Rupal Patel

It was 2011 and Rupal Patel had a flourishing career at the CIA, yet she presented herself with an ultimatum – continue down the successful, well-travelled route at the agency to become a ‘lifer’ or start over and pursue a new challenge. Now, over a decade since completing her MBA at London Business School (LBS), the latter choice has paid dividends. With multiple successful businesses and ventures under her belt, here, Rupal takes you on her journey from CIA to CEO. 

I've always been interested in politics and the wider world. As an undergraduate, I studied Political Science at Columbia, then went on to complete a master’s in International Affairs at the University of Chicago. I see myself as a global citizen and enjoy getting immersed in different cultures and languages. After finishing my education, I became an Intelligence Analyst at the CIA and worked there for six years.

I eventually got to a point in my career where I needed a change and was curious about the world of possibilities out there. I made the transition from the CIA to studying an MBA for two main reasons. Firstly, I was at a point in my career at the agency where I could either become a ‘lifer’, continuing to build a meaningful career internally, or I could leave and see what else the world of work had to offer. I also had a niggling desire to challenge myself in a different way. I’d spent 6 years at the CIA, even being recognised by the Director for “superior support to the President of the United States” but I didn’t want to become a one-trick pony, excelling in just one area. I wanted to see what else I was capable of and really push my limits. I knew that an MBA would help make the transition to the private sector a bit smoother, specifically around learning the fundamentals and vocabulary of business.

My heart was set on living in London. I’d worked there before and always felt a connection to the city so seeing what opportunities there were in London was a natural starting point. I talked to a friend of a friend who went to LBS and it just seemed perfect. It appeared to have quite an international community, which was a priority for me. Although I considered the likes of Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and Wharton, I knew their communities would be largely American. Building a global network is essential for having a global career and LBS provides that. Being high in the FT rankings was a big draw too and, in the end, LBS was the only business school I applied to.

I didn’t come from a business background so I initially felt like a fish out of water, but I wasn’t the only one. The core courses were helpful in giving me knowledge of business fundamentals including finance, accountancy and marketing. My stream had a real willingness to debate and engage with both the faculty and fellow classmates and were supportive in different ways. One particular classmate was really generous with his time in helping me make sense of the more technical business classes. Another was a personal and professional cheerleader, sounding board and instigator of all sorts of fun, and very quickly became a life-long friend.

A major highlight of the programme for me was the Global Experience. It’s the part of the programme where you go to a different country for a week and work on a consulting project for a local company. I love Greek culture so I did mine in Greece and got to put my marketing ideas to practice working at an olive oil company, while exploring everything else that Athens had to offer! The student-organised treks were also some of the most memorable trips of my life. Touring countries like Ethiopia and Israel with classmates who are locals was an invaluable experience as we got to explore life beyond tourist attractions. I got to know my peers outside an academic setting and formed closer bonds. These were some of the most personally fulfilling – and fun – moments of my MBA experience. 

Joining the programme gave me a two-year career ‘break’ to figure out what I wanted to do next. I got to explore, experiment, and try lots of different things – both professionally and personally – that I wouldn't otherwise have been able to. Having a peer group with similar motivations is a really positive and motivating environment to be in as we explored our options together.

After graduating, I made the choice to go all-in starting and developing my own business. I had an 18-month financial runway, and thankfully started seeing some traction in the business during that window. The wider LBS community was an important part of that journey, and some of our earliest investors were LBS alumni. Initially, the company – Blue Infinity Property Group – was focused on real estate investment and management, and now we’ve expanded into new build construction as well.

I have continued to benefit from LBS’s global network, connecting with people from other programmes, graduation years, and the wider community around the world. The LBS Portal has been a great resource through which alumni help each other. Whether through giving their time, advice or expertise, people are always willing to help. As both of my businesses have grown, the alumni community has made introductions and referrals, and there are active WhatsApp groups for alumni in different cities which means there’s a ready-made personal and professional network wherever I go.

In 2018, I started a second company, which is my consulting business. It started out just for start-up founders but has since developed into three areas. The first is writing books – I authored a book (From CIA to CEO) a couple of years ago and I'm working on my second book now. The second is delivering keynotes and workshops for conferences and organisations. And lastly, I run talent and leadership development programmes for multinational corporations. This all evolved out of work I was doing as I was growing and scaling my first business, and also draws on the work I did at the CIA.

I've also started working with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). It’s a new role in which I will be contributing to the policy agenda of the UN Commission. We will be devising a report on gender inequality that will be presenting a plan to tackle gender inequality from many different angles, such as economic, educational, political and social. Gender equality is something that has been a continuous thread in my work. It’s particularly important in a business context because there’s still so much progress that needs to be made. 

As an LBS community, we collectively work within organisations that employ hundreds of thousands of people and control billions or trillions in resources, so we can have a massive impact on the world around us in big and small ways. As a leader, I think it’s vital to keep asking questions like, how are you going to wield that power responsibly? What do you care about? What will your legacy be? These are big questions that we as leaders and future leaders need to be intentional about answering, and then – of course – go out and be the change.