Sanjana Rastogi: Best 50 | India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2025 | XLRI Jamshedpur
Sanjana is a driven student who believes in making every idea count - with a spark of creativity. She is currently pursuing PDGM-BM at XLRI Jamshedpur. Academically, she is a DE Shaw Fellow (Top 1%ile), National Winner of the EY Scholarship, and ranked 4th in her batch at Gargi College, University of Delhi, receiving the Indian Navy Merit Scholarship for two consecutive years. She also secured State Rank 4 in the International Science Olympiad. With a passion for entrepreneurship, she founded Har Ghar Pathshala, delivering 440+ hours of upskilling, and served as President of Enactus, leading 100+ members to social initiatives. Professionally, she managed a $10M+ business unit at Urban Company and during her EY internship, modeled transition risk solutions for the FSRM function. An avid musician and sportsperson, she has performed at international events with delegates from 23+ countries and traveled across all 28 states of India. Sanjana thrives at the intersection of strategy, creativity, and impact.
One achievement she is especially proud of is winning the Ernst & Young Scholarship. She emerged as the National Winner from 13,000+ applicants across India. Over six months, she designed and executed Project Shakti, tackling period poverty and empowering survivors of sexual assault. She began by researching menstrual hygiene challenges in Delhis slums and developed a biodegradable, affordable sanitary napkin using bamboo fibre. Beyond the product, the project created income-generating opportunities for marginalized women, combining social impact with environmental sustainability. This initiative taught her the power of empathy, innovation, and action to drive meaningful change.
She worked as Category Manager at Urban Company, selected as 1 of 5 from 700+ applicants in 2024. Recognized with Exceptional Commendation, she became the youngest CM in the team to successfully revamp a 10 Cr project, achieving a 12% QoQ revenue uplift across 13 cities. She mentored and managed 5 BDAs, overseeing 150+ service providers to enhance service quality, drive a 60%+ NPS increase, and implement operational optimizations. By redesigning supply-hub strategies and automating 94% of KPI dashboards, she improved efficiency, profitability, and coverage, demonstrating strong leadership, stakeholder management, and data-driven decision-making in a high-impact, multi-city operation.
What sets her apart is her mindset of turning ideas into measurable impact. She doesn't just strategize; she executes with purpose. At XLRI, as part of the consult club, she designs casebooks and mentor peers, translating frameworks into actionable solutions. She founded Har Ghar Pathshala, delivering with an aim to upskill young learners and as President of Enactus, led 100+ members to create 55+ jobs and impact 2.3K+ lives. Professionally, at Urban Company, she automated 94% of KPI dashboards, saving 1,000+ manhours in order to boost partner profitability by 54%. This combination of entrepreneurial drive, analytical rigor, and action-oriented leadership defines how she approaches every challenge, setting her apart from other MBA peers.
She brings a combination of analytical thinking, adaptability, and client-focused execution that make her a valuable asset. During her consulting engagement with RCD-NET, Uganda, she worked with a team and client with limited prior understanding of each other, navigating cultural and communication differences to redesign the recruitment pipeline and improve efficiency by 55%, creating a 950+ lead database. Leveraging SQL, Excel, and data visualization, she translated insights into actionable solutions. Growing up in a military family, constantly shifting cities, taught her to adapt quickly and collaborate effectively, enabling her to deliver results even in challenging, unfamiliar environments.
One professional skill she is actively developing is data-driven decision-making through SQL and financial modeling. At Urban Company, she used SQL to analyze operational data, building dashboards that improved NPS by 60% and optimized coverage across 13 cities. She also created a DCF model for Tata Steel, uncovering a 20% downside risk and identifying a Rs 1 million-plus profit opportunity. At XLRI, she is further honing these skills through coursework and projects analyzing key investment stocks, building valuation models, and pitching recommendations, allowing her to turn complex data into actionable financial and strategic insights.
If life were a map, hers would be a mosaic of cities, cultures, and challenges, from the Andaman Islands quiet shores to bustling metros, from coding dashboards to leading 100+ volunteers in social initiatives. Growing up in a military family, she learned to carry curiosity and adaptability as constant companions, turning uncertainty into opportunity. She doesn't just lead projects or analyze data - she immerses herself in contexts, understands people, and creates solutions that ripple beyond numbers, whether through business, social impact, or even a melody performed before delegates from 23+ countries. She thrives at the intersection of insight, empathy, and action, and that's her edge.
We are back this year again so register now for: