Biography
In summer 2017, Raghav learned that the director-level position he held with his company was being moved to an international location. Though he had been thinking ahead about the right timing for an executive MBA, this event triggered a high-stakes decision.
Ultimately, he decided to stay in the U.S. and accelerate the plans for continuing his education. As he says, “Applying for an executive MBA while in between jobs was certainly one of my toughest financial decisions to date, but getting accepted at Goizueta Business School has been a rewarding and positive outcome.” Moreover, he credits the admission team evaluating his application for seeing beyond his employment status to analyzing the value he could bring to the class.
Two things especially sold Raghav on Goizueta: the curriculum and the diversity of the class. In addition to learning that the program’s comprehensive curriculum outpaced competitors, he also knew that support pillars such as the vibrant alumni network and Career Management Center (CMC) made it a clear choice. As far as his classmates, Raghav notes, “A very healthy mix of students from all major domains with varied areas of specialty and expertise really distinguishes Goizueta.”
He didn’t have to wait long for the results that come of choosing a Goizueta education. His own strong IT background — combined with what he had learned in the first semester related to strategy, organization behavior, and leadership — led to three job offers within a couple of months.
What he heard from one interviewer validated the Goizueta advantage. “Your skills and capabilities,” he said, “are there to see on your resume, but strategic thinking and leadership are qualities that can only be evaluated in person.” Says Raghav, “All three offers were totally different in terms of the roles and compensation, but what they had in common was that all the hiring organizations saw the combined value of my previous experience and the executive level education that I am receiving from Goizueta.”
With those job offers in hand, Raghav headed straight to the CMC to talk it over with a career adviser. Her input, in Raghav’s view, “was crucial in making the right choice.” His current position as an executive consultant with Change Healthcare reports to a senior vice president. Last spring, McKesson Corporation — a health care services and IT company — and Change Healthcare — a provider of software and analytics— agreed to form a new health care IT company under the name Change Healthcare. Raghav’s role is on Change Healthcare’s IT Strategy and Enterprise Resource Planning Migration Team.
Perhaps experiencing the flux of leaving a job made him a philosopher; perhaps he always was. In any event, Raghav has inspiring plans for how he will use the areas of focus of the program to create a deeply satisfying second phase of his career.
“By the end of the program,” he pledges, “I want to strengthen my brand of being a leader who always maintains a sphere of positive influence rather than one of control. If you think about it, in an average working life of about 40 years, how many of those days do we remember? If they are few, it means we had a long career but not a great one.
“With my Executive MBA from Goizueta, my goal is to make every day of my career a great day not just for myself but for everyone associated with me. Humbly and with courage, I intend to lead my organization to an exciting future by leveraging the collective genius of all team members.”