Wharton GCP 2009...six months of hardwork paid-off !!

The Wharton Global Consulting Practicum (GCP) is a cross functional course given within the curriculum of the Wharton M.B.A. and its associate partner school program (IE Business School in my case). Established in 1978, this unique program pairs teams of Wharton M.B.A. students and faculty with teams from partner universities (in Chile, China, Colombia, India, Israel, Peru, Spain, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates with pilot projects in Africa) to consult with a client company (either profit making or non-profit social impact) interested in entering or expanding its position in the U.S. market, or somehow leveraging a relationship with North America. The goal of the program is two-fold: to provide exceptional learning value to the students and innovative, operational plans which add value to real-time clients. (Reference: http://mktgweb.wharton.upenn.edu/gcpcourse/index.html)

As an IE Business School IMBA 2009 candidate, I was privileged to have gotten this opportunity to address the client concerns and open up opportunities by debating and discussing with 9 other team members, each coming from a different background, culturally and professionally, for over six months. Our professional network included MBA's and teaching faculties coming from different industries, business types and geographies. The part-time strategic consulting program assisted me immensely in developing strong networks while also building onto the lessons from the different classes we undertook during our first two term, coupled with the business experience that each of the team members brought on to the table. After six months of hard work the Spaniards finally gave their shot at Wharton Business School in May 2009 (and my first visit to the states), showcasing their findings and studies to the client, thus building onto their reputation with strong bring alive and networking events. It was a journey well travelled in the past 6 months - smart work, time-management, Lots of research and entrepreneurial spirit. In the end that's what was needed!! If you are a future GCP candidate, who just happened to read this page, well this real-time consulting project is all about smart working leadership, team work, time-management and understanding your objective from this project.

To sign off, the 30th GCP gala started off with the Keynote speaker Jill Beraud WG '86, GCP Alumnus and Worldwide Chief Marketing Officer, PepsiCo. All GCP Friends, Alumni, Clients, Spouses and Partners from different countries participated in this event helping GCP celebrate its rich history. I finally had an opportunity to meet Mr. Len Lodish, a well known and renowned marketing professor at Wharton B-School and chairman of GCP program. It was an eventful evening with my strategy professors Mr. Rafa Ruiz and my mentor Mrs. Carolina Tejuca. Attached is the snapshot of our team that seen the ups and downs of consulting program (Cheryl, Shreyans, Anubha, D’laila, Jody are missing).