"I graduated from Stanford University in 2003 with a BS in Computer Science. I minored in Dance and Social and Cultural Anthropology. Dance has continued to play a major role in my life. While I was at Stanford, working closely with the Dance and Anthropology departments, I organized and taught the first university course on Indian Classical dance to thirty students. As a result, this course was formally included in the University’s dance curriculum.

After completing my undergraduate studies at Stanford, I joined ID Analytics, a company focused on identity theft prevention. I collaborated with a team of modelers to create analytics-based software and implemented intricate algorithms that created a detailed picture of a person’s identity from their “data footprints” throughout the economy.

After spending nearly two years at ID Analytics, I joined Global-Analytics, a small startup based in California with back-end operations in India. Global-Analytics provides predictive analytics and risk management solutions to clients across many industries. I was drawn to the daunting, yet exciting prospect of working with a small global startup that offered unique leadership opportunities.

My work has been integral to the growth of Global-Analytics on many levels. Within six months of joining, I was assigned as primary project manager on our largest client, Hewitt Associates. My projects soon generated over 50% of the company’s revenue. Using Hewitt’s massive database of human resources data, we developed human capital analytic models to predict the impact of people-related decisions on shareholder value. Human resources are often the most expensive resources, yet until now, companies had no effective way of building rigorous business cases around this area of spending. I enjoyed using these analytical insights to train and mentor my team in India.

My cross-cultural and management experiences equipped me to tackle the challenges of virtually managing a team more than 10,000 miles away. Carefully examining the shortcomings in our organization, I created detailed procedures enabling our company to operate in an efficient manner globally. I was responsible for setting up the company’s project management process and training junior managers in the US and India as the company grew from 20 people to the current headcount of 120.

As my career progressed, I also continued to develop my Odissi skills, paving the way for the ubiquitous role it plays in my life today. I interacted with a diverse group of artists, from representing North America at the International Odissi festival in Malaysia, to teaching Ricky Martin Odissi movements prior to his world tour, to completing a thirty-city US tour with the Orissa Dance Academy of India. These experiences have nurtured my ability to effectively interact with individuals from different backgrounds and provided me with insight on the impact an individual can have on a single person, collective audience, or entire community.

About six months ago, I was assigned full responsibility for the company’s largest initiative – the launch of a consumer lending company based in the UK. My responsibilities as a manager increased tremendously as I coordinated all aspects of the project, including legal and regulatory issues, licensing, compliance, vendor selection, marketing, technical infrastructure and analytics. Initially, the sheer number of moving parts, diverse set of risks and aggressive timeline were daunting. However, with precise organization, intense focus on high-priority tasks and continuous attention to critical path items, we overcame numerous barriers and launched on time."