Global Executive MBA
Top Areas of Career Focus
Financial Services (20%)
Consulting (5%)
Sales/Business Development (5%)
Energy/Chemical/Gas (9%)
Marketing/PR/Advertising (6%)
Consumer Goods (3%)
Abhijit Gangopadhyay
“I feel empowered because I can connect every business situation at work to something I learned during one of my classes. It gives me immense confidence to make bold decisions.”
Senior Geophysicist
BP
Global Executive MBA
Class of 2019
Industry:
Energy—Upstream Oil & Gas
Prior Education:
University of South Carolina
Ph.D., Geophysics, 2005
Ph.D., Geophysics, 2005
Hometown:
Kolkata, India
Nationality:
USA (Naturalized)
Reflections
This program has given me the scope to have a global impact. My career path thus far has been deeply technical. I needed to develop a broad understanding of the business world and the competencies that are transferable to various functions of my industry. I chose to take advantage of the opportunity to learn a curriculum that has connectivity between theory and real-world experiences. What good is academic training if the knowledge gained can’t be applied? Duke’s format was the “cherry on top” for me. The mix of distance learning and immersive residencies offered me the flexibility to be globally mobile at work.
Before Fuqua
My role as a technical leader has involved conceiving, leading and executing multi-million dollar technical projects, and managing geophysical operations at various scales, to drive production delivery in the upstream oil and gas business. I’ve also managed short and long term geophysical project budgets for my business unit.
After Fuqua
I aspire to have a role that has a significant business component involving strategic decisions. I plan to build on my solid technical knowledge of my discipline and use the business fundamentals and leadership know-how that I have gained at Fuqua to achieve my goal.
Advice
Every new student should come with an open mind and a thirst to learn from colleagues and professors alike. As a concept comes at you, in the back of your mind, you should try to connect it to something you do and/or deal with in your job. Leveraging the immediate and extended network is also key. Not only does it have the potential to open doors to new opportunities, you also get new perspectives on similar problems, that you can then apply to your own industry/function.
Typical Class Demographics
Global Executive MBA
Age Range
28-45
Work Experience
5-20 years
Countries Represented
17
Women
35%
Non-US Citizenship
30%
