Maria Motiwala steps in and actively learns the ropes by driving operations forward. Joining our firm as a general management intern assisting a junior partner, Maria brings a refreshing blend of operational grit, real-world business consulting experience, and a natural talent for keeping portfolio businesses moving forward. From coordinating cross-functional teams to navigating fast-paced projects in Boston, her focus has always been on the day-to-day realities of making a business run better, faster, and smarter in New York City today. Maria simply immediately rolls up her sleeves to understand and eliminate systemic friction, stepping into general management like a boss already.

Bridging Leadership and Ownership: Maria’s Role with the Firm

Maria is already stepping into a role that goes far beyond traditional administrative internship tasks. She has taken on the day-to-day management and operational consulting for her first business within the portfolio of her leading partner, with the clear potential and trajectory to take on more as she embeds further into the firm.

In this role, Maria acts as a direct operational link between our firm’s leadership and the enterprise owner. Her day-to-day focus centers on:

• Collaborative Planning: Working closely with the business owner and her team and leading partner to map out actionable, day-to-day activities that drive performance.
• Operational Oversight: Reviewing workflows and tracking timelines to ensure strategic goals translate into daily progress on the ground.
• Strategic Consulting: Observing the pulse of the business to suggest actionable optimizations directly to both the owner and her leading partner.

Planning, overseeing, and suggesting the very activities that keep the business moving, Maria operates and acts as an effective partner in the business she runs.

Ground-Level Operations and Academic Rigor

There is an impressive level of focus in how Maria approaches day-to-day management. Her background is built on strong academic milestones: a Master of Science in Project Management from Northeastern University, paired with an Advanced General Management Program credential from the Institute of Management Technology, and a Bachelor of Management Studies (Major – Finance) from Royal College of Arts, Science and Commerce.

What makes her such a great fit for our firm’s daily workflows is her capability to step straight into moving machinery and keep everything on track. Her toolkit is built for immediate, daily impact:

• Process & Milestone Management: Proven experience in structured project execution, collaboration, and keeping teams strictly aligned with target timelines to support change management.
• Daily Operational Tools: Highly practical execution using tools like JIRA for sprint tracking, MS Project, Google Sheets, and automated reporting systems to keep workflows clear and visible.

A Proven Foundation in Business Consulting

Before joining our team, Maria was already operating deep within the corporate space, tackling the daily headaches of business operations and client delivery through a consultative lens.

As a Management Consultant at SMB Catalyst LLP, she handled the meticulous day-to-day work required to keep high-profile clients organized. For Talati and Partners LLP (a luxury design and architecture firm), she systematically executed key components of a comprehensive growth strategy. Simultaneously, she delivered a process optimization project for Luxe Surfaces (a luxury tiles supply chain), mapping out workflows that cut costs by 5% quarterly and achieved over 95% project milestone compliance for both clients.

Her operational footprint is defined by getting things done:

• Driving Team Alignment: As an Engagement Manager – Business Consulting at Debox Consulting Pvt. Ltd., she aligned cross-functional teams and managed stakeholders, boosting on-time delivery of transformation milestones to over 90% and directly lifting client satisfaction.PDF
• Managing Financial Technology Deployments: As a Business Analyst at Credence Analytics, she managed the daily operational and communication loops for banking technology projects with international teams in Sri Lanka, handling feature testing, deployment tracking, and designing a proprietary Valuation Module that contributed to project billing milestones.PDF

The Human Engine of Daily Management

It is easy to look at a project plan on paper, but Maria knows that operations are entirely about people. True general management and consulting mean keeping everyone communicative, clear on their daily goals, and supported through organizational changes.

Whether she is running quick Agile ceremonies, resolving a sudden project bottleneck, or managing client expectations, Maria communicates with total transparency. She has a natural knack for cutting through the daily noise of a busy office, translating high-level goals into clear, actionable daily tasks, and keeping the team’s energy high and focused.

“Maria has an incredible ability to step into a chaotic, fast-moving project and immediately bring structure to the day-to-day workflow. She keeps her eyes on the metrics and her hands on the operations, making sure no detail falls through the cracks.” — Bishop Sabry, Partner

The Trajectory Forward

Maria represents the vital core of general management—someone who loves the craft of execution, values the structure of a well-run day, and thrives in the dynamic world of corporate problem-solving. As she begins her journey across our firm’s daily operations and takes charge of her first portfolio business, she isn’t just helping us manage the present; she’s setting the standard for how we execute our best work every single day.