The Purpose Pivot: Activating Business Strategies to Reshape Systems - Ravneeta Consul ’06

For Consul, the path to this work was not a sudden shift, but the continuation of a belief she has carried for much of her life. “I always assumed that my role in this world was somehow making the world a little bit better,” she says. “When you are young, you do not know what shape that will take, but that belief stays with you.” 

Through her work, Consul has developed a deeper understanding of the structural nature of medical debt in the United States. Many assume the issue primarily affects those without insurance, but in reality, a significant number of those impacted are underinsured, navigating coverage that still leaves them vulnerable to substantial financial strain.

“This is not about irresponsibility,” she explains. “It is about coverage gaps and a system that leaves people behind.”

For many families, even relatively small amounts of medical debt can shape critical decisions, from delaying care to avoiding treatment altogether. Undue Medical Debt addresses both the immediate burden and the broader system, working not only to abolish debt but also to shift public understanding and advocate for change.

Consul remembers a story that has stuck with her, “In my second week at Undue, we received a letter from a grandmother whose debt had been abolished by Undue. She had lost her daughter to substance abuse at an early age and had raised her grandson. Her medical debt was impacting her credit report, and she wrote how grateful she was that, with this abolishment, her grandson could qualify for financial assistance for education. The line that has stayed with me is - Thank you for your generosity. I didn’t want to fail my grandson the way I failed my daughter. They were a family going through a tough phase and this abolishment gave them a chance to move ahead with their life.”

As the organization has grown, Consul has played a central role in shaping its direction. “Ravneeta is an integral part of the Undue Medical Debt team,” says CEO Allison Sesso. “She oversees all our operations and is a key driver of strategy decisions. She leads with clarity and kindness, sets high but fair expectations, and creates an environment where people can grow. We are punching well above our weight, and that is in no small part because of her leadership.”

What came first and why pivot?

After interning at Boston Consulting Group, Consul joined PwC, drawn less by brand and more by people. She recalls meeting a partner who had built a small, diverse, and deeply interesting team, one that felt distinct from more traditional corporate environments. What she expected to be a short stint evolved into a career spanning nearly eighteen years.

During that time, she worked across strategy, innovation, mergers and acquisitions, and product leadership, gaining exposure to a wide range of industries and complex business problems. The work was fast paced and often high stakes, requiring both precision and speed. “When hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake, you learn quickly that accuracy and speed both matter,” she says.

Just as importantly, this phase of her career shaped how she approached problem solving and leadership. She learned to navigate ambiguity, identify the most critical drivers in complex situations, and make decisions under pressure. “The reason I stayed as long as I did was simple,” she reflects. “I worked with smart people on interesting problems, and I was learning every single day.”

Over time, however, the nature of that learning began to change. As her role became more established, the work grew more familiar, and the steep learning curve that had once defined her experience began to flatten. At the same time, a question that had been present earlier in her life resurfaced with greater urgency.

“I knew at one point that I wanted to be in a position where I could influence a direct positive impact on people, she says. I was also interested in a nimbleness in decision-making, which is hard for larger organizations.

The pivot was not driven by dissatisfaction with her work, but by a desire for greater alignment between her skills and her sense of purpose. After years of operating at scale, she found herself drawn to an environment where her contributions would have a more immediate and visible impact.

Navigating the pivot  

In 2023, Consul joined Undue Medical Debt as chief operating officer, stepping into an organization that differed sharply from the one she had spent most of her career in. The contrast was immediate. In a smaller organization with tighter resources, the absence of redundancy meant that even short absences required teams to adjust quickly.

“When I joined, if one person went on vacation for a few days, everything had to be reshuffled,” she recalls. “There were no backups.”

One of her first priorities was to build operational resilience by strengthening systems and processes so that the organization could scale more effectively. At the same time, she brought with her the discipline and rigor developed during her years in consulting. That combination quickly translated into tangible results.

In one early negotiation, Consul drew on her experience in mergers and acquisitions to understand how a counterparty was pricing a portfolio of medical debt and where there was room to push. The improved terms that followed allowed the organization to extend its reach and maximize its impact. “Understanding the economics from the other side allows you to negotiate more effectively,” she says.

What did it mean?

For Consul, the move into the nonprofit sector has not meant leaving behind her earlier career but rather applying those skills in a context where the impact feels more immediate and more personal. It has also shaped how she thinks about leadership and identity.

Early in her career, she often felt that she did not fit traditional expectations, but instead of conforming, she learned to build relationships in ways that felt authentic to her. “You have to stay true to who you are,” she says. “Trying to match an image that is not yours is not sustainable.”

That clarity extends to how she approaches mission-driven work. “You can navigate short term pressures,” she says, “but nothing you do should compromise your purpose.”

How did SOM shape both careers?

Consul grew up in India in an academic household where ideas, inquiry, and public service shaped daily life. She studied psychology at Utkal University, graduating first in her honors class, before earning a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford, where she studied psychology, philosophy, and physiology. At one point, she seriously considered pursuing a PhD, but a professor encouraged her to broaden her exposure before committing to a single path. That advice stayed with her, ultimately shaping her decision to explore the corporate world before returning to more explicitly mission driven work.

That decision led her to Yale SOM, where she found a community that matched both her intellectual curiosity and her interest in impact. She served on the Dean’s Advisory Council and was drawn to the school’s emphasis on connecting business with broader societal questions. She still recalls following the smell of pizza down the hallways to lunchtime talks, a small but vivid detail that reflects the energy and openness of the SOM community.

Consul sees her time at Yale SOM as a bridge between her two career chapters. The school’s emphasis on connecting business with broader societal impact helped shape how she approached both the private sector and her later transition into nonprofit leadership.

“You do not have to wait until you are established to make a difference,” she says. “Even an hour of helping someone can anchor you to what truly matters.”

For Consul, the pivot was not about starting over, but about carrying forward what she had learned and applying it where it could matter most.