Profile review requested
Pre-MBA industry: Consulting
Post-MBA industry: Other
8 months ago
17 Sep 2025 11:09
I am a Consultant at Deloitte & Touché Middle East, based in the United Arab Emirates, with experience in financial risk management, regulatory consulting, and sustainability strategy. I have worked on high-impact engagements including designing target operating models and financial risk frameworks for a USD 40M merger of three Saudi government financing institutions, as well as developing ESG frameworks and multi-year sustainability roadmaps for regional commercial banks and digital banks. I was selected for Deloitte’s Empower Program in Paris, where I was recognized among the top 1% of consultants in the region for leadership and performance.
Previously, as a Business Analyst at Deloitte, I led regulatory gap assessments for the UAE’s first digital bank, working directly with C-suite stakeholders to strengthen compliance and risk governance. I also contributed to risk audits across major UAE banks, improving regulatory alignment and reducing potential gaps, and was recognized as a Climate Champion for my contributions to ESG initiatives. I began my journey at Deloitte as an intern, where I authored a white paper on climate risk in credit risk and supported the development of credit risk models including Expected Credit Loss frameworks. I also interned in product management at Skyber, where I worked on market research, agile delivery, and product roadmap development that improved execution efficiency.
I hold a B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (CGPA 8.44), where I was awarded Student of the Year for academic excellence, leadership, and community engagement. Alongside my academic journey, I have built strong leadership experience through Toastmasters International, where I became the youngest Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) in District 105. I have held multiple leadership roles including Area Director and VP Education, and have led initiatives such as youth public speaking programs for underprivileged students, club revitalization projects, and district-level training programs for over 200 participants.
Beyond work, I have mentored over 500 students in public speaking, leadership, and career development, and led sustainability and civic engagement initiatives including environmental drives and awareness campaigns. I have also served as Cadet Under Officer in the National Cadet Corps, where I trained 160 cadets in discipline, leadership, and field skills. Earlier, I served as Head of Student Council at Abu Dhabi Indian School, leading large-scale events and launching sustainability campaigns.
My achievements include being a TEDx speaker on resilience and growth mindset, a Youth Parliament speaker at the Karnataka State Assembly, a Global Young Leaders Conference delegate ranked 4th among 500 international leaders, and a recipient of the Sheikh Hamdan Award for Academic Excellence.
I am currently preparing for the GMAT Focus Edition and am scoring in the 695–785 range on practice tests.
I would appreciate feedback on my overall competitiveness, positioning, strengths, weaknesses, and the types of MBA programs where my profile would be most competitive.
I have always dreamed of Harvard , would love to have specific feedback for that.
What I particularly took away is that you have built a strong profile across multiple dimensions — impactful consulting work, excellent leadership credentials, and meaningful extracurriculars. Let me go through each:
Work experience: You have had an impactful career with good leadership experiences, career progression, achievements and recognition at the highest levels. The international work experience is much appreciated as that suggests your ability to work in global settings, adapt and navigate cultural differences. These attributes show leadership, which all b-schools, HBS in particular, desire in applicants. Now, what will matter in your essays is going beyond the ‘what’ you achieved and showing ‘how’ you influenced decisions, navigated ambiguity, or took calculated risks to achieve outcomes that empowered your client and organization.
Leadership: The Toastmasters experience, combined with the NCC and student council experience, will help in building a narrative that adds to your leadership at work. HBS in particular looks for consistent leadership and you have the material to build that.
In terms of b-schools, I wonder why you have added only one European program- HEC, which is no doubt a good school but LBS or INSEAD would be stronger fits given your international profile and consulting background; also they are more prestigious.
GMAT: A 695–785 practice range is too wide to plan around right now. Get that number pinned down first — it will shape the school list. If you can manage to take GMAT early, plan some applications for R1 instead of pushing all your applications to R2. I find it a little risky- in case it doesn’t work out in R2 your only option will be to apply next year. That said, the GMAT remains a key criterion and there would be no point applying with a sub-par score.
Before I can suggest a fuller target list, I'd love to understand your post-MBA goals better. That's really the starting point for everything else. Feel free to reach out for a more in-depth chat.
Namita Garg,
Founder, MBA Decoder
www.mbadecoder.com
Email: [email protected]
Reach out to us for a Profile Evaluation
- what is your motivation for an MBA education?
- post-MBA career and why that?
- what criteria have you used to shortlist the schools (beyond prestige)?
If you are targeting R1 2026 deadlines, you are now into the 100-day countdown. Do not underestimate the labor that goes into applications, nor overly rely on your listed credentials. Happy to speak if you wish to. I am in DXB.
- Dee
MBA admissions consultant and management consultant | E: [email protected] | https://www.linkedin.com/company/success-catalysts/
The GMAT/ GRE score and your career goals will play important factors in selecting the right mix of schools.
It'd also be crucial to have a strong narrative covering your experiences, career goals, and how an MBA fits in at this juncture. Tailoring your narrative to each specific school can help stand out.
Feel free to reach out for a discussion.
Regards,
Arvind (Founder, admitStreet)
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