Hometown: San Francisco Bay Area
Title: Vice President, Financial Services
Company: comScore
Barkha Saxena
My Story About Me
It seems like a cliché, but the importance of the network is real.
Talking with current and former students is one of the best ways to get to know a program. While most prospective students connect with current students through the admissions office, Barkha Saxena got the inside scoop on Wharton from a personal source: her husband. Saxena’s husband attended Wharton’s full-time program, and his positive experience influenced her decision to attend.
As an MBA alum, Saxena’s husband knew first-hand the intensity of the program, and his empathy proved especially important when they had their first child while she was a student. Saxena managed this major life change “by keeping a positive outlook and having people around who can encourage you when you feel down.” She says that outside help and support is vital when you participate in an executive MBA program, even more so when you take on the challenge of becoming a new mom. Fortunately, she found support all around -- from family, friends and work, as well as from the Wharton community.
Saxena talks about surviving the program as a new mom, building support networks and learning from the top minds in business.
The full-time vs. the executive program
I didn’t want to go to the full-time program because I was doing well in my job and did not want to take 2 years break. Exec MBA was a better fit for me. One of the biggest differences between the programs is the age difference. Even the level of conversation is different — class discussions in the executive program are more grounded and less hypothetical, as students immediately apply their classroom learning at work.. When you are on the ground, as MBA Exec students are, real-world work issues are more challenging than they seem in cases. That was a big advantage.
There are definite differences in the program, and figuring out which one is right for you depends upon where you are in your career, your personal and professional goals, level of extra-curricular engagement you want and if you are ready to take on full-time school along with full-time work. Your life during the WEMBA program is very challenging.
Returning to school
I was a senior manager for analytic sales at FICO when I started at Wharton. I knew I would be moving into a director role soon, and that my responsibilities were going to change significantly. It was clear to me that if I got a comprehensive business education, it would not only help me in the next stage of my career, but also in my long-term development. My goal was to stay in analytics, but move to a position where I’m building new markets (and that’s exactly what I'm doing in my current job). Building a new market is an entrepreneurial endeavor, and so I needed to know how to build a business.
An inside perspective on the program
My husband did the full-time MBA program at Wharton, so I was exposed to the school even before I started here. I sat in on some classes and was very impressed with the professors. It was easy to see that Wharton was a finance-focused school, and since I’m an analytical, numbers person, that appealed to me. I knew that professors even took an analytical approach to teaching classes like strategy and management. It became pretty clear that Wharton was the school for me.
The Wharton brand in India
I’m from India and so is my husband, and we are looking to move back some day. Wharton is a big name in India. In the United States, people talk about Wharton, Harvard and Stanford, but when you go to India, it’s primarily Wharton. The biggest businesses and top levels are filled with Wharton grads. The Wharton brand and the network will help us when we are there.
The Wharton network in action
Something I learned after getting into Wharton is that it’s easy to find alums in top-tier positions in every sector. And in the past two years, the alums I’ve contacted have been very responsive to me. It seems like a cliché, but the importance of the network is real. I’ve come across many career opportunities at different companies because of it. My husband also has benefited from the network, tapping into it when he started his own company.
Building a support network
How do you find the perfect work-life balance? That’s the million-dollar question. I’m still trying to figure out how I survived. I had my first baby when I was in the program, which presented a unique challenge. Most important is having support from your family. Since my husband went through the full-time program, he understood how intense it was. I was at an advantage there. I also got help from my mother-in-law, who came from India to stay with us for about eight months. Family support is key.
I also had a lot of support at work. I still had to get my work done, but they allowed me a flexible schedule. It really comes down to communicating with all of the key stakeholders -- which for me were my family, the office and my clients. You have to make sure that they are not suffering because you are in the program. And you need to keep a positive outlook. If you get stressed out, that’s the end of it.
Balancing baby and school
Being in school when I was pregnant wasn’t that bad, but it got more challenging after the baby came. It was really important to keep a positive outlook and have positive people around me. There were times when I would think I should drop the term, and my mother-in-law would encourage me to push on and see how far I could get. I stuck with it, and graduated on time with good grades thanks to her.
Wharton was really supportive too. When I had the baby, they taped classes for me because I wasn’t physically ready to go back to class right away. They set up a mother’s room for me, and professors gave me extra time between classes so I that could pump. The biggest support I got was from my team members. I didn’t want any favors because I had a baby, and I didn’t want to do less than them, so we shifted the timing of the work. I did more work before the baby came, got assignments done in advance, and took a break after.
World-class professors
I know it sounds nerdy, but I really liked the academic part of the program. The professors were amazing, so accomplished. At times, I felt privileged to be sitting in the same room as them. Bulent Gultekin, who taught a finance course, is a good example. He was so accomplished -- he led the privitization of Turkey and many other countries, among other things -- but despite all those accomplishment he was so humble. A smart person doesn’t impress me until I see their humility. His last words to us in class were: “Be a shining a star, not a dark hole” – Meaning, spread your knowledge; help other people. It was a marvelous experience. I used to get goose bumps listening to his stories.
Communicating with your learning team across states
Despite being scattered geographically, my learning team had no communication problems. We got along very well and enjoyed working together. Everyone was smart. Everyone had strong work ethic and wanted to take on more work than others. We all had a lot of respect for each other. There is a mutual belief that all of us will be at the next level in our careers in the next five years.
Moving towards new horizons
I am already experiencing the benefits of the program, accelerating my career growth. I had already become Director during the program and now I am moving to the next level. My career goal in the near future was to look for new business development positions in the analytics area and that is where I am headed. Analytics has become such a hot thing, but people are just scratching the surface in terms of what can be done in many different sectors.
Advice to future applicants
Know what you are trying to get out of the MBA program. Once you are in it, it’s easy to get lost because schools like Wharton present you with so many opportunities. If you’re not focused, you can become overwhelmed. If you come with a set plan, you know which courses you are taking, which direction you are going, and how to build your network. The program goes by very fast, and having a set plan is important.
