Three Site Visits, Three Industries, One Powerful MBA Experience
One of the newest initiatives from the graduate programs at Fisher College of Business is Advantage Columbus and the name fits. Designed to elevate the student experience through exclusive company visits across Columbus, the program offers something rare: direct access to industry leaders, operating environments, and real-world business challenges beyond the classroom. It also taps into the strength of Fisher’s broad working professional MBA network, whose reach across industries in Columbus creates opportunities that far exceed the traditional boundaries of a full-time MBA experience.
I was fortunate to participate in three different visits, each offering a very different lens into leadership, operations, and strategy.
The first visit was to AEP Ohio, a company I was especially excited to visit given my entire professional background has been in the energy sector. Having worked in power distribution in New Delhi, this felt deeply connected to my own experience. We arrived early on a Friday morning, completed security check-in, and were hosted by Nala Key Kovach. A major highlight was an engaging session with Marc Reitter, who shared candid perspectives on the evolving challenges facing the power sector, from grid resilience to the growing demands of the future. For me, it was fascinating to compare some of these themes with issues I had seen firsthand in another part of the world.
Our second visit took us to Hikma Pharmaceuticals, and it offered a completely different operational perspective. This was my first close look at pharmaceutical manufacturing, and the rigor of the environment was striking. From specialized protective clothing to strict sanitation protocols, every step reflected the precision required in the industry. We saw advanced production processes, observed highly controlled environments, and even got a glimpse of personnel working in full hazmat suits. It was a powerful reminder of how operational discipline and quality control come together in industries where the stakes are exceptionally high.
The third visit was to Honda, and for anyone interested in operations, it was hard not to be impressed. Walking through the manufacturing plant and seeing vehicles take shape from raw sheets of metal to finished products was remarkable. The scale of automation, the choreography of the production process, and the precision of the system brought many classroom concepts to life in real time. It was one thing to discuss operational efficiency, process flow, and lean thinking in class; it was another to watch those principles unfolding on the factory floor. Hearing from their leadership team about how they are thinking about the future made the experience even richer.
What makes Advantage Columbus even more special is how limited and intimate these visits are. With only ten seats available per trip, each visit feels less like a tour and more like a curated learning experience.
For me, these visits have been one of the most valuable parts of the MBA experience so far. They have reinforced something I have come to appreciate deeply: some lessons are best learned not just through cases and classrooms, but by stepping inside the organizations where strategy, operations, and leadership are happening in real time. That, to me, is the real Advantage Columbus.
