LBS MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 1
LBS MBA Essay 1: What are your post-MBA goals and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programme contribute towards these? (500 words)
I have a ten-year career in sales and marketing within the EdTech and SaaS sectors. I have successfully led marketing initiatives across India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe. From driving revenue and spearheading marketing strategies to managing international expansions, I have consistently taken on challenges that pushed my leadership abilities.
I studied chemical engineering but found my passion in sales and marketing. I’ve been successful in growing businesses and leading teams, but I need formal training in business management to take the next step in my career. For example, most recently, while consulting for EdTech firms in the UK, I dealt with difficult business challenges that revealed areas where I need to improve in leading businesses and diverse teams.
Post MBA, my short-term goal is to continue growing in the sales and marketing domain and lead teams at fast-growing Ed-tech or tech startups like Revolut, dilerveroo, Multiverse. In the long term, I aspire to transition into a senior leadership role, such as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) or Vice President of Marketing at big tech companies.
However, in order to break through the glass ceiling and accelerate my career, I need to strengthen my business and leadership skills with an MBA. After research and discussions with LBS alumni, I am confident that the LBS’s flexible curriculum and electives are an ideal program for me to enhance my skills. From Term 2, I can tailor my learning to address specific skill gaps. The “Marketing Planning under Competition” course will equip me with essential strategies for emerging and mature markets. Courses like “Leading Teams and Organizations” and “Advanced Marketing Strategy” will enhance my ability to manage large teams and drive global revenue effectively.
Outside the classroom, The São Paulo experience can help me learn how to solve key business problems in the startup ecosystem while also showing how effective teamwork can quickly make a positive impact on growing businesses. At the same time, LondonCAP will allow me to engage and network with dynamic London-based tech companies. Through this, I’ll extend my professional network and solidify existing relationships within the tech industry, which will help me gain firsthand experience in the UK market. I am also excited to contribute to the Social Impact Club and Women in Business Club, bringing my insights into building socially responsible businesses while learning from peers.
Additionally, London’s status as a global business and technology hub provides unparalleled access to industry leaders and diverse business opportunities. I aim to build a career in the UK, and the strong alumni network and location of LBS will help me achieve my long-term ambition.
In conclusion, the LBS MBA will provide the knowledge, leadership development, and global exposure necessary to achieve my goals. With my background in sales and marketing, combined with the advanced education from LBS, I am confident in my ability to transition into a senior leadership role and drive global business success.
LBS MBA Essay 2: What makes you unique? 200 words
In school, I struggled to fit in, which made it hard to make friends and left me feeling isolated and underconfident. In college, I embarked on an entrepreneurial journey and co-founded Falcon, a student-led magazine designed to foster a sense of community among high school students.
At its peak, we were publishing over 10,000 copies every two weeks, and I built a team of 15 members to support editorial, design, and marketing.
Falcon provided a platform where students could actively contribute their ideas and stories, and we ensured that the magazine reflected diverse perspectives. I partnered with sponsors like Madhya Pradesh Tourism and Tata Motors, expanding our reach. Many students from top schools in the city eagerly submitted their work, allowing this two-way engagement to bridge the gap between readers and writers.
Additionally, I taught entrepreneurship in schools, offered internships, and supported underprivileged children through community projects. This experience taught me the power of building inclusive communities. This ability to form meaningful connections and my adaptability has been central to my success in global sales and marketing.
I believe, what makes me unique is my ability to build inclusive communities and connect people through shared experiences.
LBS MBA Optional Essay: Is there any other information you believe the Admissions Committee should know about you and your application to London Business School.
Throughout my 10-year career, it may appear that I have changed companies frequently. However, these transitions have primarily been driven by relocations to different countries, motivated by my desire to work with a diverse range of EdTech companies, while also supporting my husband’s professional goals and ambitions.
I have recently completed my TOEFL exam on September 4th, with a reading score of 25 and a listening score of 28. I am currently awaiting my speaking and writing scores, which should be available within 3-4 days, and I will ensure that the school receives them promptly.
LBS MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients - 2
LBS MBA Essay 1: What are your post-MBA goals and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programme contribute towards these?
I have more than 5 years of experience in the automotive industry. I started my career as an engineer and over the last 3 years, I first transitioned into an engineering consulting role in the sales department, where I got interested in the business field and decided to move on to a key account manager role focused on business development.
While working with my current company, I have acquired deep industry knowledge and developed strong client handling skills and problem-solving skills. My recent experience on acquisition projects and strategic planning has given me a flavor for consulting job profiles. These involvements have given me a front row seat to see how fast the industry is changing and have highlighted the lack of my knowledge in business fundamentals. As an engineer who moved into a business role, I have a very realistic glass ceiling which I will hit very soon unless i upskill myself with business knowledge. Also to grow into any group level strategic leadership role, I have to enhance my leadership skill as well as to keep up with industry changes via an MBA.
After my MBA, in the short term, I want to use my engineering consulting and business development experience to transition into a strategic consulting role focused on the automotive sector. This will advance my long-term goal to lead a large automotive company and re-shape its business through this disruption era.
LBS’s highly flexible program setting can help me to build a solid theoretical as well as practical business knowledge foundation. I would love to focus on building the basics through term 1 and 2’s business core courses and then I plan to take electives “Strategic Innovation” and “Strategy Execution”, taught by prof. Markides who is the world’s foremost expert on strategy and innovation. These classes will help me gain the strategy and operational skills. practical consulting case study experience I would do the elective Londoncap.
I would also like to advance my soft skills by taking “Negotiation and Bargaining” and “Managing change”, which are highly recommended by alumni. I believe with my passion to learn and the immersive learning experience in LBS will catapult my business knowledge to the next level and prepare me well for my future success.
Besides the classroom learning, I look forward to taking advantage of LBS student clubs and on campus events. The consulting club can train me in the case cracking skills and provide networking opportunities with UK’s top consulting firms. I’m also looking forward to joining the Woman in business and Entrepreneurship club which will also be a key to broaden my network and help my leadership development in order to achieve my long-term goal.
Overall, I believe LBS is the perfect launching ground to translate my experience in the automotive industry on a larger scale. Combining with my post MBA consulting goal, I will be well positioned to achieve my long term vision of leading an automotive company and contribute to its growth story.
LBS MBA Essay 2: Tell us about your responsibilities. Describe your day-to-day role, details of any clients you work with/for, the level/title of the person you report to, the size of the budget for which you are directly responsible, and the number of people in your team. (400 words max)
I currently work as a key account manager for Frovia clean mobility US headquarter in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Forvia is one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers. The company has 150K employees from 150 countries worldwide.
I am part of the Stellantis customer business group of the clean mobility division. As a key account manager, I am in charge of business development and revenue growth for 4 Stellantis SUV and truck programs including their most popular vehicles in the US such as Grand Cheroke and Ram truck. The total annual revenue of my programs is over 90 million.
Each program core team consists of 7 cross functional members. I’m leading the coordination among teams from the USA, Mexico, and India. Our plants and R&D center are in Mexico and due to work meetings, I regularly travel to Mexico. Externally, I interact daily with Stellantis purchasing, costing and engineering for price negotiations, acquisition talks and other commercial related topics. These teams are mainly located in the USA, Germany and Spain.
My other main responsibility is to drive continuous revenue growth for the in-development program through all engineering requests initiated from customers. I developed the pricing strategy for all engineering works and negotiated with customers to achieve a price increase. In the past year, I have brought $6m revenue growth to my platform and achieved an average operating margin of 35%.
In addition, I’m also looking for commercial claim opportunities to improve cash flow. Last year, I successfully recovered $13M raw material increase from customer and developed a new material price policy with Stellantis to ensure Forvia does not lose margins due to the inflations
I report directly to the sales director. There are in total 21 people in my sales and program team. Although I don’t have direct reports, I’m fully responsible for the program profitability, representing the voice of the customer to guide and oversee the cross functional teams to deliver a profitable program. Last year, I helped to interview and on board 12 new hires as program functional leads in Forvia’s new R&D center located in Mexico.
LBS MBA Essay 3: Do you feel that your academic performance so far gives an accurate indication of your potential for success in the programme? If so, why? If not, why not? (No word limit)
Yes, I believe my academic performance so far gives an accurate indication of my potential for success in the program.
Both my GPA of (3.77) master’s degree and my GRE score (333, 94th percentile) give me confidence that I can succeed in LBS.
LBS MBA Essay 4: Please tell us your most significant international experiences to date. (100 words)
I have plenty of international experience. Natively, I am from China but I have studied and worked in the US for almost 14 years now and I have traveled to more than 20 countries for work and leisure.
I left my home country when I was 15 to study abroad in the USA. During college, I did one exchange student program in Australia and language courses in Munich. In my professional life, I’m leading the coordination among teams from the USA, Mexico, and India. Meanwhile, my customers are located in the USA, Germany, and Spain.
LBS MBA Essay 5: Tell us about your main interests and activities in your free time. (400 words)
I am an avid scuba diver, qualified for advanced open water and working towards a rescue diver certification. When I had my first diving experience in the outer reefs of the great barrier reef, I was exhilarated by the abundance of life surrounding me and the peacefulness under the water. Through scuba diving, I learned how to be mindful of myself, others and most importantly the environment. The advanced open water certification allows me to participate in ocean cleanup diving projects. After joining LBS, I hope to find a scuba diving club on campus and host ocean cleanup dives with the LBS peers who share a common interest in protecting oceans and improving the marine environment.
I love traveling and have traveled to 20+ countries so far. My passion for culture and history motivates me to immerse myself in the local community and offer something in return through community engagement. I often try to combine my travel with volunteer work. My most memorable volunteer experience is the Green Lion project in Sri Lanka. I helped to renovate temples in the mountain areas. While I worked alongside the locals to repaint and repair the old buildings, I learned more about Buddhism and local communities. My work in renovation can help the monks to have a more comfortable home.
Afterward, I went on to join Engineer Without Borders and participated in building a water distribution system for a small village in Guatemala. Its implementation allowed water to flow freely and fill a two-thousand-liter water tank in less than four hours. During my study abroad program in Australia, I volunteered at a turtle conservation center in Queensland to take care of rescued turtles and help them return to the ocean. A few more initiatives helped shape my view of the world. These diverse international experiences in harsh conditions also greatly forged my interpersonal and leadership skills.
When I am not traveling, I enjoy playing the piano at home after work to relieve stress. I started playing the piano when I was five years old. I was curious about the scales, harmonies, and anything else that went into a piece of music since the first encounter. The piano has led me to the music world and enriches my life experience.
I am an avid scuba diver, qualified for advanced open water and working towards a rescue diver certification. Through scuba diving, I learned how to be mindful of myself, others and most importantly the environment. After joining LBS, I hope to find a scuba diving club on campus and host ocean cleanup dives with peers who share a common interest in protecting oceans and improving the marine environment.
I love traveling and my passion for culture and history motivates me to immerse in the local community and offer something in return. I often combine my travel with volunteer work. My most memorable volunteer experience is the temple renovation project in Sri Lanka. While working alongside the locals to repaint and repair the old buildings, I learned more about Buddhism and local communities. My work in renovation provided the monks with a more comfortable home.
Afterward, I went on to join Engineer Without Borders and participated in building a water distribution system for a small village in Guatemala. Its implementation allowed water to flow freely and fill a two-thousand-liter water tank in less than four hours. During my study abroad program in Australia, I volunteered at a turtle conservation center in Queensland to take care of rescued turtles and help them return to the ocean. A few more initiatives helped shape my view of the world. These diverse international experiences in harsh conditions also greatly forged my interpersonal and leadership skills.
I enjoy playing the piano after work to relieve stress when I am not traveling. I started playing the piano when I was five years old. I was curious about the scales, harmonies, and anything else that went into a piece of music since the first encounter. The piano has led me to the music world and enriches my life experience.
LBS MBA Essay 6: We encourage applicants to take into consideration the impact of study on family and friends. Who have you discussed your plans with and what was the response (300 words)
Pursuing an MBA degree is a deliberate decision I have made with long time preparation. Forvia has a partnership with LBS and sent the management team to LBS campus for leadership courses. My mentor has participated in the program and also had an MBA degree from Warwick so I first discussed my MBA plan with him. He was well aware of my strengths and weaknesses and helped me transition from engineering to sales. After talking to him about my rationale of getting an MBA, he extremely supported me and highly recommended LBS for my MBA study. He also shared his LBS experience and gave me suggestions on what leadership courses I can take to complement my current skill sets.
Next, I communicated the idea of getting an MBA with my parents. They were surprised that I decided to go back to school and leave the USA. When I explained my dreams and my plans, they were convinced and fully supported me on my decision. They were very encouraging and offered their savings to fund my MBA.
In the end, I discussed it with my close friend who shared a similar background as me and leveraged a job in consulting after an MBA degree. She is completely on board with me that an MBA can help my career aspirations. She also offered me all the support she can such as sharing GRE study tips and suggestions on MBA applications. As she is working in London right now, she also helped me connect with other LBS alumni in her network.
LBS MBA Essay 7: If you know any London Business School Alumni or Students, please give their names, and graduating class and tell us how you know them. (300 words)
After I decided to pursue an MBA degree, I performed through school research to choose the best schools that can help me achieve my career aspirations. I have talked to a couple of alums from the LBS community.
I reached out to Connie Teng, one of the student ambassadors on the LBS webpage. Connie had a very similar career path to mine. She also worked in the automotive industry before MBA and started to work for BCG upon her MBA graduation. Connie shared her experience in LBS and gave me valuable advice on how the LBS MBA can help me to achieve my post MBA career goals. She highly encouraged me to be part of the consulting club where she benefited a lot from practicing case interviews with her case partners. She also suggested utilizing the block week course setting to maximize my opportunities to take part time jobs during the semester and explore different industries in London.
LBS MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 3
LBS MBA Essay 1: What are your post-MBA goals and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programmes contribute towards these?
I am a design professional with 8 years of diverse experience in the fashion, luxury & crafts industry. Post-MBA, in the short term, I plan to continue growing my career within the fashion & luxury industry only but would like to transition from an operational role of a designer to a more strategic & business management role with the likes of Zara or John Lewis.
During my extensive working experiences from the grassroots levels (with artisans, NGOs, craft-clusters) to working with leading global fashion brands like Zara and Marks and Spencers, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of the fashion and luxury design industry.
My role and client exposure has allowed me to acquire and develop good skills in identifying client needs, country-specific distinct design aesthetics, and strong interpersonal skills while dealing with international clients. I also lead a design team of 20 members who have helped refine my leadership and team management skills.
However, at this stage of my career, I have limited exposure or knowledge of critical business areas like strategy, finance, brand management, etc. I believe the lack of business knowledge and hands-on working experience in business management or strategic roles can limit my professional aspirations. Hence, after a detailed discussion with my mentors, and senior leaders in the industry, I believe an MBA would be the perfect program for me to upskills myself and grow my career further.
In 2019, while visiting London for a client meeting, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit LBS campus and interact with LBS students like Francisco Milan (MBA’20), Claire Blumenthal (MBA’20), and Yurika Takahashi (MBA’21) to name a few. I was thoroughly impressed by the feedback I received and since then I have been aspiring to pursue my MBA at LBS.
I think LBS’s customizable curriculum where I can select my course (Term 2 onwards) & choose electives in the field of my skill-gap areas is a perfect structure for me enhance my learning and skills in the classroom. Outside of the classroom, I believe the activities organized by Retail and Luxury Goods Club or the unique offering of Walpole Luxury Management programme can really help me gain a deeper understanding of the fashion and luxury industry from a business management perspective. As part of the Walpole network, I can utilise its initiatives & events to seek guidance from Walpole mentors, and classroom learnings from electives like Luxury Strategy & Strategic Innovation to broaden my knowledge about the fashion and luxury industry.
At LBS, events like Retail & Luxury Conference 2022, Women in Business Conferences, Design & Innovation Club events, can give me the opportunities to engage and expand my network with prominent LBS alumni and industry experts. Which I can later leverage into internship or job opportunities.
Overall, I am confident that with my past experience in the fashion industry, and learnings from LBS MBA experience I will be able to achieve my career goals and contribute significantly to raise the bar for learning at LBS for my diverse cohort of fellow MBA peers.
LBS MBA Essay 2: Tell us about your main interests and activities in your free time. (400 words max)
Coming from an arts & craft background, I indulge in activities that enhance my creativity and enrich the experiences of life. I play an Indian classical music instrument, Sitar, which helps me stay stress-free and provides a pathway to express my feelings in a subtle but creative manner.
Another activity I have consistently pursued since college is theatre & street-plays. I have performed alongside a few famous Indian theatre celebrities like Shabana Azmi & Irfan Khan. This activity has enhanced my cognitive & expressive abilities. The experience of performing live on-stage in front of large audiences taught me the importance of being prepared, increased my self-confidence tremendously, and transformed me into a more collaborative person.
Apart from performing theatre myself, I also volunteer for an NGO, Robinhood Army, through which I conduct art & theatre workshops (1-2 workshops/month) for underprivileged kids. I teach them painting & origami techniques for better creative visualization. I also involve them in role-plays & mono-acting sessions to improve their self-confidence. I volunteer for this activity as I believe art is an expression of mind & heart, which helps these kids build a positive outlook towards life and to let-go of their real-life hardships & struggles. These sessions help me to stay grounded, build empathy & remain aware of real-world problems.
Also, I have extensively participated in various outdoor sports activities in the last 15+ years. I played hockey during school days, learned & practised horse-riding, participated in multiple 100m, 200m & 400m running events in school, & ran seven half marathons to support various social causes. Such outdoor activities have helped me build stamina & develop strong will power. Moreover, the physical nature of these activities taught me an essential life-lesson that no matter how difficult a task appears in the beginning, perseverance helps achieve the goal.
Lastly, to sharpen my concentration, manage anxiety, I regularly practice ancient Indian Meditation and Yoga techniques. I am extremely fascinated by the profound vibration kriyas (techniques) and Sanskrit shlokas (verses), which not only soothes & relaxes the mind and body in a short period but also opens whole new energy to improve mind’s focus, productivity, clarity of thought, cerebral strength, etc.
LBS MBA Essay 3: We encourage applicants to take into consideration the impact of study on family and friends. Who have you discussed your plans with and what was the response? (300 words max)
I come from an erudite Indian family where education is heavily valued and encouraged Everyone in my family is a graduate of esteemed colleges in their respective fields. So, when I decided to pursue an MBA from London Business School, I knew that it is a big decision from the perspective of its potential impact on my family & personal life. I was sure that everyone would encourage me, but still, I have discussed my plans with everyone.
My husband has a settled business in India, and we live in a close-knitted joint family of 6-members. He extended his full support. If I get selected at LBS, we both are planning to relocate together to London, and he has already started exploring potential business expansion opportunities in the UK for his business.
When I explained my dreams & aspirations to other members of the family, they all were equally convinced and supportive. Right from the time, I started preparing for GMAT; the entire family has extended their full support by freeing me from all daily household chores & allowing me to focus on GMAT. My mother-in-law was so encouraging that she even offered her savings to help me fund my MBA.
After getting my GMAT score, I discussed my MBA plans with my mentors and current boss. They all were pleasantly surprised, wholeheartedly extended their support to write any recommendation letters if needed and helped me get connected with other LBS alum in their network.
LBS MBA Essay 4: If you know any London Business School Alumni or Students, please give their names, graduating class and tell us how you know them. (300 words max)
In Aug’19, I had the privilege to visit the LBS campus personally, and I can confidently say that the interactions with few current students then & the diverse culture vibrancy experience at LBS really inspired me to pursue my MBA from LBS.
This year, I interacted with more than 10 current students & LBS alumni to get focused insights about specific elements of the MBA programme. Collectively, through these interactions, I have built an amazing clarity about my prospective journey at LBS.
Some of my interactions with LBS alumni are:
ABC (MBA’20) and XYZ (MBA’21): I have quite similar career interests as Francisco and Yurika. When I spoke with Francisco, he generously guided me on how I can utilize the LBS network & RLG Club initiatives to make a career in the Retail & Luxury Goods industry. Yurika gave me detailed insights about post-MBA roles in the strategy/innovation domain of the luxury & fashion industry. She even shared details of her LondonCAP experience of working with John Lewis after knowing that I have worked with John Lewis in my current role. She also introduced me to relevant initiatives which are not yet available on the website like the collaboration with the Royal College of Arts for design innovation projects, etc.
I also connected with ABC and XYZ from the class of 2020. Mackie was the first person I contacted and she gave me step-by-step guidance on how to conduct my research to find relevant information about different Retail & Luxury initiatives at LBS. Claire also shared her experiences with the Walpole Luxury Management programme and provided insights into future career prospects for luxury and fashion industry aspirants.
Apart from these, I also had similar insightful conversations with Arunesh Kumar, Maria Vitória Moura and Charul Pant from the class of 2021.
LBS MBA Essay 5: Tell us about your responsibilities. Describe your day-to-day role, details of any clients you work with/for, the level/title of the person you report to, the size of the budget for which you are directly responsible and the number of people in your team. (400 words max)
I am working as a Senior Designer at Orient Craft in Delhi. Orient Craft is the No.1 apparel manufacturing export house in India, which employs 25,000+ people.
As a senior designer, I report directly to the owner/CEO of my company and lead a 20-member design team for women & kids wear design. My principal responsibility is to generate business opportunities from existing & new clients via pitching the latest clothing collections for upcoming seasons.
I manage approx. $25Mn worth of business and some of my prominent clients are Zara, Marks &Spencer, John Lewis, and Ann Taylor. I work regularly with top brands from different countries and I travel extensively to US & UK client offices for design collections showcase. As a senior designer, I pitch ideas to new clients; take care of sample development as per client briefs and sales order closures.
In the last couple of years, my achievements have resulted in adding 4 new European buyers (an additional $5Mn business) to our client pool. I have also delivered a 10+% revenue increase from managed existing clients; and a 15% cost reduction in the monthly sampling budget.
Under strategic leadership initiatives, I officiated a first-of-its-kind 4-member team to introduce fresh design concepts, using under-explored craft techniques. The initiative resulted in $2Mn of additional business orders within 6 months itself. Another initiative, sampling unit reengineering, helped my team to achieve a best-in-industry collection turnaround time of 6 days from initial brief to final showcase (25% reduction than before).
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LBS MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 4
LBS MBA Essay 1: What are your post-MBA goals and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programme contribute towards these?
I have more than eight years of experience in the data science domain. I have risen up to lead a team of 25 data scientists as the assistant vice president at loyalty rewards. Post-MBA, I would like to use my expertise in the data science domain coupled with a business degree to seek a leadership role in data science or Artificial Intelligence (AI) based product start-ups. In the long term, I aspire to start my own business in the same domain.
I started my career as a Business Analyst at Mu Sigma when Mu Sigma was a small data science startup. I witnessed Mu Sigma’s inspirational transformation from 200 to 2000 employees within 3 years. I learned important lessons about the type of work culture which makes an organization succeed. I collaborated with teams across 4 countries and worked for 4 Fortune 500 clients.
Working at an early stage start-up gave me leadership experience early in my career and later, I joined Loytly Rewardz as a Manager. As a manager here I learned about cross-functional dynamics and collaboration between functions like marketing, business, and technology and grew into a leadership role of assistant vice president reporting directly to the CEO. I took over this role when there was a management change in the organization and brought back stability to the 25-membered department while facing high employee attrition.
Now I am part of senior leadership at the company and I think apart from my technical skills my business acumen needs to be sharpened to grow further into leadership roles. Also, to fulfill my entrepreneurial aspirations, I need a stronger cross-functional understanding and business knowledge. I understand that an MBA will help bridge these gaps and hone my interpersonal skills to influence and negotiate.
Based on my research and interactions with alums and students, I believe that London Business School perfectly suits my aspirations. All the students I interacted with emphasized that LBS has an excellent focus on global business or entrepreneurship. I believe the Business Fundamentals core will strengthen my foundations in finance, marketing, and operations and programs like GLAM and the Leadership Launch sessions will give me an opportunity to fine-tune my leadership skills.
I really like the Entrepreneurship Summer School and the Enterprise 100 club which will provide an excellent opportunity to practically learn about entrepreneurship. Tailored courses can aid me in building relevant skills for entrepreneurship and a strong network with leading start-ups in the data science and AI domain.
Most importantly for me, London is the most suitable place to go for an education and relocate with my family because my husband works for a London Headquatered firm and can easily relocate to London.
Therefore, from a professional and personal perspective, LBS is a perfect fit for me to pursue my further education I am certain that an MBA at LBS will help me fulfill my aspirations while I add value to the LBS community through my leadership skills and domain/market knowledge.
LBS MBA Essay 2: Academic performance – Do you feel that your academic performance so far gives an accurate indication of your potential for success on the programme? If so, why? If not, why not?*
My GPA in my first four semesters was low due as it took time for me to adapt to staying away from family. It increased significantly in the last 2 years as I regained focus quickly. I graduated in the first division. My GMAT score of 760 is a fairer indication of my potential.
LBS MBA Essay 3: What’s your organization’s main area of activity?
Loylty Rewardz is India’s leading loyalty service provider with 200M consumers from 30 banks linked to 4K merchant store network through data-driven marketing partnerships on its unique loyalty platform which processes 2.5B transactions annually.
LBS MBA Essay 4: Tell us about your responsibilities. Describe your day-to-day role, details of any clients you work with/for, the level/title of the person you report to, the size of budget for which you are directly responsible and the number of people in your team. (400 words max)*
Loylty Rewardz runs India’s largest bank loyalty programs and offers data-driven marketing partnerships to Indian retailers, including some of the largest retail chains in the country. I head the 25 membered Data Science unit at Loylty Rewardz and report to the CEO. My unit is responsible for:
- Driving consumer engagement for 200M customers on the loyalty platform worth ~$2.6M annual revenue.
- Delivering insights, strategy and data science solutions to 20+ banks with 73% debit transaction share in India and 4K store retail network in 60 Indian cities.
- Creating data science products and business development for data science solutions to increase the organization’s revenue potential by 3X.
I am responsible for project management, team building, stakeholder management and overseeing BAU work in the team. I collaborate with the rest of the leadership team, sales teams across 6 cities to devise campaign strategy as per business objectives, propose new solutions for increasing the business of Loyalty Rewardz, and deliver analytical insights for our banking and retail clients. I am also responsible for resource planning, hiring and overseeing induction at all levels in my team. I was appreciated by the CEO for creating a comprehensive onboarding plan for new joiners in my team to help them understand the business, data and various technical skills.
My daily responsibilities include guiding the team leads in my unit on projects and BAU, mentoring and positively engaging key team members, stepping in and nudging the team in the right direction for critical / problem-zone deliverables and engaging stakeholders with meaningful business inputs for their requirements. I also contribute to key strategic initiatives of the organization like formulating client engagement calendar or re-modelling the loyalty platform. I am responsible for ideation, capability building and innovation in my team and conduct different workshops for improving problem-solving / data science skills in the team.
During my five year tenure at Loytly Rewardz, I have grown from a Manager to the VP – Chief Data Scientist, reporting directly to the CEO. I made significant contributions by scaling analytics delivery by 10X through the implementation of high-performance database, increasing timely delivery rate & accuracy of deliverables by 2X and building new revenue pipeline to increase revenue potential by 3X through data science.
LBS MBA Essay 5: Additional Information – Please tell us your most significant international experiences to date. (100 words max)*
I love to travel and explore new places and cultures. I have visited 14 countries in Eurasia with uniquely special memories and learnings about each country’s heritage from each trip. I spent 10 days in the UK visiting various sites including the historic city of Edinburgh, my favourite author Jane Austen Museum at Bath and the British museum with ancient artefacts in London. I was also very fascinated with the rich history and culture of Czech Republic during my recent trip.
Professionally, I have worked with Indian, British, American, Argentinian and Omani clients.. I have visited Oman on a business trip.
LBS MBA Essay 6: Tell us about your main interests and activities in your free time. (400 words max)*
I have been interested in writing since childhood. I participated in many public speaking and writing events. I received a Merit certificate in district-level essay writing and elocution competition during my early schooling. I also won the essay writing competition conducted at my college during B.Tech. I have been blogging for 5 years now. During my free time, I express my ideas through my personal blog which has around 350 page-views in a month. I often write about women empowerment and other themes which inspire me.
I like to see life as a continuum of learning. I have been learning Carnatic music for the last 1.5 years. I take classes thrice a week and practice before and after work, or when I put my daughters to sleep. Carnatic music is devotional. Learning and practising it has been a healing and spiritual experience for me.
I like to try new things and started learning freestyle dance since the last 1.5 years. I take classes every alternate day. I progressed from being a total novice to being able to do complicated 3 – 5 minute sequences. Dance is a great stress-buster and is helping me keep fit post-pregnancy. Involvement in art helped me give exclusive time for myself and recover from post-partum depression.
During the last 4 years, I have been advising my sister on her fashion start-up Young Trendz. They are a low-cost commercial clothing brand targeting a young audience. I have been advising them on expanding into new product lines, launching new brands, tying up with different sales channels and other strategic decisions. Young Trendz has grown quickly with an annual taxable turnover of 1.4M USD currently.
I would love to continue pursuing my interests at LBS through new experiences and dance to the tunes at ‘Tattoo’. I would be glad to extend my involvement in start-ups to be an active member of ‘Entrepreneurship’ and ‘Women in Business’ clubs.
LBS MBA Essay 7: We encourage applicants to take into consideration the impact of study on family and friends. Who have you discussed your plans with and what was the response? (300 words max)*
I have discussed my plans with my husband, parents and in-laws who have all been extremely supportive and encouraging of my future aspirations. My parents are very supportive of higher education. My husband is a lead equity analyst at Investec. Investec’s presence in London makes it easier for us to relocate to the UK as a family. Our parents have offered to help us take care of our twin daughters, either in UK or in India.
LBS MBA Essay 8: If you know any London Business School Alumni or Students, please give their names, graduating class and tell us how you know them. (300 words max)*
I have interacted with quite a few alumni and students from London Business School to understand the career prospects for me. The interactions have been very insightful. I have reached out to Mr Sourabh Dutta from the 2015 graduating class, who is a family friend to understand career prospects in London. I gained a good perspective on the MBA advantage at LBS compared to a one year program and about the power of London as a location as well as the networking advantage at LBS from him.
To understand prospects specific to tech. entrepreneurship, I interacted with Mr. Moe Moeen from the graduating class of 2018 who comes from an entrepreneurial background. He emphasized on the LBS focus on entrepreneurship.
I reached out to Ms. Yulia Lamonova who is a current student and a mother of two regarding childcare options in London.
I also interacted with Ms. Anjori Pasricha & Ms. Nikki Gupta who are current students interested in Tech career to understanding recruitment options for tech. / AI space. I have complete conviction that this is the right programme for me to help fulfil my career aspirations and am happy to have interacted with some of the versatile students from LBS.
