William M.

Madway
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Marketing Department
700 Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
610-527-9502 (Office) ! 610-322-5847 (Cell)
Email: wmadway@wharton.upenn.edu

March 8, 2010

Postgraduate Admissions Team

University House
The University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 8UW
United Kingdom
RE: Letter of Recommendation for Mr. Suyashh Gupta
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Exceptional intellect, tremendous drive, natural leader, unlimited potential...four qualities that
immediately come to mind when I think of Suyashh Gupta. Suyashh was one of 40 international
students I taught last summer in the Summer Institute in Business & Technology (SIBT), a joint
program of The Wharton School and the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
Not only was Suyashh one of the strongest performers in the program, but he is also one of the
most motivated and talented students I have met during my 6+ years of teaching. With this in
mind, I am delighted to provide this letter of recommendation in support of his application for
Warwick Universitys MSc in Supply Chain and Logistics Management program.
To be candid, I only observed Suyashh over a four-week period. But when combined, the two
mini-courses I teach in the SIBT program are equal to a semester-long class. During this time,
Suyashh made an indelible impression on me. His grades were very high in both of my classes; he
averaged 93 out of 100 in each one. Ordinarily, an average this high would result in an A.
However, due to Whartons very strict grading policy, Suyashh received an A- in my New
Product Development course and a B+ in my Entrepreneurial Marketing course. But grades alone
dont tell the full story of his class performance or his overall contribution to the SIBT program.
I found Suyashhs work ethic, reasoning ability, and business acumen second to none. In addition,
he was extremely well-liked and well-respected by his peers. To illustrate, the main project for
the SIBT program is to identify a new, high-tech product opportunity and prepare a
comprehensive business plan. The new product idea that Suyashh came up with, a universal
charger for portable electronic devices, was selected by his team as the focus for their project.
Suyashh was chosen to lead the team, and over the remaining three weeks of the SIBT program,
his group put together a well-researched, well-conceived, highly sophisticated business plan. The

Letter of Recommendation for Mr. Suyashh Gupta

March 8, 2010
Page 2

amount of work and ingenuity they put into the project went well beyond that of the four other
teams in the program. I can still recall the teams oral progress report. After working on the
project for only a few days, the team came up with a clever company name, Power Unplugged,
and made a 60-second video that clearly and compellingly demonstrated their product concept.
Their final business plan and presentation was, by far, the best of the five teams in the program.
I also had a chance to observe Suyashh during several team meetings and came away very
impressed with his leadership ability. The SIBT program attracts students from all over the world
and with varying levels of business knowledge. Given the compressed timeline for this project and
its importance from a grading perspective, it would have been very tempting to simply rely on the
strongest members of the team to get the work done. But not Suyashh. Through effective
delegation and his collegial management style, he was able to get everyone on the team involved in
the project in a meaningful way. And through coaching and encouragement, he helped various
teammatessuch as students who were reluctant to present to the class overcome their
weaknesses. In short, Suyashh brought out the best in everyone around him.
Regarding Suyashhs English skills, he was a frequent, articulate, and insightful contributor to our
class discussions. His written assignments, such as case analyses, were concise, well-reasoned,
and easy to read. Based on this, I believe Suyashhs written and oral English skills are well above
what would be considered proficient for an applicant whose first language is not English.
Success in a Masters program, especially one as rigorous as Warwicks MSc in Supply Chain
and Logistics Management, requires excellent academic skills, a thirst for knowledge, selfdiscipline, and a strong sense of direction. Having observed Suyashh very closely during the SIBT
program and gotten to know him personally, I can say, with strong conviction, that he possesses
all of these qualitiesin abundance. He is serious-minded and highly motivated when it comes to
his studies, and has a clear idea of what he wants to accomplish academically and professionally.
In addition, he works extremely well with others, be they his peers or his professors.
Given all of these strengths, Suyashh has my highest recommendation for admission to
Warwicks MSc in Supply Chain and Logistics Management program. He is unquestionably a
talented student, with an exceptional mind, an extraordinary work ethic, and exemplary character.
I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach Suyashh, and I am sure your colleagues will
feel the same way.
I hope my letter is helpful in evaluating Suyashhs qualifications for admission to Warwick
University. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached
at 610-527-9502 or wmadway@wharton.upenn.edu. Thank you for your consideration.
Very truly yours,

William M. Madway
William M. Madway
Lecturer in Marketing, The Wharton School