From India to Los Angeles: Deloitte manager on USC’s global reach

“The school of schools for the country of countries.” That’s how USC President Carol Folt framed her first visit to India last month as part of her efforts to ramp up the university’s long-standing and multifaceted relationship with the country. Folt led a USC delegation on a tour touting the strengths and advantages of USC as a university and research partner of choice for Indian students, businesses and government organizations.

Branded “USC-India: Partner the Future,” the USC delegation met with dignitaries, business and academic leaders, hundreds of university alumni, and Indian journalists in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi. “The time is right now to super charge the USC-India global partnership,” Folt said to reporters, Indian officials and USC community members. “Through this partnership, our students can develop specialized knowledge and a network of support necessary for launching new products or new businesses, for shaping policy or inventing solutions to challenges in health care, sustainability, science and technology.”

Namratha Sunil ’16 and Ajai Thandi ’13 took part in the USC-India event. Here, they talk about how their Trojan experience provided opportunities unparalleled by any other university.

Currently one of the youngest supply chain leaders at Deloitte U.S.-India, Namratha Sunil had the landscape of her career in sight early. She knew she was interested in supply chain management and had some experience with the industry when she first joined Deloitte U.S. after earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering in Bengaluru, India.

As she arrived at USC to continue her education and advance her career with a master’s degree in global supply chain management, she quickly understood the benefits of going to school in Los Angeles — a city she’d never visited previously. One such benefit was the exposure to two of the premier trade ports in the world.

Her classes were packed with professionals with deep knowledge and experience: “The guest speakers, including leaders from the Port Authority, provided us extraordinary perspective on the intricacies and challenges faced by supply chains,” says Sunil, who was looking for a program that had a worldwide emphasis when she chose the USC Marshall School of Business. “Lots of universities offer supply chain programs, but they are not global.”

As a panelist during a “USC-India: Partner the Future” discussion, Sunil shared some of the immersive opportunities within her master’s program, which included a learning trip to Singapore and an internship at Deloitte, where she laid the foundation for her return to the company full time in San Francisco and then back to India.

Today, Sunil leads a 65-member team serving global clients primarily in the life science industry focusing on supply management and digital procurement: “For example, helping a client whose mission is to eradicate cancer through early screening by driving cost optimization and contract compliance with their partners,” she says, adding that her work is her passion.