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 Student name: Thirumalai Anandanpillai
Program title: MBA
Universities previously attended: University of Madras, Iowa State University
Degrees obtained: BE Mechanical Engineering, MS Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering
Career history
QWest (US West) and Convansys India Limited
When Thirumalai (Thiru) Anandanpillai researched MBA programs, one thing was certain: He wanted a flexible program that would steer him to a career on the leading edge of technology. As a high-tech center, rich with wireless, biotech, and technology companies, Seattle was a big draw. Another criterion: Does the school have connections? Thiru saw that the size of the MBA Program at the UW Business School and the scale of the Seattle business community would encourage close connections and a high level of interaction with key business leaders.
"You dont get this kind of access at other business schools," said Thiru. "The connections are amazing."
In his first year, as part of the mentor program, Thiru connected directly with the leader of a major retailer (Nordstrom) to organize an MBA student visit with company executives. One-on-one sessions with the regional president of Electronic Data Systems, and meetings with several CEOs of Seattle startups that year helped him understand the entrepreneurial side of high-tech.
In the summer after his first year, Thiru interned at RealNetworks in the cutting-edge field of mobile multimedia. This opportunity led to a part-time job at the company during the school year.
"My experience at RealNetworks was outstanding," said Anandanpillai. "I was able to actually bring an innovative product to market, a responsibility that included pricing the product. As luck would have it, I was taking a pricing course with professor Michael Song during the fall quarter. I also spent an hour with assistant professor Dan Turner discussing how to estimate the market size and understand the customer value proposition for a complex product. To be able to apply what you learn in class that immediately is probably something you can't get in a larger, cookie-cutter program."
A project with a Microsoft marketing research group in the fall quarter of his second year provided Thiru with an "incredibly close range view of how a leading-edge corporation conducts market research globally."
When Thiru interviewed for a job after graduation, he received competing offers from RealNetworks and Microsoft. He accepted a job with the MSN Search team. "It's a testament to the school that I was able to create my own opportunities," said Thiru. "During the interview process, I was taking an e-business strategy course with adjunct professor David Risher, who was formerly the head of product management for Access at Microsoft, and the executive vice president of marketing at Amazon.com. The case studies in his class helped me prepare for my interviews, and in fact, I spent a couple of hours with him brainstorming about Internet strategies during my job search. Some of my interviewers at Microsoft had worked for David and were able to get direct feedback from him on my capabilities. The net result was that the question at the end of the day at Microsoft was, 'What will it take for you to choose Microsoft over other offers?'"
Thiru concluded by saying, "If I had not been able to connect with the local business community over two years, or hadn't studied with such incredible professors, none of this would have happened. If you take the initiative, the UW MBA Program provides you with all the experiences you could possibly want to get to the future that you envision."
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