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In honor of Women's History Month, MBA Class of 2025 graduates Aastha Bhardwaj, Whitley Kargile, Briti Ghosh, Veronica Chua, and Eunjin Lee share stories about the female leaders and protagonists who inspired them. Let's discuss.
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Veronica Chua (MBA 2025): Being a true leader doesn't come from having a specific title. In other words, what you say means what you do.
Lee Eun-jin (MBA 2025): Empathy, sincerity—
Aastha Bhardwaj (MBA 2025): Coaching, Effective Delegation—
Whitley Cargile (MBA 2025):High emotional intelligence—
Briti Ghosh (MBA 2025): Resilience-
Veronica Chua:Indomitable spirit—
whitley cargile: And humility, sharing praise where credit is due and taking on more than your own responsibilities.
Aastha Bhardwaj: Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi —
Veronica Chua: The first woman of color and immigrant to run a Fortune 50 company.
Aastha Bhardwaj: My first case at HBS was about PepsiCo. And I was the first cold call in my section. So my excitement talking about her was on another level.
whitley cargile: Sandra Hoback, Co-Head of Americas, Carlyle. I decided to join Carlyle to work with him. I also trusted her advice to attend business school to improve my judgment and learn how to express my opinions eloquently.
Briti Ghosh: Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors. He entered this male-dominated industry and rose to the top with an aggressive yet empathetic leadership style.
Veronica Chua: Lisa Su, AMD, Advanced Micro Devices CEO. She has a unique combination of both technical genius and business acumen. She led AMD's remarkable transformation and turnaround into one of the world's fastest growing semiconductor companies.
whitley cargile: The female lead character that left an impression on me is Debbie Rovich, a partner at the Boston Consulting Group. Her case focused on how to balance her demanding career with her family commitments.
Aastha Bhardwaj: Cynthia Carroll of Anglo American Mines in South Africa. This case was about miner safety. She could not close the mine because everyone in the class considered it her fiduciary duty to her shareholders. but-
Lee Eun Jin: She made the difficult decision to close down the mining factory.
Aastha Bhardwaj: She was still paying her workers. She said she won't reopen until it's very safe for employees.
Lee Eun Jin: She prioritized the company's health and safety, even if it cost the company a lot of money.
Aastha Bhardwaj: She made it to the end, and I have a lot of respect for that.
Briti Ghosh: I don't think having empathy or sensitivity is a reason for people to think that you can't be a strong decision maker.
whitley cargile: I learned the importance of listening to others and encouraging the small voices within the team to speak up.
Briti Ghosh: People think women can have it all. And they are almost on the same level as men, finally becoming equal. However, I would like to mention that this may not be the case, especially in all parts of the world. And there are many demographics for which this is still far from reality.
Lee Eun Jin: The small, incremental changes we make as MBA graduates and as world leaders will be hugely important in moving other generations of women forward.
Veronica Chua: I actively seek opportunities to mentor and uplift others, especially young women entering male-dominated fields such as technology, operations, and finance.
whitley cargile: As the next co-president of the Sorority, I am forever grateful to the first women who stepped onto the HBS campus and paved the way for us to be here today.
Aastha Bhardwaj:Can I tell you about my grandmother? Who are the women who have inspired me or changed the way I think? I was raised by my grandmother, who didn't give me the chance to go to school . And I learned from her her egalitarianism. I learned from her the importance of education. But most importantly, I learned to be bold from her. Stay ethical, stay bold, and stay kind.
This video originally appeared on the HBS Newsroom page.