99: Always Be Curious, Never Give Up: Dimpal Padia on Breaking Into Supply Chain as an International Student

4 days ago

2 min read

What does it take to build a supply chain career in a brand-new country — and never give up along the way?

In this episode, we welcome Dimpal Padia, a supply chain professional and current graduate student who has built her career across two countries and two industries. Dimpal started out in industrial engineering in Mumbai, spent nearly a year in project management with the engineering and construction firm L&T, and then found her calling in supply chain at General Mills — growing from analyst to senior analyst to a consultant role on an extended leadership team. In 2025, she moved to the United States to pursue a master's degree in mechanical engineering, and she joins us to talk about the mindset that has carried her through every transition.

Throughout the conversation, Dimpal traces the moment she knew supply chain was her path — a chaotic first day shadowing the logistics team at L&T, chasing down a truck driver who wasn't sure he'd deliver on time. From there, she walks through how she brought an engineer's instinct for minimizing waste into logistics, and how her roles evolved from following instructions as an analyst to confidently collaborating with cross-functional leaders as a consultant. She shares the “Five W” framework — why, what, where, who, and when — that she leans on before walking into any meeting, and explains why she believes hard work and curiosity matter more than which industry you start in.

Dimpal also gets candid about what it's really like to search for a job in supply chain as an international student right now — the extra hurdles around sponsorship and needing “U.S. experience,” and why she's leaning on references and one-on-one connections instead of cold applications. She shares what she wishes leaders understood about supporting early-career talent — being approachable, giving people a starting point, and encouraging cross-functional exposure — and closes with the two pieces of advice she carries every day: always be curious before you're confident, and never give up.

In this episode, we discuss:

1:20 – Dimpal's Path from Mumbai to Supply Chain

4:59 – The Day She Discovered Her Passion for Supply Chain

8:21 – Explaining Supply Chain in Everyday Terms

10:57 – Bringing an Engineering Mindset to Logistics

13:38 – Evolving from Analyst to Consultant

17:12 – Choosing an Industry Based on Interest, Not Opportunity

20:25 – What Early-Career Talent Needs from Leadership

24:10 – Navigating the Job Search as an International Student

26:57 – What She's Hearing from Her Peer Cohort

29:30 – Advice: Stay Curious, Bring the Data

30:44 – Never Give Up: A Personal Mantra