Priya Balasubramaniam – Rising to the Challenge

Being told that women can’t manage factories didn’t stop Priya Balasubramaniam from trying. With degrees in mechanical engineering and supply chain management, she’s worked her way up to an executive position at Apple Inc. overseeing iPhone operations—and now sees a growing number of women among the ranks of engineers.

October 1, 2019

Somewhere out there, 10 engineering recruiters might be kicking themselves. Priya Balasubramaniam struggled to find her first job after she graduated with her mechanical engineering degree from Bangalore University in India because hiring managers didn’t think a woman could succeed as a mechanical engineer.

But with steady determination and optimism, Balasubramaniam has proved them wrong: she is now vice president of operations at Apple Inc., overseeing the iPhone’s supply chain, manufacturing, quality and repair operations, and was named among the most powerful female engineers by “Business Insider” in 2017 and 2018.

As she told the audience during her commencement address at MSU in fall 2017, “I stand here as proof that girls can manage factories.”

Balasubramaniam was in Minneapolis this past spring to indulge her love of Spartan basketball, attending the Final Four and watching MSU play. It was a great time despite the loss, she said, and she hopes to see more games in person in the future.

Balasubramaniam spoke recently to “Spartan” by phone from the San Francisco Bay area.

Spartan: Why did you decide to become an engineer?

P.B.: From an early age, logical and analytical thinking has been my strength, and that has been one of the main drivers of my becoming an engineer. This interest in logical and analytical thinking, coupled with an interest in science and math, led me to want to be an engineer.

Spartan: What do you like best about your work now that you’ve become an engineer?

P.B.: I like the ability to apply my education in engineering and business, to run a fast-paced global manufacturing organization that delivers products that delight customers.

Spartan: What extra challenges have you faced being a woman in an engineering field? In the commencement speech that you gave at MSU, you mentioned some adversity.

P.B.: That was very early in my career. It was very challenging for me to land my first job. As I mentioned in my commencement speech, after graduating from undergrad, I had to go through 11 interviews for a manufacturing job. In part I think the interview panels assumed that as a woman, I would not be able to manage a factory production line or succeed in a male-dominated environment. But other than my struggle to get my first job, I’ve been lucky to find a very supportive and collaborative working environment throughout my career.

Set goals and do your best to achieve them. Building a community around you to help you achieve your goals is very important. I would advise them to never give up, and don’t let anything distract them or discourage them from their goal.

Spartan: There’s been a lot of focus on encouraging women and girls to pursue STEM careers. Have you seen any change in the work environment over the course of your career so far, as far as how women are included and treated in the field now?

P.B.: Yes. In my undergraduate mechanical engineering class, I was one of two women. Over the years, I’ve seen a growing acceptance and increased numbers of women in the field, as well as other engineering fields. Today, I see many strong, capable women engineers, at different levels, in different fields, making a great impact. In addition to that, there are also many organizations in the U.S., like AnitaB.org, whose flagship event, the Grace Hopper Celebration, is the single largest gathering of women technologists, and SWE, the Society of Women Engineers, that promotes women in tech and acts as a platform for women in tech. These organizations have become more prominent over the last few years, and I’ve seen a growing number of women participating in the events, and that to me is a signal of a lot more women coming to the STEM fields.

Spartan: What advice would you give to young women and girls who are interested in pursuing those fields as a career?

P.B.: Set goals and do your best to achieve them. Building a community around you to help you achieve your goals is very important. I would advise them to never give up, and don’t let anything distract them or discourage them from their goal.

Spartan: I want to ask about your choice to attend Michigan State, to come to the United States from India and to stay here. Can you talk a little bit about what led up to that?

P.B.: I wanted to pursue a master’s in business, and in my previous work, I had worked closely with the supply chain group. That piqued my interest in supply chain. So, I wanted to major in supply chain, and MSU was and still is one of the top schools in the U.S. for the field. (After graduation) I got great opportunities in the field in the U.S., and coming to Apple definitely has been one of those experiences that I have cherished, and that’s what made me stay.

Spartan: I heard that you’re a huge Spartan basketball fan. Is that true? How did that come to be?

P.B.: Yes, that is true. When I was a student at MSU, the Spartans won the NCAA championship, back in 2000. So of course, at that time, the entire school was in a frenzy, right? And ever since I’ve been a huge Spartan basketball fan, and I admire Coach Izzo as a leader. I’ve read a lot about him over the years, and learned a lot from how he leads Spartan basketball. And now, in addition to the Spartans, of course, my other favorite team is the Warriors. It also helps that Draymond Green went to MSU, so he is my favorite player for the Warriors.

Spartan: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

P.B.: I like cooking, reading and bird watching. Those are some of my hobbies. I don’t travel specifically for bird watching, but when I’m traveling, if I can get in a few hours of bird watching, I definitely do that. I found that bird watching not only helps me relax, but also has helped me develop patience. With birds, you have to be patient. If you go to a particular area to see a particular bird, it might not be there when you’re there. So you have to wait and watch. It takes time, and it takes a lot of patience. You have to be quiet. Everything needs to be calm and peaceful around you.

It’s amazing that, even in our local area, we have so many birds. All you need to do is open your eyes. When initially somebody told me that there are hundreds of species of birds in our local area, I refused to believe. Soon enough, I found out that there are at least 100 species of birds in and around the Bay Area where I live, so it’s fascinating.

Spartan: Do you have anything else you’d like to say for our readers?

P.B.: If they have children, young men or young women in their life, encourage them to follow their dreams, to follow their passion. Find a way to positively reinforce, to the extent one can, their interests in terms of what they want to pursue.

Listen to Priya’s inspirational 2017 commencement speech: