Misha Kaur
A cross-sector strategist who's spent a career proving that the best operations don't choose between profit and people — they design for both.
Across industrial & engineering, consumer & digital, beauty & retail, and technology & AI.
My Journey
Every industry I've worked in added a new lens. Every pivot was a step toward purpose — not a destination, but a deepening.
The Beginning — India
Born and raised in India, I started with a degree in Electrical Engineering. But something didn't click — I knew I was meant for something that connected people, not circuits. I pivoted to an MBA in Organizational Development & Change Management and spent three years helping organizations navigate transformation.
The Leap — Moving to the U.S.
Craving growth and new horizons, I moved across the world to pursue a Masters in International Business at the University of South Carolina. It was bold, uncertain, and exactly what I needed. Los Angeles came next — I dove into digital marketing and discovered the magic that happens at the intersection of customer, marketing, and business.
Going Deeper — Purdue & Beyond
Hungry to sharpen my analytical edge, I earned a Masters in Marketing Analytics from Purdue University. Then Minnesota called — I joined Emerson Electric as a Strategic Planner, initially focused on process improvement for Global Sales before expanding to drive strategy across all of North America.
Beauty & Retail
Curiosity pulled me into the beauty and retail industry. As Strategy Manager for Retail Operations at Ulta Beauty, I gained a deep understanding of consumer centricity — not just for the customer walking through the door, but for the associates serving them too. This chapter crystallized my core belief: the best strategies are right by all three stakeholders — the business, the customers, and the employees. That's the lens I carry forward.
What's Next — AI & Beyond
I'm driven by a question: how can AI solve real business problems? Not the hype, but the practical, messy, meaningful kind. As a starter, I designed this very website — combining my learning in front-end design principles with AI tools. That blend of strategic thinking and hands-on curiosity is what I want to bring to whatever comes next.
Selected Work
Three projects, across three industries, that reflect how I think about strategy, customers, and the people who execute the work.
Emerson Electric · Global Sales
Co-built a global pursuit framework for complex industrial deals — partnering with regional sales, finance, and product teams rather than handing them a process. Adopted across regions and turned every major sign-off into a cross-functional alignment moment.
"High revenue isn't the same as high margin. The discipline of saying yes selectively is its own competitive advantage."
Ulta Beauty · Retail Operations
Stepped in to cover a Customer Insights gap and built an enterprise-wide NPS scorecard from scratch — a structured cadence that paired what guests were saying with what the business was doing. Became a permanent governance tool well after the handoff.
"The bridge leadership had been missing wasn't more data — it was a way to translate guest voice into action."
Ulta Beauty · Services Strategy
Co-led a test-and-learn portfolio across two service categories. Surfaced two structural strategic findings — a category-format-fit problem and a dedicated-resource requirement — and (rarer than the insight itself) actually stopped the tests that didn't work, on a small sample, before sunk cost set in.
"Most organizations can launch tests. Far fewer can stop them. The discipline of stopping is where strategy gets real."
In Their Words
A few words from people I've worked alongside — leaders, peers, and partners who've seen the work up close.
She had to navigate a lot of ambiguous assignments, organizational restructuring, and economic volatility — but she didn't let these things discourage her. Whenever she faced roadblocks she always kept coming at the problem in new ways until she found a good path forward.
Misha has a unique ability to go beyond the numbers and delve into the "why" behind the data, identifying patterns and trends that provide valuable insights into the factors driving customer experience. She then translates these insights into actionable strategies for improvement.
Misha led the global digital procurement initiative for a strategic account. This was not a simple project and often issues arose which needed attention to resolve. She did a great job leveraging the right resources to get the job done, meeting deadlines and making sure all stakeholders knew the status of their project along the way.
Insights
A space for sharing what I'm learning — about business, technology, operations, and life.
You don't need to learn to code. You need to learn to think clearly. And if you've spent any time in operations, you've been doing that your whole career.
Read MoreHow an "unconventional" route through operations and strategy turned out to be the most powerful career I could have built — and why the data says more women should take it.
Read MoreMost companies optimize operations for one thing — the bottom line. But the best operations I've seen serve three masters at once. Here's why that matters more than ever.
Read MoreBeyond Work
The things that ground me, energize me, and remind me what matters most.
I've walked through depression — and that journey is still unfolding. It taught me something I now carry as a deep conviction: mental health isn't a side note, it's foundational. My own experience showed me how real and quiet the struggle can be, and it made me a proponent of talking about it openly. I want to keep prioritizing my own mental health and encourage others to do the same — because the bravest thing we can do is take care of our minds.
My husband JD, our son Avir, my parents, and my sister — they are my everything. Whether it's cooking a nutritious meal or simply being present, I feel most accomplished when I'm serving the people I love.
Yoga, CrossFit, Pilates, running — anything that challenges my muscles. And dance? "My soul knows how to do it, my body needs to learn." Movement is how I feel most alive.
India is where my story begins — it shaped my values, my warmth, and my way of seeing the world. No matter how far I go, my roots ground me and my culture lives in everything I do.
From India to South Carolina to LA to Minnesota — every place I've called home has shaped who I am. I carry the richness of every chapter with me, and I'm always curious about the next one.
Experience
The roles, schools, and chapters that built the lens I bring to every problem.
Strategy & Growth Lead
Fermat Solutions
Shaping the go-to-market strategy for an AI automation startup — market research, segmentation, and the marketing motions that actually convert.
September 2025 — Present · Twin Cities, MN
Strategy Manager, Retail Operations
Ulta Beauty
Built strategy that served three masters: the business, the customer, and the associates serving them. Where I learned that consumer centricity is meaningless if the people on the floor can't execute it.
June 2021 — April 2026 · Bolingbrook, IL
Strategic Marketing Analytics Consultant (Freelance)
Insight's Edge
Sharpened my consumer-research instincts on the kind of national-brand questions that don't have textbook answers.
September 2024 — April 2025 · Chicago, IL
Strategic Planning Manager (Global Sales → North America)
Emerson Automation Solutions
Co-built frameworks that helped global and regional sales teams pursue the deals that mattered. Where I learned that operations, done well, is one of the most under-appreciated sources of value in any business.
May 2018 — May 2020 · Twin Cities, MN
Digital Marketing Specialist
Storage space startup
My first taste of customer × marketing × business — the pattern that has shaped every role since.
September 2016 — December 2016 · Los Angeles, CA
Project Manager — Process Improvement & HR
Early career roles in India
Where I learned that transformation is a human problem first — long before it's a process problem.
May 2012 — July 2015 · India
M.S. Marketing Analytics
Purdue University
Sharpened analytical skills at the intersection of data science and marketing strategy.
West Lafayette, IN
M.S. International Business
University of South Carolina
Broadened global perspective on business strategy, trade, and cross-cultural management.
Columbia, SC
MBA — Org Development & Change Mgmt
International Management Institute
Specialized in organizational development and change management — understanding the human side of business.
India
B.E. Electrical Engineering
Thapar University
Where it all began — a technical foundation that taught analytical thinking, even if the field wasn't the right fit.
India