Tara Gupta - Class of 2002

Tara Gupta
Born in Munich, in 1978, the second child of a German mother and an Indian father, Tara Gupta is
now working as a manager in a newly formed Performance Improvement organization at Airbus SAS,
in Toulouse, France. Airbus SAS is a member of EADS which has recently produced the world’s
largest commercial aircraft, the “A380 Navigator”.
Tara Gupta
“It is not luck. I took steps towards where I am now.” Tara said,“I did my study semester in France
and stayed in Spain for two years to improve my language skills”.
Incidentally, aviation has always been an interest of her family. Her father used to own a travel
agency, her younger sister is now working as a tour operator and Tara chose the bankruptcy of
Swissair as the subject of her Bachelor thesis.
She said, “I can not say that my thesis helped me to get this job but it did demonstrate my deep
interest in aviation”.
To crown it off, her respective successes started to flow before she was even hired as a participant of
the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Company, EADS CYMP – Corporate Young Manager
Programme XV.
Her first internship abroad was spent at two locations of Kienbaum Consultants, in Vienna and later
in London for three months each.
“It was a very interesting experience although my internship at NxN Software AG in Munich was like
a holiday”.
She has been quick to add a number of achievements to her impressive four paged resume. Tara said
during her studies she always worked to support herself.
“University life is unforgettable. We were the first graduates of the BBA program and were very close
to each other. I am still in contact with my colleagues; I even met one in London last week”. She said
“The name of the institution is not the most essential aspect ; it is the atmosphere of the specific
program BBA that’s important. There is a very close relationship between professors and students at

the FH-Furtwangen. Studying in an international program and certain courses made me more
sensitive to other cultures”
Her advice for today’s BBA students, “Do not underestimate the power of networking; that means
being in contact with people around you and maintaining the contact. You don’t have to be close
friends but keep in touch because one day, they will be your contact A, B.. in company X, Z…It is just
vital”.
Working overtime is an investment for her, in her career; she doesn’t view it as merely investing
time. She said “Not every job is as stressful but my job is. It depends how much time you invest from
yourself”.
But she still has time for her hobbies; swimming, running, playing tennis and Tango.
The interviewer regrets not having had the chance to Tango with this beautiful and strong BBA
graduate who deserves to be the “leader” while dancing as she is used to in her in daily life.
Interviewed by: Cihan KILIC