He was speaking on the topics – ‘Going to Business School in the US’ and ‘The Opportunities available to those with a MBA’.
While sharing details about MBA education in the US, Mr Rivera-Dirks said, “The US has many good quality B-schools providing MBA degrees to Indian students. Students should come here to study because in the US, here is a huge scope for students in their area of interest.”
Highlighting the economic cooperation between US and India, he said, “The collaboration between India and US is very good. The corporate sectors in both countries share a great rapport. Indian students who do MBA from US B-schools can benefit from this trend.”
Work experience is an essential part of MBA education requirements in US. “Work experience counts. In the US, the best business schools look for some work experience. So, it is good to have two or three years’ of work experience,” Mr Rivera-Dirks added.
He felt that dual MBAs are a waste of time. “If you are an MBA, go and use your MBA, introduce yourself to the business realities. The two important things are work experience and educational capabilities,” he said.
Mr John Rivera-Dirks is an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York and an undergraduate from Williams College in Massachusetts. He joined the Foreign Service in September 2004 and serves in New Delhi as the Special Assistant to Ambassador Mulford. Prior to business school, John worked in the private sector as a marketing manager for Apple Computer, where he substantially grew Apple’s market share.
During his lecture, he also appreciated the Indian economy by giving examples of companies like Infosys, “The US looks at Asia as an opportunity. India is a great opportunity because it is a stable democracy and a profitable economy to invest for companies. India has a keen understanding to know the global business,” he summed up.
