Jumping In, Fighting Bias

18 Feb 2021

Jumping In, Fighting Bias

Marketing exec moves from retail to venture capital

Re: Sumaiya Balbale (MBA 2009); Judy Zhu (MBA 2009)

Topics: Leadership-Leading Change Finance-Venture Capital Career-Managing Careers Demographics-Diversity Psychology-Prejudice and Bias

Photo via LinkedIn

Growing up in suburban Chicago, Sumaiya Balbale (MBA 2009) and her Indian immigrant parents didn’t see many other Muslims. At school she was teased and bullied—an experience that no doubt shaped her as she moved from a history major at Brown University to HBS to leadership roles at Quidsi, Jet.com, and Walmart. “My gender, ethnicity and faith compelled me to be ambitious in a way that I don’t know if I otherwise would have been,” Balbale told the Wall Street Journal.

Last June, Balbale left her position at Walmart as VP of e-commerce, mobile and digital marketing, and transitioned to an entirely new industry, accepting the role of CMO at Sequoia Capital. She made the decision after drawing on the advice of a handful of personal advisors, including Judy Zhu (MBA 2009), founder and CEO of MoneyGirls Inc. Zhu and others always advised her to pick hard paths, Balbale said: “If you jump into something and don’t have a lifeline, you figure out how to swim.”

Featured Alumni

Sumaiya Balbale

MBA 2009

Featured Alumni

Sumaiya Balbale

MBA 2009

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