Alok Tandon - MBA 2009

This is my first time ever blogging, believe it or not.  So far so good...

My name is Alok Tandon, and I am a first year Full-Time MBA student at Goizueta.  If you are actually reading this, you must be deciding whether Goizueta is right for you.  All I can say to you is come visit the school and get to know us, especially on a Thursday when we have kegs in the courtyard.

I'll start this first blog of the week with a bit of my background.  Tomorrow, I will have more to talk about in terms of student life - (we have student government elections, and I am running for "social chair").

I graduated from Emory College in 2001 with a BA in Computer Science.  I was recruited to join the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) which stationed me in three major missions involving - Kosovo, Iraq and Burundi.  In all, I've had the amazing opportunity to work in 16 countries, gaining important IT and Operations experience.  

In 2005, I decided to move on from war-torn environments and invested in a small startup media company in Bangalore, India.Using those skills as a base, I learned key accounting, finance knowledge while serving as both the COO and CFO for Soul City Publications in India.  Soul City is a start-up music and lifestyle media company, which produces high end fashion and music magazines, most notably, RAVE Magazine and KARMIC.

I directed and managed a turnaround strategy for the company by working with and restructuring each department, instituting critical business processes, and leading team efforts to innovatively expand visibility and increase profitability.

Together, my team and I analyzed financial and operational factors that were contributing to negative cash flow and implemented a targeted distribution and circulation strategy that expanded the company’s subscriber base by 40%.  Completing my objectives and having set the framework for expansion, I decided to return to Emory to further my education in finance and accounting in order to compliment my strong general management skill set as I try to enter the Venture Capital world.

I'm really happy I came back to Emory for my MBA, because I felt like it was coming full circle in terms of my academic education leading into my work experience half a world away, and coming back home to collect my bearings as I make the transition into a new career path.

Tomorrow, I will write about student life at school and in Atlanta.

-alok