Nikita Manral, Cornell Johnson MBA Class of 2022, transitioned from engineering in the oil and gas sector to a purpose-driven role in clean energy as a senior manager at Invenergy. Nikita pursued business school to pair her technical expertise with strategic insight and help shape the future of the energy transition. At Cornell Johnson, she was drawn to the close-knit community, strong sustainability focus, and cross-disciplinary resources across the university. Her MBA experience, enriched by immersion projects and the support of the Energy Club and CGSE, empowered her to pivot into commercial finance within the renewable energy space. In this Real Humans: Alumni, Nikita shares how Johnson prepared her for her career shift, what she values most in a workplace, and the advice she’d give to current MBA students navigating their own professional journeys.
Nikita Manral, Cornell Johnson MBA ’22, Senior Manager at Invenergy LLC
Age: 34
Hometown: Nainital, India
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Chemical Engineering, Banasthali University
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Last held pre-MBA- Executive Engineer, Production | ONGC Ltd | total work ex pre-MBA ~ 8 Y | Energy
Post-MBA Work Experience: Current title – Senior Manager, Commercial Finance, Offshore wind & Transmission | Invenergy LLC | 3 Y | Energy
Why did you choose to attend business school?
I was hitting a ceiling as an engineer in the Oil & Gas industry. I wanted to comprehensively assess and bring innovative solutions to the challenges in the energy transition. Business school seemed like the perfect way to augment that business outlook to my engineering skillset, in addition to the opportunity to connect with professionals with a spectrum of refreshing perspectives.
Why Cornell Johnson? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
I was drawn to Cornell Johnson for several differentiating factors. One is a “smaller batch size,” which translates to a tight knit network and meaningful connections in the MBA community. In addition, I was impressed with Cornell Johnson’s programmatic approach to energy and sustainability. Finally, I found the myriad opportunities to draw knowledge from Cornell University’s multi-disciplinary schools were highly beneficial.
What about your Cornell Johnson MBA experience prepared you for your current career?
The program and people broadened my understanding of my target industry. The immersion program, industry projects and case competitions provided accelerated learning, networking, and critical thinking. I want to give recognition to the Energy Club and the CGSE (Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise) for being a resource and strong support system.
What was your internship during business school? How did that inform your post-MBA career choice?
At my internship for a renewable energy company that builds onshore solar and battery storage projects on contract I reported to the CEO of the company and worked on prospecting and market characterization of new technologies. In that role I addressed business strategy questions like “is long duration storage is an attractive market for entry for us?” That experience allowed me put my MBA takeaways to practice. I was also able to explore roles at the intersection of my skill set and interests.
Why did you choose your current company? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to work?
The team of smart, approachable professionals with a shared passion was critical for me. It’s a privately held company, one of the best clean energy developers in the U.S. with a diverse and large portfolio of projects. It’s more resourceful than a startup, but also agile and less bureaucratic than a large corporation. It felt like the right balance for the career stage and pivot I was looking at and the role allows me to make the best use of both my business skill set and engineering background in energy.
Advice to current MBA students:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of the job search?
Find what matters to me the most, in a job. Focus on that.
–One thing you would change or do differently as part of the job search?
More networking and maintaining connections. There’s always scope for more.
–Were there any surprises regarding your current employer’s recruiting process?
None that I can think of. Thanks to the Cornell Johnson community, I knew what to expect.
–What piece of advice do you wish you had been given during your MBA?
There’s so much to do in business school, make the most out of it; but at the same time, choose your battles wisely.
