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In 2014, HBR published a study that revealed that a quarter of the most powerful people in the world had MBAs. Those figures haven’t changed much since then. We decided to share with you profiles of three people who have used their MBAs too well while doing good. Enjoy – and be inspired!

Tim Cook

According to his commencement speech at his Alma Mater, it took Tim Cook just five minutes to accept Steve Jobs’ invitation to leave Compaq and join the then wilting Apple. This was in 1998, and Cook took on the role of Senior Vice President for Worldwide Operations. Before Jobs’ death in October 2011, he was appointed CEO.

While Cook’s performance at Apple gets mixed reviews, nobody can argue that he’s been bringing the company into the second decade of the twenty-first century in themes such as the development of renewable energy sources; the need to legislate international and domestic surveillance; and the urgency of investing in cybersecurity.

Apart from his gig at Apple, Cook serves on the boards of directors of Nike, Inc., the National Football Foundation, and is a trustee of Duke University. He’s publicly stated that he plans to donate a large portion of his fortune to charity. Cook also made the headlines for being the first publicly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Tim Cook sums up his leadership style in three words: people, strategy and execution. He earned a degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University and an MBA from Duke University.

Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg is, by any measure, a brilliant woman. She graduated summa cum laude in Economics from Harvard in 1991 and was awarded the John H. Williams Prize for the top graduating student in economics. Her career was marked by the close relationship she established with her thesis advisor, Larry Summers, who invited her to join his team at the World Bank, where she contributed to the development of health projects in India.

Sandberg then worked for McKinsey & Company, before joining Summer again (then Secretary of the US Treasury) to support efforts to forgive the debt of developing countries. Later, at Google, Sandberg expanded the ad and sales team from four people to 4,000.

When Mark Zuckerberg casually met Sandberg, he was convinced she was the Chief Operating Officer he really hadn’t been looking for. At the time, Facebook’s main challenge was profitability. Sandberg introduced discreet ads and, two years later, Facebook was making money.

In 2009, Sandberg was named to the board of The Walt Disney Company. She also serves on the boards of Women for Women International, the Center for Global Development and V-Day.

Sheryl Sandberg is an outspoken activist for women’s rights: her first book addresses the issue of the lack of women in leadership positions.
Sheryl Sandberg has an MBA from Harvard Business School obtained with the highest distinction in 1995.

Indra Nooy

Born in Madras, India, Nooyi studied Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. She worked at Johnson & Johnson before joining the Boston Consulting Group, then Motorola and, later, Asea Brown Boveri. Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 and was named CEO in 2006.

For twelve years, Noori was at the helm of the company’s restructuring, attaining an annual net profit rise from $2.7 billion to $6.5 billion. Her strategy seemed simple enough: there are products that are “fun for you”, others that are “better for you”, and those that are “good for you”. She also launched the environmentally-friendly ‘Performance With Purpose’ campaign.

Among her many philanthropic and consultancy posts, Nooy works for the World Economic Forum; the International Rescue Committee; and the World Justice Project.

Indra Nooy is an MBA alumnus from the IIM Calcutta Class of 1976.

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