Alumni Video Spotlight: Vinit Hasija MSBA 22

Alumnus Vinit Hasija MSBA 22 shares about his UC Davis experience, collaborative leadership, challenges in the gaming and digital ad industry, favorite professor and advice for those pursing a Master of Science in Business Analytics.

The UC Davis MSBA ranks #1 worldwide for return on investment for graduates, according to the latest QS global ratings. "Thanks to the UC Davis MSBA," says Hasija, "I was given the right guidance, the right approach for analytical thinking, and now I’m working as a data product manager (at Frameplay)."

What are the highlights of your career the last few years?

Today, I would say the highlight of my career would be transitioning from a management role to somewhat a data or analytics role. It was challenging for me to come from a management background and work with technologies like SQL, Tableau and Looker. But thanks to UC Davis MSBA, I was given the right guidance, the right approach for analytical thinking, and now I’m working as a data product manager.

What does collaborative leadership mean to you?

Showing others the approach and what to do. The best example that I see myself as a leader would be when I was working with DSAC while at MSBA, I was leading the student body and working on different curriculum activities and student activities to plan, and also some of the events that were happening during the program. So that's how I defined the leadership.

How do you collaborate at work to make an impact? 

I would say the communication should not be short. I know that's a bit of a cliché, but I have seen that often it doesn't matter if you are in a startup or in a big company, that’s often a gap in communication. Either it stays between the vertical or within the team. So, I guess, freely communicate, don’t hesitate to ask questions, or don't hesitate to ask for help. 

What are the biggest challenges in your industry?

I work in the gaming or advertising industry. I would say the current biggest challenge related to data that we are facing is that we use a lot of user information and with all of these CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) on the code, it’s really hard to use that data in any way. I would say that's the biggest challenge. And not just the small startups, also, big companies like META and Amazon are facing the same challenge.

Which professor had the biggest impact on you?

Oh, that one's easy. I would say Professor Mehul. His SQL class was the highlight of the whole MSBA program. I still use his notes and his slides from his lectures. So, Professor Mehul Rangwala.

What are you seeing that future business graduates should know as they start their careers?

Work more on case studies and how you would face the problem in the real world. It's a good thing to have technical expertise, but you also need to understand how to apply that technical expertise. Like, if you know SQL, that’s not enough. You need to know how to apply those window functions in the real-world business case and not just solve a problem in your computer or in your class. So that analytical approach and applying the technical capabilities in the business world is, I would say, is the answer.