Leader of the pack: Janani Alagarsamy is on course to transform production and distribution

“One day I’d like to head up a division,” says Janani Alagarsamy. Despite being in her early 20s, this young professional has a clear vision of where she wants to go in her career.

Janani went straight from an MSc in Supply Chain and Logistics Management to the European Graduate Leadership programme at Linde. The multinational industrial gases and engineering company set up this programme to identify those who’ve got what it takes to solve their commercial challenges.

The Master's learning experience at WMG was perfect for preparing Janani for her first major work role since graduating.

“At WMG, there’s a lot of autonomy – you’re the driver. The assignments were broad, so you get to design your own problem and solve it.

“Here, I’m also driving my own projects. What I do has a significant impact on the business rather than working on something that might be discarded. WMG enhanced my confidence, decision making and time management skills which aligned with Linde’s high potential leadership requirements.

Educated in India, Janani graduated in electrical and electronic engineering then worked as a senior buyer for Flex, a global supply chain and manufacturing solutions provider. Switching from an exam-based system to one where students were graded on assignments, dissertations and seminar performance proved a challenge, she says.

However, modules were delivered from 9am to 6pm which ensured she was ‘made to live out the experience’ of the working world. This was coupled with learning from tutors whose industry experience spanned several decades.

“The approach instilled a lot of knowledge. It was intense to multi-task between post-module assignments and finding a full-time role. But we’d have to do that as working professionals – and our personal tutors were there to help.”

The WMG group seminars involved group brain-storming sessions to devise strategies for solving real life industry issues. This training was instantly transferrable to her role at Linde – on day two, Janani provided her manager with a supply chain solution.

“I suggested we look at changing the delivery strategy to increase sales. Based on my advice, she went to her manager and discussed this with the supply chain and scheduling team.”