Lakshmi C

University of Oxford, Saïd Business School

“Data analyst, responsible business advocate; believer in human kindness and potential (apart from unicorns and rainbows of course).”

Hometown: Madurai, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I don’t have a last name. While I do call out “Chockalingam” (my dad’s name) in more professional documentation, technically, according to my Indian birth certificate, I don’t have one. My state saw a huge social uprising in the 1960’s and gave up on last names since last names were indicative of caste and class.

Undergraduate School and Major: PSG College of Technology, (Integrated) M.Sc. in Software Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Teach For India, (Fellowship Selection) Monitoring & Evaluation Manager

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Oxford Saïd’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? It was definitely the focus on impact and ethics. I remember attending a few events from the centres of Responsible Business (Economics of Mutuality webinars) and Corporate Reputation (R:ETRO seminars), and of course the Skoll Centre (Impact Lab Open Series), which increased my confidence about my personal ‘fit’ with the school’s values and focus. Even so, something that I have been personally taken with on the actual programme is how impact remains an underlying theme, even in core business modules such as Accounting. I have derived so much value from the practitioner-led cases in the Finance Lab and moderated debriefs of tech-for-good startups in the Creative Destruction Lab, which has really challenged my thinking around different ways of impact, some potentially even more effective than the ways I had personally engaged with before coming to Oxford.

What is the most “Oxford” thing you have done so far as a full-time MBA student? Meeting modern-day hero and vaccinologist Prof. Sarah Dame Gilbert! Between attending live events with such incredible real-life thinkers and leaders, and chasing Harry Potter-esque and other literary locations, Oxford has so much to offer, true to its reputation as the ‘dreaming spires’.

Oxford is known as a place where world collides, be it in the classroom or the dining hall. What has been the most interesting interaction you’ve had so far as an Oxford MBA student? Too many to even begin to answer that question! Although I am personally very deeply grateful for the Future of Business podcast that is helping us record some of those conversations. My personal favorite episode so far is the one with our classmate and sustainable food systems expert, Melissa Benn, where she spoke to us about the future of artificial meat. I for one have never had a more exciting dinner conversation!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I automated some parts of my data analytics role in Teach For India. It helped me (i) free up time to pursue more passion projects on the job and otherwise; (ii) arrive at much deeper insights than I was originally capable of, and at a much better speed, which allowed for more meaningful contribution and collaboration; and (iii) feel a sense of pride and confidence in my personal antifragility since I did embark on it as a way to deliver outcomes when I was going through a personal crisis.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? That’s a challenging question. That’s not only because we’re only halfway through the programme and I really hope I do more, but also because a lot of the accomplishments so far have also been fairly personal and intangible which have allowed me to shape up and show up as a better leader and human. Although the keynote on the future of performance measurement I got to give at the Economics of Mutuality Conference this year stands out, it felt even more of an accomplishment because it was surreal to deliver it having watched previous year conferences as an aspirant and admit. 

What other MBA programs did you apply to? INSEAD and Cambridge.

What has been the biggest epiphany you’ve gained about yourself or the world since you started your MBA program? Things (and people) come together more often and more gloriously than they fall apart. In other words, when you can, do believe in unicorns and rainbows – they may not let you down half as much as you would expect them to, at least not in today’s world where everyone is chasing unicorns (as in innovation) and rainbows (as in diversity).

DON’T MISS: MEET OXFORD SAÏD’S MBA CLASS OF 2022