Siddharth Saran's education

Middlebury College

Bachelor of Arts

I studied physics at Middlebury College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, and with honors in physics, along with a minor in economics. During my time there, I was involved in student government and the academic advisory committee, served as a resident advisor, and was vice president of the debate club.

I supported myself throughout college by working as a computer consultant, which was both a practical necessity and an early introduction to applying technology in real-world settings.
Two experiences from that time stand out. The first was creating the college’s first virtual tour in 1994 as a summer project. It was an especially meaningful project for me, as I had come from overseas and had not seen Middlebury in person until I arrived as a student.

The second was my senior physics thesis, which was later developed into a published paper, “Energetics of Coronal Mass Ejections,” co-authored with my advisor Richard Wolfson and published in The Astrophysical Journal in 1998.

Dartmouth College

Bachelor of Engineering

I studied engineering at Dartmouth and also took classes at the Tuck School of Business. That combination of engineering and business thinking shaped how I approach problems to this day.

One of the most formative experiences was an early engineering course on innovation, where our three-person team set out to design a better pontoon boat. We had no prior background in mechanical engineering or fluid dynamics, and we did not even have a boat to start with. We learned what we needed to know, sought out experts, and built a working solution that we demonstrated was superior to existing designs.

That experience was a powerful lesson in tackling unfamiliar problems with curiosity, resourcefulness, and persistence — an approach that has stayed with me throughout my career.
At the same time, exposure to faculty at both Dartmouth and Tuck reinforced my interest in the intersection of engineering and business, and how analytical thinking can be applied to real-world decisions.

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Master of Business Administration

At Wharton, I studied finance and accounting, building a formal foundation that complemented my practical experience and shaped how I evaluate businesses.

The program sharpened my ability to quickly identify the key drivers of value and growth within a company, and to understand how financial decisions translate into long-term outcomes. Courses such as financial reporting — including the analysis of accounting quality and potential misrepresentation — were particularly impactful and continue to influence how I assess risk.

I was also drawn to negotiation and decision-making. The negotiations course, one of the most sought-after at the time, offered a practical lens into human behavior, incentives, and how outcomes are shaped in real-world situations. It remains one of the most useful frameworks I use today.

Outside the classroom, I participated in team-based competitions, including a corporate finance competition at Carnegie Mellon where our team placed first, and helped organize events such as the Wharton India Economic Forum.

As graduation approached, I had the opportunity to pursue paths in venture capital, a software startup, and investment banking. I chose investment banking, which provided a strong foundation for understanding transactions, capital, and business strategy.

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.