Ernie Srimaneekulroj

University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

“Extroverted nerd and cat mom, passionate about healthcare and committed to innovative problem-solving.”

Hometown: Minneapolis, MN

Fun fact about yourself: My guilty pleasure is ice cream, I’ll eat it even in the middle of a snowstorm!

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Minnesota, Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Society, & Environment with a Minor in Chemistry

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? I worked for Emergency Care Consultants as a medical scribe in the Emergency, Internal Medicine, and Psychiatry Departments.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? Johnson & Johnson in Raritan, NJ. I interned at J&J for both of my graduate summer internships as a dual MBA/MHA student. In 2022, I interned in supply chain and quality and compliance for the biologic business. In 2023, I interned in global strategic marketing for the wound closure and healing business.

Where will you be working after graduation? After graduation, I will join Johnson & Johnson in their MedTech Marketing Leadership Development Program (MLDP).

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Medical Industry Leadership Institute Student Association (MILIsa) Board Member: Organized career and recruitment panels, as well as inter-school networking events. Also, promoted and facilitated connections between students and medical industry experts through the Medical Industry Leadership Institute (MILI) Mentorship program.
• Carlson MBA Ambassador: Connected with prospective students by sharing experiences, insights, and knowledge.
• Graduate Volunteer Consultant: Devised a strategy for a new revenue stream for Bunny Besties, a non-profit dedicated to enhancing emotional wellness through meaningful animal-assisted interactions.
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Consultant: Designed a framework that incorporated health equity into every performance improvement project for M Health Fairview, a Minnesota-based health system.
• Graduate Strategic Initiatives Consultant: Identified gaps in member experience and devised a strategy to increase NPS score for Prime Therapeutics, a pharmacy benefit manager.
• Quality Improvement Consultant: Reduced medication refill time for PNC, a free health care clinic for the uninsured and underinsured in Minneapolis and surrounding communities.
• Graduate Assistant, Carlson Consulting Enterprise
• Graduate Assistant, Private Purchasers of Health Care
• Graduate Assistant, Health & Health Systems
• Graduate Assistant, Management of Healthcare Organizations
• Fundraising Chair, MHA Governance Board
• Finalist, 2022 Cornell Case Competition
• Forte Fellow
• Centennial Fellow

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school?  During my first semester in the Carlson Consulting Enterprise (CCE), an experiential learning program, I was a team lead for a group of MBA and undergraduate students who consulted for a national home improvement retailer. We devised a proposal for the company that helped them rationalize their product portfolio.

Midway through the semester, I noticed that my team needed help organizing and explaining why our proposed solution would work for the company. I got together with an undergraduate team member, and we spent an hour just talking through his thought process and ideas, using a whiteboard to jot down and organize our thoughts. This session involved a lot of questioning and pushing each other to think deeper about the “so what?” of our ideas. After a bit of back-and-forth, we came up with a simple way to organize our solution into three categories: complex, non-complex, and specialized.

Our effort paid off during the client presentation since we could explain our reasoning clearly and logically. The client was so impressed with the team’s work that they offered the undergraduate team member a summer internship to help implement the strategy.

I’m proud of this moment because it showed how effective teamwork and a bit of creative thinking can solve real problems and positively impact an organization and someone’s career. It wasn’t just about getting the job done or getting an A in a class; it was about helping someone learn and grow, which is what being part of a team and a leader is about. It was also thrilling to see how the company took our recommendations and made them a reality.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? The achievement that stands out the most in my professional career is bringing Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on board as a client for the Carlson Consulting Enterprise (CCE).

This accomplishment was a result of a two-year journey with J&J that began in 2022 when I interned in their supply chain and quality compliance department. I was tasked with developing an automated process to verify and periodically review biologic customers. I worked closely with an amazing team of data engineers and quality managers and learned a lot. The success of our project was recognized with the 2022 Ethicon Supply Chain Digital Transformation Award.

In 2023, I returned as a global strategic marketing intern for the wound closure and healing business. I was tasked with creating a marketing and training toolkit. This toolkit supported the global orthopedic strategy and enabled omnichannel marketing campaigns across five regions worldwide. The assets created are currently being used by sales and marketing today.

My experience with J&J was very enriching. I learned a great deal and worked with some incredible people. After these experiences, I wanted to extend the opportunity to others interested in working in the Medtech industry. By leveraging my previous successes and the relationships I had built, I convinced leadership to sponsor a strategy consulting project with CCE, which was a great opportunity for both MBA and undergraduate students at Carlson.

This was particularly meaningful because it not only showcased the culmination of my successes and the relationships I’ve built, but also provided an opportunity for other students at my university to learn about the Medtech industry.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose the Carlson School of Management for my MBA due to a simple but powerful reason: a sense of community. My decision wasn’t just about rankings or stats, it was about the people and connections that make a school more than just a place to learn.

Back in undergrad, when I was waiting tables at my family’s restaurant, I met Kevin, a Carlson MBA Alum and former McKinsey consultant. He and his wife were regulars who took a genuine interest in my career path. Kevin even went as far as connecting me with a senior manager at a healthcare consulting firm. Although I was set on applying to medical school, this gesture stuck with me.

Fast-forward a few years, and I was considering applying to an MBA program. Kevin sat down with me and helped me think through my decision; he also introduced me to his former MBA advisor from Carlson, as well as a former classmate (who was a VP at a Fortune 500 company). They both offered me advice, reviewed my resumé, and answered all of my questions. Kevin’s continued investment in me and my career, as well as his introduction to the Carlson network, was striking. Their willingness to meet with me and support my application to the MBA program seemed indicative of the culture and community that Carlson fosters, both during the degree and beyond. While applying to MBA programs, this emphasis on community, support, and teamwork was something I was looking for and something that set Carlson apart from other schools.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course was “Human-Focused, Culturally-Sustainable Development in Morocco.” Over 2 weeks, my classmates and I traveled around Morocco. We met with local groups and businesses to learn about how Morocco is improving its economic stability through infrastructure development, business financing, and education.

This experience exposed me to a different perspective and way of life. A particularly notable experience was our visit to Project Soar, an organization aimed at empowering marginalized girls. We witnessed firsthand the empowerment of young girls as they learned about their value, voices, bodies, rights, and paths. We also had the opportunity to talk to these girls about their dreams and what they want to be in the future. The passion in their voices was inspiring. Despite facing challenges like limited transportation and societal barriers, these girls’ commitment to traveling from nearby towns and cities for education shows their incredible resilience and perseverance. This spirit was evident not just in Project Soar, but across all the sites we visited. I learned about how sustainable development is not an isolated project but rather has to be embedded in social, cultural, economic, and political practices. I saw with my own eyes how female empowerment is directly tied to successful transitions to more sustainable business practices.

This course was invaluable to me as I had the opportunity to see business principles and concepts I was learning in class in practice in the real world. More importantly, I was exposed to a global perspective that I would not otherwise have seen just in Minnesota. This will serve me as I move forward in my career and work for global companies.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Looking back on my MBA experience, I wish I had engaged more with C4C. While I’ve donated, volunteered, and participated in the charity auction, I wish I had taken the extra step and joined the board. Being part of C4C would have allowed me to contribute differently and do something I’ve never done before, hosting a charity auction.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? I love the Minneapolis food scene. It offers everything from award-winning wood-fired pizzas to the famous “Jucy Lucy” burger, as seen on TV shows like Man vs. Food. There’s also incredible Thai street food, as well as Indian, Chinese, and Korean food. Whether it was a quick lunch between classes or dinner out with friends and classmates, exploring Minneapolis’s food scene has been a highlight of my business school experience.

What surprised you the most about business school? What surprised me the most about business school was discovering just how many people were genuinely eager to help me succeed. Initially, the idea of networking and reaching out to industry professionals felt overwhelming. I was worried about taking time out of people’s already busy schedules. However, once I settled into business school, I quickly realized it wasn’t just about making contacts. It was about joining a community of people who genuinely wanted to help others. Far from being a burden, people were open and happy to share their knowledge and resources and even make introductions.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? The classmate I admire the most is Saul Schwartz. Saul is extremely smart, he has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Princeton and brings a deep understanding to our classes, often elevating our discussions to a higher level. His work ethic is equally admirable. He approaches every task with a level of dedication that goes above and beyond, setting a high bar for others. Professors have even showcased his work as an example of what students should strive for. Yet, it’s his character that truly sets him apart. Saul is genuine, kind, and humble. He knows how to lead without overshadowing others, making everyone feel valued. This combination of intelligence, dedication, leadership capabilities, and humility makes him someone I truly admire.

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

1 Launch a new product that addresses an unmet need and fundamentally transforms healthcare for the better.

2. Be a mentor to others. I aim to inspire and support the next generation of healthcare professionals, sharing insights and experiences that help them navigate their careers and contribute positively to the healthcare industry. Being a mentor means not only passing on knowledge and skills but also fostering an environment where creativity, empathy, and ethical practices flourish.

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

“Ernie is a compassionate and inclusive leader within our Carlson MBA community. It’s been my privilege to know and work with Ernie for the past two years. I was very excited when she joined the Carlson Consulting Enterprise (CCE) for her experiential learning program requirement, bringing with her a unique perspective shaped by her upbringing as the child of an immigrant parent from Thailand in Northern Minnesota. What has always impressed me the most about Ernie is her extraordinarily high emotional intelligence and maturity, coupled with her natural problem-solving ability. Business is, more than ever, about solving problems with people, and in my opinion, no one does it better than Ernie. As a natural leader, she builds genuine connections and excels at bringing diverse perspectives together while maintaining a distinct point of view to keep her teams on track. 

Ernie is a consummate professional; despite having a focus on healthcare, Ernie’s first CCE project was leading an engagement with a national home improvement retailer to help them rationalize their product portfolio. Despite a steep learning curve and the sector not exactly in her wheelhouse, Ernie marshaled her team superbly and delivered such an impactful result, that our client singled her out for her leadership, and declared it was the best project they had ever worked with among the many business schools they partner with, and indeed, a number of leading consulting firms. Her ability to unite people is evident in her role as a mentor and Graduate Assistant in the Carlson Consulting Enterprise, where she has fostered a positive and inclusive culture, helping to make our lab an inviting space for students to work, collaborate, and relax. As a mentor and trusted confidant, Ernie is admired by undergraduate and graduate students alike. Her peers highly respect her for her intellect, positive attitude, and sense of fun, not to mention her passion for great food! Ernie made such a positive impact on her summer internship, that her employer, a global healthcare company, became a first-time CCE client as a result! I have been very spoiled by having Ernie as my student and graduate assistant for the past two years. I will miss her greatly when she graduates, but am thrilled she’s going to be having a massive impact in global healthcare in the coming years, and I am excited to see where her career takes her.” 

Siddharth Chandramouli
Director, Carlson Consulting Enterprise 

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