Tumpa Das and Azahara Corrales

Tumpa Das (MBA 2020) is a consultant for Incendium Consulting and volunteers at WeGrow Financial Services. Azahara Corrales (International Marketing 2018) is a marketing manager at RocketMill and was awarded Digital Marketer of the Year 2022 by Digital Women. They were brought together by their joint passion to support and empower women.

Tumpa completed her MBA in 2021 and went on to a career in consulting with a specialism in workplace strategy and change analysis. While Azahara graduated with a MSc in International Marketing (now called MSc Strategic Marketing) in 2019 and began her career in digital marketing. Even though they just missed crossing paths at Sussex, they were introduced to each other as fellow Sussex alumni at a University event and stayed connected through LinkedIn.

During this period, Tumpa was preparing her application for the Women of the Future awards and Azahara, having successfully applied for a similar award before – shared her best advice. Through this experience, Azahara and Tumpa realised they both share a mission – helping other women. Azahara uses her tech expertise to champion female inclusion in the field, while Tumpa empowers underprivileged women through financial literacy initiatives.

What led you to Sussex? 

Tumpa Das: While searching for MBA courses, I discovered that the University of Sussex Business School provides an excellent experience for students. Sussex is known globally for its quality teaching with top-notch academic experts. In addition, the MBA course is recognised by global institutions such as the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the Charted Management Institute (CMI).

Azahara Corrales: I studied journalism back in Spain. After I moved to England, I worked in hospitality for a long time. After six years, I decided that wasn't the path I wanted to follow. It wasn't easy because I always had concerns about whether I was capable of it, especially due to my English level. But after overcoming my fears, I decided to pursue a masters degree in marketing.

Tumpa, how did your MBA degree help you in your career?

Tumpa: It developed my strategic and critical thinking and I accumulated analytical skills, which help me to determine more accurate outcomes in an ever-changing business world. I also strengthened my negotiation skills.

Azahara, how has your degree in MSc International Marketing shaped your professional interests?

Azahara: It gave me a full understanding of the relationships between marketing channels. In my field, we have many people who come from different specialities not related to marketing and I think studying my Masters gave me an advantage on many occasions.

How do you empower women in your current roles?

Tumpa: I volunteer for WeGrow Financial Services, who focus on helping vulnerable women in villages in India. We provide them with credit and support to develop skills. This helps them start small income-generating activities to fulfil their basic needs for food and education for their children. I aim to create opportunities for these women to grow and succeed and encourage them to share their ideas and talents. I also offer resources and training to help them learn new skills.

Azahara: It's not something that I do on purpose, but I think I empower people by being myself. As women, we have been told so many times how we need to behave, how we should be speaking, or how we should follow men's rules when it comes to how we portray ourselves to the world, especially when it comes to business. I am just myself. I do things with passion, and I portray my personality in everything I do, and I think that inspires others to be themselves too.

Who inspires you?

Azahara: Beyoncé. In a world where it is so difficult to have female references because they do not exist or we just don't talk about them, I embrace her as someone who keeps growing as an artist and proves day by day that she does whatever she wants. It inspires me very much. I always listen to her before I go out to give one of my presentations. She's the human representation of the word 'empowerment.'

Tumpa: Mother Teresa. Her selfless dedication to helping the poor and vulnerable has shown me the power of compassion and kindness. Her commitment to serving others, especially women in need, motivates me to contribute positively to the world and support women's empowerment.

Azahara, in your posts on LinkedIn you often talk about your own imposter syndrome. How did you overcome it?

Azahara: Imposter syndrome is a constant companion, it doesn't just fade away. However, each achievement serves as ammunition against the voices of doubt, gradually silencing them as you build a repertoire of proud moments and successes.

Azahara, what advice would you give to female graduates aspiring to start a career in communication and tech?

Azahara:

• Be adaptable and open-minded as plans rarely unfold as expected.
• Continuously expand your knowledge and skills.
• Recognise and uphold your value.
• Set boundaries.
• Don’t allow anyone to tell you that you are not good enough.