Hi! There is immense potential for story shaping in your profile. The highlight of your profile, however, is your international experience. In the post-Covid scenario, this is a hard one to beat for non-consulting applicants. Pre-MBA experience in supply chain and manufacturing operations is considered top-tier if the goal is to switch to consulting or a function that significantly adds to your foundation in business-building fundamentals (supply chain in your case). You have a very strong chance of making it to almost all schools with the right strategy, except maybe HWS (I wish you had a higher score, though). I had a pretty similar background (driving global manufacturing and supply chain operations in automotive auxiliary → INSEAD → scaling a retail platform), so feel free to reach out. I recently mentored someone who got into IESE with a supply chain/sourcing consulting background in FMCG and extensive work experience in North Africa, and he picked applying to IESE over INSEAD. Happy to throw more light.


Best wishes
Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)
Founder, MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanchal-sahni-83b00819/ |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/| Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- [email protected]­

Hi
Priyanka here from ARINGO. Speaking about your profile, you have a atrong and well-rounded profile, especially with your global exposure and clear impact. Your GPA from a top US engineering school + 695 GMAT are solid.

Your story is actually quite interesting, the MENA/Africa consumer goods + distribution angle is differentiated and credible, especially since you’ve already started exploring the space. Just make sure your short-term goal is sharper to clearly connect the dots.

I’d be happy to offer you a free profile review for your target programs to see where you stand and how to boost your chances, happy to help!
No pressure, no strings - just helpful insights on where you stand and how you can strengthen your chances.

Feel free to connect- Click here
You can also email me at: [email protected]
Good Luck!

Thanks for sharing your profile, @VeryWax. This is a thoughtful, well-built profile with a real upward trajectory, and, importantly, it’s not in the typical Indian IT/consulting bucket, which already gives you an edge. That said, you’re still competing in one of the most competitive demographics globally, so execution and positioning will matter a lot.

What’s working for you:
1. Strong, credible career progression- Cummins Inc > Fortune 500 brand, promotion in ~2 years, and geographic mobility (US > UK). This signals: high potential and adaptability.

2. Real operational impact- $10–20M initiative, 60% cost reduction, and Tariff + supply chain work. This is EXACTLY what schools want, but most applicants lack: Tangible and measurable impact.

3. Clear emerging markets + distribution angle- Your long-term goal is actually quite a strong cross-border platform in MENA/Africa for regulated goods. This is specific geography, a clear business model direction, and ties to your background (Middle East exposure).

Risks:
1. GMAT (important for your demographic)- 695 FE is good (but for Indian male engineers targeting M7, it might be a soft weakness (for some), not fatal)
2. Leadership depth (main gap)- Your experience is strong technically, but adcoms will ask, “Where is the PEOPLE leadership?” Managing teams? Influencing senior stakeholders? Driving org-level change?
3. Extracurriculars- SWE fundraising is good, but limited scale and a limited ownership narrative. For M7, you need one strong spike outside work.
4. The short-term goal is unclear. You said: “Commercial strategy/brand /RTM role in FMCG.” This is logical but too generic.
Your long-term goal Build cross-border distribution platform for regulated goods (alcohol > premium categories). This is actually very differentiated IF executed well. Why? Regulated goods > barrier to entry | Emerging markets > growth narrative | Cross-border > complex ops (fits your background).

This is much better than the typical “I want to work in consulting/FMCG.” Make it more investor/operator-like instead of “Build a platform.” Say, “Build a compliant, asset-light distribution and brand scaling platform for premium regulated goods in fragmented MENA/Africa markets, solving X inefficiency.”

Add- What inefficiency exists? Why are you uniquely positioned?

Fix your short-term goal. You need precision and credibility. You can give a thought to these versions:
1. Join a global beverage alcohol company (example Diageo/AB InBev) in a commercial strategy/route-to-market/general management role focused on emerging markets.

2. Join a strategy/operations role in a consumer-focused consulting or internal strategy team focused on distribution and market expansion. Show skill gap > MBA fills it > role bridges to long-term.

Questions for you:
Have you directly managed people or teams?
Any international leadership challenges/conflicts you handled?
Why specifically alcohol / regulated goods? (personal angle?)
Any family business/exposure to trade/distribution?
Would you be open to EU/Middle East post-MBA roles?
Can you scale your current industry exposure into something tangible (pilot, deal, partnership)?

We’d love to learn more about your academic background, extracurricular activities, work experience, and personal journey so that we can provide a tailored profile evaluation and an honest school assessment. Feel free to book an evaluation session.

Cheers!
Shantanu Sharma, INSEAD Alumnus
Founder and Admissions Consultant, MBA and Beyond

Good ingredients that could be packaged well. Be aware that should you be considering working in the FMCG domain in the USA immediately post-MBA, that is quite unlikely to happen. Hardly any FMCG firm hires/sponsors internationals in the USA. And you cannot get this career part of your career narrative wrong.
It will be crucial for you to paint the bridge that connects your past with the need for an MBA education and the why behind your ST and LT goals. Supply chains and failed experiences from your past will be great stories to develop.
If you see value in my supply chain and FMCG/consumer background of over three decades of career (incl. 10+ years in the ME), coupled with being a double MBA (India and the UK), I'm happy to speak.
- Dee
MBA admissions consultant and management consultant | E: [email protected]