Women In Business: The CUHK MBA Mixing Magic With Management Consulting In Hong Kong
Media Coverage by BusinessBecause:
There’s more to Rajani Nair than meets the eye.
On one hand, she’s a career-driven businesswoman, pursuing an MBA at Hong Kong’s CUHK Business School after five years blazing a trail in India’s male-dominated car-making industry.
On the other, she’s a trained magician. In her native India, she’s performed conjuring tricks and illusions over 20 stage performances and on live TV. She’s also a celebrated artist; her watercolor paintings recognized nationally and winning over 250 prizes in state and district level competitions.
Rajani is a woman of many talents. But for now, her focus is business. At Indian car-manufacturing giant Tata Motors, she led a team of engineers and drove technological development, even securing a patent for one of her innovations.
Determined to take her career to the global stage, she relocated to Hong Kong for her MBA, profiting from CUHK’s Women in Business Scholarship which awards 50% off tuition fees for high-potential female business leaders.
Rajani has founded a 60-strong consulting club at CUHK and wants to go into management consulting in Asia when she graduates next year. She’s well placed to do so. 96% of CUHK MBA grads are employed within 3 months of graduation, 87% within Asia. And CUHK’s top consulting employers include McKinsey, Bain & Co and Accenture.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m looking for a career in management consulting after my MBA. I’m driven by the desire to make an impact and I see myself as a business leader that can contribute to society.
I still do magic tricks today, but haven’t given any stage performance in the past years. I might consider doing a stage show for my MBA colleagues if I can find enough time to practice!
How has your experience in magic prepared you for a career in business?
Learning magic helped me develop my personality, confidence, and my ability to react spontaneously to unforeseen situations.
With magic, you influence the minds of your audience to believe in the idea of the reality projected before them. And stage shows gave me a real platform to practice influence; to be in control and gather the attention of a crowd.
Have you ever had a magic trick go wrong?
With magic there is always the risk of your trick failing unexpectedly. In one trick, I was supposed to magically create whatever a person from the audience chose from a hotel menu, which included anything from drinks to dishes needing hours of preparation time.
I was already prepared with what I wanted to force the person to choose. Unfortunately, the trick failed and the person opted for beer instead of milk. It was a funny experience and I had to convince the person to choose something else from the menu, explaining the negative side effects of alcohol!
Why did you decide to pursue an MBA at CUHK?
After five years at Tata Motors, I could sense my career taking a turn into a managerial role and I felt the need to broaden my horizons, gain global exposure and business knowledge. I found Hong Kong particularly interesting for its significance as the trade gateway to China.
CUHK stood out because of its reputation, ranking and the generous scholarships on offer. And the friendly admissions staff supported me throughout the application process. The program met all my expectations and I went for it.
What should applicants think about when deciding to do an MBA?
Have complete clarity in your goals before you decide to do an MBA. Knowing who you are in present and who you want to be in future will help you make the right choice of business school, and get the most out of the program.
What makes Hong Kong an attractive location for MBAs?
The open and welcoming culture of Hong Kong has been very helpful. In India, it’s hard to conceive the idea of meeting up with unknown people in your field, sharing your ideas and learning from their experience, but it’s quite normal to do so in Hong Kong.
Plus, Hong Kong has a more active lifestyle. Surrounded by hills and natural beauty, there’s lots to explore and lots of activities to engage in.
How have you profited from your MBA experience so far?
It’s been an amazing experience! The MBA gives me opportunities to test my leadership skills and create greater awareness of my strengths and weakness.
I’m also benefitting a lot from the multicultural student community. We share, learn and benefit from each other’s experiences. And we understand how to work effectively as a team.
Media: BusinessBecause
Section: News/ MBA Hong Kong
Date published: October 13, 2016