A Forté Fellowship Opened Doors for Deepika Batra DiGiovine, So She’s Giving Back

Global business executive Deepika Batra DiGiovine uses her power to inspire other women to dream big.

Originally from India, Deepika pursued an MBA at a top business school in America through her Forté Fellowship which catapulted her into a career leading global IT teams from Chicago to Saudi Arabia. Now, she’s helping Forté expand the MBA talent pipeline worldwide.

Building business acumen to rise

“I come from very humble beginnings in my life,” Deepika said. “Getting the Forté Fellowship helped me make my decision to pursue my MBA at Michigan. It was an absolute pivotal moment in my career journey, opening doors for me to pursue many international opportunities.”

Deepika’s MBA connected her with an international internship and two study abroad programs before landing at McKinsey & Co. as a management consultant. An MBA was the boost she needed to go from software engineer to chief information officer.

“I give to Forté because I’m grateful for the support I got when I needed it in my life,” Deepika said. “It really opened doors for me.”

I give to Forté because I’m grateful for the scholarship I received. It really opened doors for me.

Changing the balance of power

At Corning, a multinational tech company, she leads all the company’s enterprise transactional applications and digital platforms for applying machine learning and artificial intelligence across its lifecycle of work — from manufacturing its specialty glass and ceramics materials on the shop floor to processing orders for sales.

It’s the type of leadership role she wants more women to have. However, she says businesses need to do more to nurture their female talent. What’s her advice for leaders?

Give women an opportunity. “More men will raise their hand, and there will be more male applicants for any job. Leaders should make an intentional effort not to overlook their female talent pools.”

Empathize with working mothers. “As a mother of three, I recognize there’s so much to juggle. We need more leaders who understand what a working mother’s life is really like. Working mothers will not just give a nine-to-five day. They will give you many more hours. But they need a little flexibility.”

Forté wants more women to be in leadership positions and I’m very excited about this goal they’ve enabled for me as well as for other women.