Siddharth Saran's education

Middlebury College

Bachelor of Arts

I graduated with Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude and honors in physics. I had a minor in economics. My leadership positions included elected member of the student government and academic advisory committee, resident advisor and VP of the debate club. I supported myself by working as a computer consultant through all my years at Middlebury. I have two fond memories of my work and academics. First, I created the college’s first virtual tour in 1994 as a summer work project. Not only was the project innovative but it also held a special meaning for me because being on the other side of the world I had not visited Middlebury until I started. Second, my senior physics thesis was converted into a paper in which I was a co-author, along with my advisor Richard Wolfson. The paper was titled ‘Energetics of Coronal Mass Ejections.’ It was published in The Astrophysical Journal in May 1998.

Dartmouth College

Bachelor of Engineering

My degree coursework focused on electrical engineering, and included courses in mechanical engineering and operations research. I also took classes at the Tuck School of Business. My most memorable course was with Prof. David Collier. In this first engineering class, on innovation, our three-person team built a pontoon boat that we proved was better than any other in the market. We did not know mechanical engineering. We did not know fluid dynamics. We did not have a boat. We got one, however. And we connected with experts who told us what we needed to know. It was a tremendous confidence builder. The lessons of overcoming challenges and finding creative solutions have stayed with me. Late Prof. Stratton recognized my interests in engineering and business and encouraged me to move in that direction. The late Prof. Caroline Henderson of Tuck taught me marketing. I still distinctly remember the HBS cases.

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Master of Business Administration

I majored in finance and accounting, which laid the educational foundation for my career and also filled the gaps that I had as a practitioner up to that point. I particularly enjoyed ‘Problems in financial reporting’ by Prof. Brian Bushee – basically, how to detect fraud and coverups. Finance taught me how to quickly extract the value and growth drivers in any company, and then fuel them – a skill I continue to use today. I also got to take the most sought-after class at Wharton at the time, Negotiations by Prof. Diamond. If I remember correctly, the clearing bid price for this class was 12x the average. Yes, Wharton electives work on an auction system. Seats go to the highest bidders. Negotiations was most revealing about human nature, and my own. At Wharton, I took part in competitions – our team won the first place in a intra-business school corporate finance competition at Carnegie Mellon. I also worked in close knit teams to organize events, such as the Wharton India Economic Forum. Close to graduation, I had offers to join venture capital, a software startup and investment banking. I chose the latter.

Continuing Education

Artificial intelligence | Full stack app development | Management

I have taken over 45 courses on software development, artificial intelligence and management in the last five years. Some of these courses are listed below.