Aishwarya Iyer

USC Marshall School of Business, OMBA

“A forward-thinking leader who brings together technology, strategy, and people to solve complex business challenges, unlock new opportunities, and create sustainable value.”

Age: 30

Hometown: Irvine, California

Fun fact about yourself: Most people know me as a Product leader, but my friends know me as someone who’s always curious. Whether I’m experimenting with emerging technology, taking a hot yoga class, planning a camping or white-water rafting trip, or diving into a topic that catches my interest, I genuinely enjoy discovering new experiences, fresh perspectives and opportunities to grow.

Undergraduate School and Degree:

University of Southern California – Marshall School of Business – Master of Business Administration

California State University, Fullerton – Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Where are you currently working? AI Product Manager at Goldman Sachs

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career?

It was leading the development & launch of an AI-enabled knowledge and document intelligence platform at Goldman Sachs is the professional achievement that makes me most proud. I had the opportunity to take a complex vison into a production platform aligning engineering, design, legal, compliance, and business stakeholders around a shared objective.

Today, the platform helps more than 10,000 financial advisors and internal stakeholders access critical information more efficiently, enabling faster, and better-informed decisions.

What makes this achievement meaningful isn’t the technology itself, but the leadership journey behind it. Building a successful enterprise product required earning trust across diverse teams, navigating complex regulatory requirements, and maintaining a relentless focus on customer needs. Seeing the platform become an integral part of our users’ daily workflow reinforced my belief that great leadership is about bringing people together to solve meaningful problems and creating products that deliver lasting value.

Why did you choose this school’s online MBA program? I wanted an MBA that would challenge me academically while allowing me to continue growing professionally. USC Marshall offered a rigorous program allowing me flexibility to immediately apply classroom insight into real business challenges.

Just as important, I was drawn to the Trojan community. I wanted to learn alongside ambitious accomplished professionals with diverse experiences, industries, and backgrounds because I knew those perspectives would shape how I think as a leader.

What was your favorite part of being in an online MBA program? The people, without question.

One week I’d be collaborating with a healthcare leader, the next with an entrepreneur, consultant, or military veteran. Each brought unique experiences and perspectives that challenged me to think beyond finance and technology. Some of my favorite memories were outside the classroom. They were the late-night team meetings, celebrating after finishing projects, and getting to know classmates as people…not just teammates. It gave me a community of leaders I know I’ll continue learning from throughout my career.

How did your online MBA experience compare with your in-the-classroom experience as an undergraduate student?As an undergraduate, I focused on earning good grades. During my MBA, I focused on becoming a better leader.

The biggest difference was the depth of the learning experience. Everyone brought years of professional experience into the classroom discussions. Learning wasn’t just about theory—it was about hearing how classmates solved real challenges in their organizations. The online format also showed me that meaningful relationships don’t depend on being in the same room. Some of the strongest professional connections I’ve built started over Zoom.

What is your best piece of advice to an applicant for thriving in an online MBA program? Be curious.

Your classmates are just as valuable as your professors, so ask questions, stay engaged, and don’t be afraid to share your own experiences. The assignments matter, but the conversations often become the most valuable part of the MBA experience. Some of the most valuable lessons come from perspectives that are completely different from your own. If you approach every interaction with curiosity and humility, you’ll leave the program with far more than a degree.

How has your online MBA education helped you in your current job? The MBA changed how I make decisions.

It taught me to think beyond individual projects and evaluate decisions through a broader business lens, considering strategy, finance, operations, organizational behavior, and long-term value creation. That broader perspective has helped me become a more effective product leader by helping me align customer needs with business objectives, navigate complex trade-offs, and make decisions that create value for both the organization and the people it serves.

Did you earn a promotion while in the program or immediately after graduation? While I didn’t receive a formal title promotion during the program, responsibilities grew significantly. During the MBA program, I transitioned into a role focused on emerging technologies, where I led increasingly complex, cross-functional initiatives with greater strategic responsibility. I partnered more closely with senior leadership, influencing long-term product direction, and working across engineering, design, legal, compliance, and business teams to bring new capabilities to market.

Looking back, the shift wasn’t defined by a new title—it was defined by the scope of the challenges I was trusted to lead, the decisions I was empowered to make, and the impact I was able to create.

That growth reflected the confidence my organization placed in me and the broader perspective I developed throughout the MBA program.

Why did you pursue an online MBA program instead of a full-time residential or executive MBA program? I didn’t want to choose between advancing my education and advancing my career. The ability to immediately apply classroom concepts to real business challenges made the experience far more impactful than learning them in isolation. Every week, I found opportunities to bring ideas from work into the classroom—and lessons from the classroom back into work.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? USC Marshall encouraged us to think critically about how emerging technologies fit into business, rather than simply using them for efficiency. One of my biggest takeaways was that technology is only valuable when it helps people make better decisions, solve meaningful problems, or create new opportunities. That perspective has stayed with me and continues to influence how I approach innovation today.

Number of Hours Per Week Spent on an Online MBA: 15–20 hours

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? My long-term goal is to become a CEO, leading an organization through growth, innovation, and change while creating lasting value for customers, employees, and shareholders.

Product leadership has provided an ideal foundation because it sits at the intersection of customers, technology, operations, finance, and business strategy. Every product decision requires balancing market opportunities, customer needs, competitive dynamics, financial outcomes, and organizational priorities. Those experiences have shaped the way I think about leadership: making thoughtful decisions, aligning diverse teams around a shared vision, and executing with purpose.

As my career evolves, I want to lead organizations that embrace innovation, adapt to changing markets, and build products and services that improve people’s lives. Ultimately, I aspire to be the kind of CEO who combines strategic vision with humility, empowers others to do their best work, and creates organizations that succeed not only because of what they build, but because of how they lead.

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.