From image-making to creating innovation with the MBA programme

Mixing art and commerce doesn’t always come naturally, but for Meutia Ananda, learning how to wield these creative and analytical skillsets in tandem have always held great fascination for her.

The entrepreneur in the client-facing business of photography got her start when she worked for an Indonesian photographer, after completing her undergraduate studies in international relations. Besides admiring her employer’s ability to capture his subjects in moving detail, she was also piqued by how he had grown his business into a prosperous venture.

“Working for an artist is very different from working for executives,” she notes. “I was a photo editor then, and I learned how every little detail mattered, and how to work with customer satisfaction in mind. My boss was tough; working for him taught me the importance of relationship management with our customers.”

Subsequently, she worked as a contributing photographer in the publishing industry and got the chance to photograph luminaries ranging from business leaders to supermodels, further honing her ability to think on her feet and work with a team.

Having invested time in mastering the technical and entrepreneurial aspects of the photography business, Meutia then decided to venture out on her own, and founded a studio focused on weddings and commercial projects.

“I didn’t become an entrepreneur on a whim,” says Meutia, who is currently a market analysis intern with Konica Minolta Business Innovation Centre. “I made a calculated decision. Photography is not just a point-and-shoot job. Aspirants need to be able to adapt to changing situations; I also knew I needed to pursue the skills of a business owner. It was a conscious effort through and through.”

She ran her business for a decade, and took pains to build strong customer relationships, and nurture a team equipped with both business and technical skills. “They are well known in the market today, and I take pride in that,” she says.

As she grew her business, Meutia was also planning ahead. Analysing her own motivations, she realised she was most drawn to the strategic and research aspects of running her company; she wanted to test herself and see how she could apply her business acumen to new challenges.

Hence, she embarked on a new journey in 2020, enrolling herself in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme at Singapore Management University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

“SMU had captured my interest by embracing my non-traditional background,” she explains. “I would only want to be in a place where they accept me the way I am and keep on challenging me to reach my fullest potential.”

The programme was able to help her strengthen her teamwork skills, as well as leverage her past experience and leadership skills. She particularly enjoyed the Financial Accounting class taught by Associate Professor Themin Suwardy (“he is very animated and helped us learn better through fun projects and seminars”), and Storytelling for Brands and Leaders taught by Associate Professor Mark Chong, who also created valuable learning experiences through project work. Meutia also participated enthusiastically in school activities, winning the SMU MBA Olympics 2020 and becoming the President of the SMU MBA New Ventures Club.

At Konica Minolta Business Innovation Centre, an information technology and services company where her responsibilities centre on market intelligence, Meutia has been immersed in areas such as service robotics, telemedicine and warehouse inventory management.

Besides being able to apply skills such as ideation, research and documentation that she learned in the MBA programme, the electives Business Value of Digital Disruptions and Managing Innovation have been particularly valuable to her. These electives helped her understand the support needed when it comes to incubating innovation in a global company, she elaborates.

She applied for the internship because she wanted to better understand innovation management in a multinational corporation. During her stint, she has been able to observe the entire lifecycle of service development and incubation activities, including proofs-of-concept and pilot programmes.

“Now I understand that managing innovation in an MNC is very different from those in start-ups and small businesses,” she says. “Moving forward, I think the MBA core modules and electives will build my confidence in an organisational setting and help me to bring people together and produce innovative products and solutions.”