Srinica Hampi already had a successful career in consulting, but her ambitions eventually outpaced her skills. In this edition of Real Humans: Alumni, Hampi shares how the Two-Year MBA at Cornell Johnson prepared her for a career at BCG, including their Emerging Markets Institute as well as Johnson’s encouragement of students to operate at the intersection of business, innovation, and impact. Read her story below.
Srinica Hampi, Cornell Johnson MBA ’25, Consultant at BCG
Age: 28
Hometown: Bangalore
Undergraduate Institution and Major: BMS College of Engineering, bachelor’s in industrial engineering and management
Graduate Business School, Graduation Year and Concentration: Samuel Curtis Johnson School of Business, part of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, MBA in Finance and Strategy
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Associate Consultant, KPMG, 3.5 years, FinTech
Post-MBA Work Experience: Consultant, BCG, 0.5 years
Why did you choose to attend business school?
I decided to attend business school when my ambitions were outpacing my skills. I had experience in grassroots employment initiatives, founded a venture to strengthen supply chains in India, and advised clients in technology and operations. Through these experiences, I became convinced that lasting economic mobility is driven by strong business fundamentals, smart capital allocation, effective operating models, and long-term strategy. However, I realized that to influence these systems on a larger scale, I needed deeper financial understanding, wider strategic frameworks, and exposure to leaders across various industries and regions. I didn’t want to simply execute projects; I wanted to help shape long-term direction. Business school offered a structured environment to sharpen my analytical skills, test my ideas among diverse peers, and build leadership confidence to operate in more complex settings. Ultimately, I pursued an MBA to increase my impact and prepare myself to connect business strategy with meaningful economic opportunities.
Why Cornell Johnson? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
The Johnson School stood out because I found that I could connect business education with broader institutional resources. I was particularly drawn to the Emerging Markets Institute and its focus on global growth and development, an area aligned with my long-term interest in strengthening India’s domestic economy. Programs like the Green Tech Innovation Fellowship and the Environmental Finance and Impact Investing (EFII) signaled that Johnson encourages students to operate at the intersection of business, innovation, and impact. I was looking for an MBA experience that wouldn’t silo strategy, sustainability, and entrepreneurship, but allow them to reinforce one another. Finally, access to the larger Cornell ecosystem across engineering, policy, and technology offered a scale and interdisciplinary reach that few programs could match. That combination of global orientation, innovation focus, and university-wide resources made Johnson the right fit for me.
What about your MBA experience prepared you for your current career? How do you feel that your MBA has been an asset when it comes to navigating new challenges, such as AI?
The flexibility of the MBA allowed me to work closely with professors and students at Dyson, which broadened my perspective on global industry trends, capital markets, and macroeconomic shifts. That exposure strengthened my perspective on competitive dynamics and long-term value creation. The rigor of the Strategy & Consulting Immersion then translated that perspective into a practical toolkit, structuring ambiguous problems, synthesizing complex information, and delivering clear executive recommendations. When advising clients on emerging technologies like AI, I approach it not just as a technical deployment, but as a strategic and operating model question. The MBA sharpened my ability to connect technology decisions to sustainable business impact.
What was your internship during business school? How did that inform your post-MBA career choice?
I worked with the Emerging Markets Institute to analyze how Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) can be implemented in emerging economies. As part of that work, I traveled to Brazil to engage with stakeholders, including the Central Bank of Brazil, to better understand the regulatory and macroeconomic implications of digital currency adoption. The experience deepened my interest in how policy, technology, and capital markets intersect to shape economic systems. It reinforced my desire to pursue consulting, where I could advise organizations navigating complex structural shifts, driven by regulation or technology. That exposure to real-world institutional decision-making ultimately strengthened my goal to build a career at the intersection of strategy and systemic impact.
Why did you choose your current company? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to work?
I chose BCG for two primary reasons: the people and the breadth of impact. Throughout the recruiting process, I was consistently impressed by the intellectual rigor and humility of the teams I met. I was looking for an environment where I would be challenged by thoughtful colleagues while continuing to grow alongside leaders who value structured thinking and curiosity. Equally important was the range of work BCG engages in across industries, geographies, and emerging topics such as AI, sustainability, and large-scale transformation. That breadth allows me to work on complex, high-stakes problems while building a versatile skill set. The combination of exceptional talent and exposure to diverse strategic challenges made BCG the right platform to accelerate my growth.
Advice to current MBA students:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of the job search?
I would approach networking from a place of genuine curiosity and a growth mindset. It’s easy to treat them as transactional conversations, but they’re rare learning opportunities. Spending 20 minutes with a partner who has 10–15 years of experience in private equity is access you won’t easily get elsewhere. Instead of focusing solely on making an impression, I tried to understand how they think, how their careers evolved, and how they evaluate opportunities. That shift in mindset made the process more authentic and far more valuable.
–One thing you would change or do differently as part of the job search?
I would broaden my recruitment lens earlier in the process. Like many MBA students, I initially focused narrowly on one track and optimized heavily for it. In hindsight, I would have explored a wider range of industries and roles before narrowing my options. Business school is a rare opportunity to test different paths in a low-risk environment. Casting a wider net earlier would have given me even more perspective on where my skills and interests intersected. That said, the experience taught me to be more intentional and open-minded in future career decisions.
–Were there any surprises regarding your current employer’s recruiting process?
I was genuinely surprised by how intentional and personable the recruiting process felt. At several events, senior practitioners and partners made a point to interact with every student in the room. The conversations felt thoughtful and practitioners were invested in my personal outcome. It reinforced that the firm values people and culture as much as performance, which ultimately made a strong impression on me.
–What piece of advice do you wish you had been given during your MBA?
I wish someone had reminded me that, at the end of the day, it’s just a job. The pressure around recruiting can make it feel existential, but an MBA is a rare two-year window to experiment, challenge yourself, and learn without long-term downside. This stage of life is a privilege. It’s one of the few times you’re surrounded by brilliant peers, world-class faculty, and intellectual freedom. I would encourage students to step outside their comfort zones academically, professionally, and personally, because the learning often matters more than the offer.
