Growth-focused, fearless, flawed, ambitious, perseverant, relentless, passionate, experimenting, servant-leader, gregarious, radiant, perspicacious.”
Hometown: Suwanee, Georgia
Family Members: Karisma Wagh (Wife), Neil Naik (Son, 5)
Fun fact about yourself: I play cricket in the Atlanta Cricket league and was a top-10 run scorer in the league.
Undergraduate School and Degree:
- Arizona State University – M.S. Electrical Engineering
- College of Engineering, Pune – B. Tech Instrumentation and Control Engineering
- North Carolina State University – Advanced Diploma, Reliability and Maintenance Management
Where are you currently working? I am a senior product manager at John Bean Technologies. I am leading the digital transformation of a food and beverage original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:
- Georgia Tech College of Business Executive MBA Student Council Co-Chair
- STEM Volunteer Teacher for high school and college students
- Rosemoore Lake Sub-division HOA Treasurer
- Johns Creek Toastmaster’s Club
- ProductATL and Product Coffee Member
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Helping and supporting my colleagues has been a highly rewarding experience that makes me proud. I started tutoring an open group every weekend, for complex topics from finance, accounting, economics, or other courses. We would get anywhere from 10-15 attendees and several others would watch the recorded sessions later. I also helped several colleagues one-on-one and clarified difficult concepts. This was a great way to connect with many of my EMBA classmates.
Additionally, I started mentoring two young professionals trying to break into product management roles. I also volunteer my time and knowledge for two local product management groups: ProductATL and Product Coffee.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I am extremely proud of launching and growing a product from scratch. Through customer interviews and Gemba walks, I was able to understand a critical pain point and develop a business case to secure funding for development of a solution. We then built this product and iterated it through customer usage and validation. I was able to grow this product from conception to a flagship $20+ million ARR product within a few years. I cherish this experience because it taught me many lessons in product management and led to tremendous growth in a short period of time.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? I have worked in technology all my life, so it made sense to apply for one of the best technology schools in the nation. The program has lived up to the expectation of journeying towards the intersection of business, technology, and leadership. The opportunity to be associated with Georgia Tech’s stellar reputation, network with highly accomplished alumni, and learn from legendary faculty made it the only logical choice.
What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? Momentum is the biggest difference maker between high accomplishing individuals and others. One of the biggest lessons I have learned during the EMBA is utilizing momentum to approach a completely new course or topic fearlessly and take it to completion with relentless effort and prioritization. Taking on unfamiliar tasks can often be daunting and may lead to procrastination. But the MBA taught me how to keep an open mind and be receptive to new experiences. It taught me to lean into the discomfort and challenge myself further to grow.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? It is nearly impossible to juggle work, family, travel, and an Executive MBA program all by yourself. I give tremendous credit to my wife, Karisma. She stepped up and despite starting a new career herself, was able to support and invigorate me to juggle these priorities.
I remember a specific time when we were launching a new product, which needed me to travel to Sweden and attend an MBA class on my return (directly from the airport). I was severely jet lagged, had to complete three assignments and around 100 pages of reading. During all of this, I was feeling extremely guilty as I had not seen my family in a week. I called my wife and apologized. But she reassured me that this was an investment in our future and told me not to worry about anything else. That gave me the strength to work through the jet lag and sleep deprivation to finish my work and school assignments on time and in the best form possible.
What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? There are hundreds of reasons why you may justify not starting an Executive MBA: It is too expensive, too time-consuming, not the right time, etc. You may think that you will just watch YouTube videos or read several books and get the knowledge. But it is so much more than the knowledge that you gain from the EMBA. It is a truly life-changing experience that you should embark on sooner rather than later.
The best time to start an Executive MBA was last fall. The second-best time is this fall.
So, be rest assured that whatever the challenges may be, you will find a way to overcome them, and the gains you receive will pay dividends in the years to come. It will open your mind to so many different career paths and trajectories and will catalyze your career growth.
What was your biggest regret in business school? My biggest regret was not doing the Executive MBA 10 years ago.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I am blessed to be surrounded by extremely accomplished and impressive individuals, but Christy Pillion particularly stands out. Her emotional maturity, compassion, analytical and leadership skills are truly extraordinary. Despite so many talents, she is always humble and has a growth mindset where she’s constantly trying to be positive and learn from others.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? Being in-person was really important for me to make life-long connections with my classmates and learn from their experience. I have been extremely lucky to be part of a highly diverse cohort that challenge my views and introduce me to different perspectives. Also, I like the intense and fast paced nature of an executive program as it is much more suitable to my personality.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? My goal is to gain a deep strategic understanding of the key functions required to successfully grow a business. This understanding will ultimately help me chart a path to the C-suite and make data-driven, experience-driven decisions while evaluating impacts on different functions in the organization.
I have engaged in a rotational leadership development program at my current company to make progress towards this goal.