While the school prepared for the two launches of The Campaign for INSEAD: A Force for Good, four students prepared for the moment they will address over 700 alumni about why they chose INSEAD.
Meet Tina Verma, Ian Braithwaite, Pranjal Kalra and Madelynne Wager, all MBA’18D, and each a force to be reckoned with.
Tina Verma, Ian Braithwaite, Pranjal Kalra and Madelynne Wager delivering their speech at the Campaign Launch
When we were given the difficult task of choosing four student speakers for our Asia and Europe launches, we looked for students who represented one of INSEAD’s biggest strengths: diversity. Not just through nationality but also through their choices of career and their journey to INSEAD and beyond. So, we found ourselves listening to a consultant, a doctor, an entrepreneur and a CEO from United Arab Emirates, United States of America, India and the United Kingdom.
We asked them to tell the audience, “Why INSEAD?”
Madelynne Wager, Women’s Scholar graduating in December 2018 was the CEO of Brightest Young Minds, a South African NPC that mobilises Africa’s most entrepreneurial young leaders to systematically address development challenges. She was recognised by the St. Gallen Symposium as the Global Leader of Tomorrow and was also one of two students at our Singapore launch in Gardens by the Bay. “In some way, I was born for INSEAD. Although – it might not have looked like that at first glance.” Growing up in Greenville, Michigan, Wager’s family was part of an international exchange programme. “I had the bizarre luck of growing up in an environment much like INSEAD. Having a meaningful connection with so-called ‘foreigners’ allowed me to recognise that we need to make the economy work better for the people. I came to INSEAD because I knew that this idea would draw together people like me. Especially in the face of technological displacement and growing and more visible income inequality,” she said.
“As you all know, the world of medicine is changing around us. Faster than we can even appreciate.” Dr. Ian Braithwaite said. Class valedictorian for MBA’18D, Braithwaite has experience spanning across ENT surgery, emergency medicine, private equity, consulting and entrepreneurship. He spoke at the Château de Fontainebleau during the Fontainebleau launch about his experiences, “The sheer pace of innovation is as inspiring as it is daunting. As I worked, I realised that the ground under my feet was shifting. That with innovation, traditional ways of providing care will no longer be fit for purpose.” Ian believes the era of paternalistic physician-patient relationships are gone and it is now time to embrace this change and bring in new ways of working. “It is easy to succumb to the magnitude of the complexity of the problems that we face, but I came to INSEAD, because we want to be formative in this change, not passengers on the journey.”
“Most people come to INSEAD to learn more about business. I came to INSEAD to learn more about myself,” Pranjal Kalra, Vice President of the Private Equity Club at INSEAD leading initiatives including the Annual IPEC Conference and former consultant at Bain & Company, spoke at our Singapore launch about the reason he chose INSEAD. “At INSEAD, I have learnt the right skills to equip me in my new endeavours. Everything here has contributed to my confidence and I am grateful for that. My experiences at INSEAD have shown me that the world is bigger than the one I grew up in, but not as big as the one I want to impact.”
“Whilst at INSEAD, I have built a business in Africa where we’re providing electronics of high quality at a fair price that creates real value on every level for consumers,” said Tina Verma. Vice President of the Entrepreneurship, Energy and Global Leadership Clubs at INSEAD, she was recognised as part of the Top 35 Under 35 Successful Young Entrepreneurs. She addressed the audience at the Château de Fontainebleau, “As I embark on a new journey after the MBA programme, I look forward to taking the values instilled in me to creating values in the better world of tomorrow.”
“I look forward to 30-years’ time,” Braithwaite told the audience, “To being older, grey haired and significantly fatter. And to be leafing through the Financial Times and to see the names of my classmates at the head of the organisations that are driving these changes. Because I will know that these are not only the sharpest business minds, but also that INSEAD has instilled in all of us a greater purpose.”
We look forward to following these students as they go out into the world and champion business as a force for good.
