Sneha Dasgupta is fired up. As a first-year MBA at the University of Michigan’s Ross School and a Forté Fellow, Sneha has tackled a healthcare start-up, pitched at a conference in Houston, and landed an upcoming summer internship at Kearney. After sharpening her goals in Forté’s MBA Takeoff, Sneha walked into the 2025 MBA Leadership Conference feeling prepared and ready to make the most of every moment. She now calls it “one of the highlights of my MBA experience and of 2025.”
Pivoting Comes Naturally
Sneha’s interest in business started early. Her father, a businessman from humble beginnings in Mumbai, whose career, after graduating from the prestigious London Business School, led them to London, Hong Kong, and Singapore. “My parents made sure I had a global education and broad experience, so my father’s career influenced my choice of career,” she explains.
At the University of Toronto, Sneha studied math and statistics and initially set her sights on a career as a data scientist. But a fintech internship made something clear: “I am too social a person to sit behind a desk all day.”
After pivoting to consulting at PwC, Sneha initially worked in cyber security and risk consulting roles, before craving “something more expansive.”
A move into corporate innovation changed her trajectory – lighting a fire for entrepreneurship, investments and, ultimately, an MBA.
MBA Leadership Conference: Where Preparation Pays Off
After MBA Takeoff, Sneha arrived at the 2025 MBA Leadership Conference with a plan: study the agenda, review the speakers and panelists, prep an elevator speech and polish her resume.
That preparation paid off.
Sneha credits the Conference with “sparking the fire for a lot of things I did when I started the MBA,” she explains. Attending an invite-only dinner during the Conference hosted by Kearney led to a summer internship. “I jibed so well at the Kearney dinner,” she says. “It was an intimate gathering for 20 attendees, and it was very pivotal to landing my internship.” Through the experience, Sneha realized that Kearney was a place where she felt a strong cultural fit.
But it wasn’t just good luck that landed her the internship – it was also strategy. “There are so many cool things happening at the Conference,” she explains, “that it would’ve been challenging to decide on the spot” which events to attend.
Through the experience, Sneha realized that Kearney was a place where she felt a strong cultural fit."
MBA Experience: Be Open
Sneha’s approach to the Conference applies to her MBA journey, too: prepare, but stay open.
“Intentionality has made the biggest difference in my b-school experience,” she says. She recommends showing up to as many events as possible to meet new people and being open to possibilities, which “allows you to learn more about yourself,” she says.
Her biggest networking advice? Focusing on authenticity and not what you can get from someone else. “People who treat relationships transactionally close themselves off from opportunities,” she says.
Looking Ahead
Sneha is already thinking ahead (of course she is). “In the short term, I see myself working in venture capital and private equity in operations to help businesses grow,” she says. “In the long term, I would like to build my own fund and invest in different businesses, using my MBA connections.”
And many of those connections have roots at Forté’s 2025 MBA Leadership Conference, where her network began to take shape.
An amazing MBA experience starts with Forté. If you’re an incoming MBA student, these programs and events are designed to help you get ready for business school, connect with companies and peers, and build your network before classes begin.
MBA Takeoff: a six-week virtual program to facilitate the transition to business school.
MBA Financial Services Fast Track Conference: a conference providing early access to finance careers and recruiters.
MBA Leadership Conference: the must-attend event of the year, with hundreds of incoming MBAs from leading business schools and early access to recruiters across industries.
