How a global transformation leader is using an MBA to bridge the gap between human connection and machine intelligence

After 20+ years driving global business transformations, Sri Muthyala used the Executive MBA at Melbourne Business School to step into enterprise leadership, elevating his strategic judgment and impact.

Name: Sri Muthyala

Current Role: General Manager – Artificial Intelligence

Program: Executive MBA, Melbourne Business School

Cohort: 2023 - 2024

Notables: SRC Class Representative, Executive MBA 2024. Winner, MBS Community Service Award, recognising outstanding contributions to the school and the broader community. Achieved a podium finish in Jetstar Strategy Case Competition. Peer nominated for the Egon Zehnder International Leadership Prize, acknowledging leadership impact and values demonstrated during the program

From delivery to the decision maker

For much of his career, Sri Muthyala was trusted with one thing above all else: delivery.

Across 21 years, he led complex programs, stabilised operations, and delivered business transformation across continents and industries, from banking and manufacturing to retail and Packaging & recycling. He built teams and delivered results in high-pressure environments.

Over time, all that experience led to a realisation.

Sri’s real focus was the journey of the decision-maker; delivery mattered, but it was not the whole story.

He became deeply curious about the bigger picture of business. How decisions shape sustainability, drive innovation, and influence financial outcomes.

“I knew how to execute,” he said.

“What I wanted was to strengthen my judgment and to understand how leaders decide what matters, how tradeoffs are made, and how long-term value is created.”

It was that desire for an end-to-end understanding of how a business works that led him to move his family to Melbourne in 2022 and apply for the Executive MBA at Melbourne Business School.

Why Melbourne Business School

Initially, Sri was very much focused on career advancement and felt that MBS’s reputation would provide him with the strongest pathway to meaningful long-term employment in Australia.

Without access to HECS-HELP, Sri made a considered decision to invest personally in the program as part of his long-term career and leadership journey.

Many people would have found this daunting, but Sri saw things differently and embraced an opportunity mindset.

“I told myself that if I wanted to grow as a leader, I needed to think strategically rather than worrying about the immediate economics," he said.

"But above all, I recognised that true transformation isn't about numbers or tech, it’s about people. I knew MBS was the right environment to deepen my ability to connect, communicate the vision, and bring people along on the journey.”

Inside the MBA experience

As the course progressed, Sri realised he was gaining the skills to see business at a macro level, to understand how strategy, finance, operations and growth all connect.

He credits his professors at MBS for giving him this deeper perspective.

"They gave me the opportunity to think like a CMO when it came to marketing, like a CEO when it came to operations, and like a CIO when it came to innovation. Throughout the course, I was encouraged to put myself in their shoes,” he said.

For Sri, the cohort experience was just as influential. He describes it as a highly welcoming group, where learning extended well beyond the classroom.

“You’re constantly learning from people who lead in completely different contexts,” he said. “But what really stood out was how open everyone was in sharing their experiences. The way the syndicates were structured made collaboration natural, you learned as much from each other as you did from the course content.”

Sri’s cohort contributions were recognised through the MBS Community Service Award and a peer nomination for the Egon Zehnder International Leadership Prize, acknowledgements Sri describes as deeply humbling.

Rather than viewing the MBA merely as a steppingstone to future employment, he realised he now had the skills to contribute in a far more impactful and strategic way.

Strategy in action

Shortly after completing his MBA in 2024, Sri started putting the program’s strategy and leadership thinking into practice in his current organisation.

He helped shaped the automation and innovation agenda by strengthening decision-making around priorities, governance, and scaling emerging technologies in a way that supported enterprise-wide outcomes.

“The shift for me was moving from implementation to direction, understanding the decisions behind the work, and how to balance constraints, opportunity, and long-term value,” he reflected.

Leading with purpose

Today, as Head of Artificial Intelligence at Visy, Sri focuses on making technology matter. Leveraging his technical background alongside enhanced strategic skills, he translates complex AI concepts into a clear vision that the business can adopt and sustain.

Recognizing that people often fear AI will displace their jobs, Sri prioritizes change management and human connection. By educating teams and leading with empathy, he brings people along on the transformation journey.

For Sri, this has been the real step-change in leadership: moving from delivering work to building the human connections required for progress, alignment, and momentum.

For future students

Sri’s first piece of advice for future students is to “set up the right expectation and understand what you want out of this course and from the university.”

However, he is quick to add that students shouldn't restrict their own growth. "Don't limit yourself, I learned things that I could have never imagined," he said. "Be open, be curious, and make sure you are agile."

“Being a good observer and listener will definitely help while you're doing this course,” he enthused.

His final takeaway is to embrace every opportunity the MBS community provides. “We used to inspire each other. It really is about working with the best people, best professors, and of course the best academics.”

Made. Not born. – Sri’s interpretation

For Sri, a quote from American author Dale Carnegie resonates deeply. “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision… the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

Sri overcame challenging personal obstacles while studying for his MBA and embraced an entirely new framework for leadership, which helped him translate years of operational execution into enterprise level leadership skills.

“I think back to it now, and it always leaves me with a positive feeling,” he said. “The course genuinely transformed me. I'm much more confident about myself and my place in this country. I feel different.”