedback afterward made every late night and email thread worth it.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? As a product marketing manager at Streamz, a SaaS startup, I launched a self-service Streamz trial, kickstarting the Product-Led Growth (PLG) engine. Working closely with cross-functional teams, I designed an end-to-end sales onboarding and training journey, highlighting key features and collecting feedback at every step.

My project quickly became the key sales tool, generating over 10 Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), with five progressing to the pilot stage and one converting to a customer. This self-service trial has since been fully integrated into the sales process, significantly enhancing prospect engagement and laying the foundation for the PLG strategy.

Owning the entire product cycle at age 22 was remarkable and gave me real product marketing experience.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose Rutgers Business School because of its strong career support and the flexibility to shape my path in an evolving industry. Before accepting my offer, I spoke to seniors who emphasized how the Office of Career Management actively connects students to opportunities across industries, whether in marketing, finance, pharma, tech, or supply chain. The school also has a huge alumni network in different leadership positions across the country who are always willing to help. But what stood out most was that Rutgers doesn’t just create networking opportunities; it equips students with the right skill sets to thrive in their chosen careers.

As someone aiming for a career in product marketing, I was drawn to courses like Managing Innovation and Technology with Professor Jerry Kim, which provided a deep dive into GTM strategies, product lifecycles, and market expansion challenges. Leading with AI was another key course, reflecting how AI is reshaping industries and how we can, as leaders of tomorrow, evangelize our teams to adopt Industry 4.0.

Being so close to New York, the greatest city on this planet, was the cherry on the cake. Whether attending industry events or meeting professionals in the field, I had the best of both worlds- a supportive business school environment and direct access to a global business hub.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Farrokh Langdana, director of the Rutgers Executive MBA Program and my Aggregate Economics professor, is the best teacher I’ve had in MY LIFE. Being in his class felt like watching a master at work. His passion for macroeconomics was infectious. He didn’t just teach us about Keynesian economics or the multiplier effect; he taught us how to think like future business leaders. His class was about more than just theory. It was about understanding geopolitics, analyzing economies, and anticipating global shifts so that when we’re in that corner office, we’re making informed, high-stakes decisions with confidence.

And of course, as professor would say, “C-bar up!”

What was your favorite course as an MBA? This is a tough one, but I’d have to say Integrated Business Applications. It was as real as it gets. We worked as consultants on a live project for Spotify, crafting strategies to grow their paid subscriber base in North America. Following the McKinsey Method, we applied everything we had learned so far to develop actionable recommendations and had the incredible opportunity to present them at Spotify’s headquarters at the World Trade Center.

The course was an adventure! I honed my skills in user research, understanding consumer behavior, evaluating tactics, measuring impact, and developing risk mitigation strategies. I even learned about product cannibalization and how to balance innovation without hurting existing revenue streams. It’s exactly the kind of analytical and creative work I see myself doing in the future at NVIDIA.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? I might be biased because I helped organize it, but our day trip to Six Flags, New Jersey, was easily my favorite event. It was one of those perfect, sunny days, and we opened it up to the entire Rutgers graduate community, bringing together students from different programs for a much-needed break from classes and recruiting season. The energy was incredible. Everyone was laughing, trying out the biggest rides, and just enjoying the moment. As someone who loves roller coasters, I was in my element, but even those who aren’t “thrill-seekers” had a blast with the games, food, and just hanging out.

More than just a fun day out, this trip really captured what makes Rutgers Business School special. It reinforced that an MBA is more than case studies and networking. It’s building real friendships, creating shared experiences, and being part of a community that supports both professional and personal growth. It was the kind of event that made everyone feel more connected, and honestly, I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.

What is the biggest myth about your school? One of the biggest myths about Rutgers Business School is that because it’s a public university, it doesn’t offer the same level of career support or networking opportunities as private schools. Before joining, I heard people say that you have to “figure things out on your own” and that the school doesn’t have strong industry connections.

That couldn’t be further from the truth. From day one, the Office of Career Management (OCM) was incredibly proactive, offering career coaches, resume workshops, and networking events that connected us with top companies across industries like tech, finance, pharma, and supply chain. My seniors had told me great things about the support they received, and I saw it firsthand.

Beyond career services, I was also surprised by how tight-knit and collaborative the student community is. People genuinely look out for each other, share job leads, and push each other to succeed. So, if anyone thinks Rutgers is just a “figure-it-out-yourself” kind of place, they’re missing out on how much support and opportunity there really is.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? What I loved most about Newark was the perfect balance of convenience, community, and comfort. All my friends lived within walking distance, making spontaneous hangouts and late-night group study sessions a breeze. Plus, the 20-minute train ride to Manhattan kept me connected to the city’s energy while still offering the peace of a small town.

As an international student from India, I really missed the food—especially when life got busy, and I was whipping up only the easiest meals (mostly eggs!). Thankfully, Newark is home to a treasure trove of Indian food, from supermarkets stocked with familiar ingredients to amazing biryani and chaat joints. It was like a taste of home every time!

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? Rutgers has been working hard to incorporate AI into our MBA programming. One of the most interesting ways was in my Managing Innovation and Technology course, where our professor set up a custom Debate GPT to challenge our case study arguments and even grade our reasoning. For example, in a case about Alphabet, I debated whether the company should double down on financial discipline or continue its high-risk moonshot ventures. I thought it was cool that I was now diving deeper into financial and strategic strategies to present my counterpoints and win that debate. Seeing AI break down my arguments and push back with counterpoints made me rethink how decisions are made at the highest level.

Then there was the Marketing Summit, which was all about AI in marketing. We explored different AI tools, from predictive analytics to creative generators, and I even found my all-time (well, for now) favorite AI-powered image generators. It’s been a game-changer for my course projects, helping me bring ideas to life in ways I never could before.

Beyond that, AI became a daily tool in brainstorming sessions and coursework. But what stood out the most was learning how digital transformations happen and how to get teams on board with AI-driven projects in my Leading with AI course.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Badri Venkat, easily one of the smartest, most hard-working people I’ve ever met and a dear, dear friend. He came from a business development and marketing background and seamlessly transitioned into a whole new career path – supply chain. And he didn’t just adapt, he thrived! He was the first in our class to land an internship, securing a role at Dell, which is basically the gold standard for supply chain.

You can’t talk about Badri without talking about case competitions. He’s a case comp powerhouse, winning two of the biggest competitions hosted by Institute of Supply Management and Texas Christian University.

But beyond all the achievements, what really stands out is who he is as a person. Working hard is second nature to him, but he also knows how to strike the perfect balance between being serious and having fun. He’s incredibly disciplined, always punctual, and laser-focused on the life he wants to build. At the same time, he’s one of the kindest and most helpful people I know, whether it’s sharing advice, helping out with assignments, or just being there when you need him. And somehow, no matter the topic, he always has a cool fact to throw into the conversation.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?  The first one on my list is every marketer’s dream. I want to craft a campaign that takes the world by storm. Think viral videos, unexpected collaborations, and engaging content that not only gets attention but creates a massive impact. A campaign that redefines how a product is marketed and gets people talking long after it ends.

The second one is a personal branding project that I’m working toward. I’d love to create a platform where I can share insights on product marketing, career growth, and personal development. It would help me engage with a wider audience, establish myself as a thought leader, and build a community around topics I’m passionate about.

What made Maitri such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“Maitri is an outstanding student leader, an innovative thinker, and a transformative force within the academic community at Rutgers Business School (RBS). As both a student in my class and president of the Rutgers Association of Marketing & Strategy (RAMS), Maitri demonstrated both academic excellence and real-world impact. Her coursework consistently reflected industry-quality thinking and execution, setting a high standard for her peers.

As RAMS president, Maitri expanded the club’s reach beyond its traditional MBA focus, welcoming students from other graduate programs as well as undergraduates seeking mentorship and networking opportunities. She also built cross-disciplinary alliances with other MBA clubs, ensuring that marketing insights were integrated with broader business disciplines. One example was her collaboration with a student organization focused on environmental sustainability, which led to a case competition event and a guest speaker session on sustainability in digital advertising.

She went above and beyond her responsibilities as RAMS president by volunteering to represent the club in the 2024 RBS Marketing Summit, a flagship faculty-led conference attended by nearly 300 RBS students, alumni, and industry professionals – both in-person and online. Maitri was instrumental in recruiting, training, and managing a team of student ambassadors who hosted our executive speakers, ensuring a professional and welcoming experience for our guests and an excellent networking opportunity for our students. She also served as the event’s emcee, delivering a seamless, engaging program that earned high praise from attendees, with industry leaders comparing the summit’s professionalism to top-tier corporate conferences. Her initiative not only strengthened the summit, but also elevated RAMS’ presence as a vital hub for marketing students at RBS.

Maitri is an intelligent, humble, and highly adaptable leader who not only creates new opportunities, but ensures they have a lasting impact. Future RBS students will continue to benefit from the strong, connected marketing community that Maitri helped build at RBS.”

Stacy Smollin Schwartz
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice
Program Director, MS Digital Marketing
Department of Marketing

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