About Kellogg Days

My vision of a B-school had long been of contours of corridors hugging rooms that looked like mini Roman amphitheatrum flavium. Throw in some harried humans (humanoids perhaps?) walking to and from one colosseum to another … and not to mention the gladiator-like course-work et al.

This vision of a top notched Business School kind of radically changed when I started the Kellogg MBA program at Northwestern University in June 2008.  I started a new chapter when choosing the innovative Saturday MBA program at Kellogg.  Between and attending classes every Saturday, catching some pre-school action on Friday nights and leaving a large carbon footprint (that I hope to ‘balance’ someday soon) the experience so far has been nothing short of fantastic.  Working with colleagues from places as far flung as New York, Seattle, Austin and Dallas, and of course the gamut of Midwest states has been a wonderful experience in making friends who have an amazing array of personal stories and experiences to share.

I hope you stay tuned to this blog channel as I embark on this journey that promises to be fun, fulfilling and fascinating.  Kellogg Days is my attempt to create a virtual time-capsule of this experience – capturing thoughts, ideas, emotions and memories that I know I will look back and reflect on in years to come.  I hope you we can have a dialogue on this blog and I look forward to your comments!

Cheers, Sri Nagarajan

About Me

Here is an update to this page.  After almost half a year of writing on this blog I realized that I did not really share my story with the readers.  So here is an update to this page … with the life and story of a guy who came into this world in the bustling city of Mumbai, grew up in the Middle East, picked up a liking for diverse cuisines and music along the way and tries to make time to indulge in his passion for travel and writing.  So welcome to this updated section where I attempt to share a tiny little window into the story of my life.

As I mentioned above I was born in Mumbai India and before I was 2 my father decided to take his banking career to the then-emerging market in the Middle East.  Little did he plan or perhaps realize that we would spend the next 16 years of our lives in the desert sands of Muscat, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, giving us a childhood that I can only call blessed.  This long affair with the Arab world came to a rather abrupt end when I moved back to India for my undergrad education and my early career in audits and finance.  Soon I would come back to the Middle East for a work related stint before I headed West to steel city Pittsburgh PA.  After getting a masters in Information Systems Mgmt. from Carnegie Mellon I moved to Boston to work as a principal consultant in e-strategy consulting at the then ‘everything that can be digital will be’ Razorfish Inc.  When the Internet bubble burst I headed to an energy startup the founders invited a couple of us to join … the firm was unfortunately way ahead of its time and given where I was at that time I had to find a home that was more stable.  With the start-up stint over I landed at then Boston based FleetBoston Financial, starting what has been an amazingly enriching experience at ‘the bank’, now Bank of America. 

Along the way I found a passion for writing and have since occassionally contributed articles on technology management to Gantthead and the ICFAI Press.   And when time permits I dabble in art, with charcoal being the latest favorite.  Now with a daughter who also loves to paint we often find ourselves sharing a canvas … with abstract art as my preferred art style, I find it easy to collaborate with a 2.5 year old

So that is in a sense a capsule of the myriad roads life has taken me over the years.  Oh and yes before I forget I must mention that I absolutely enjoy discussing stories that people’s lives have taken and every once in a while I bump into someone who has been a neighbor, a colleague or a friend or relative of someone I know.  So if you or anyone you know has a story that started in any of these places drop me a line and the old cliche of  the world being a small place will be proved yet again!

Enough about the life story now and time to go back to getting ready for the 3rd quarter that starts in a few short days from today …

Adios, Sri