Title:GEMA Alumni Spotlight – Kritasha Gupta (C’15), Group Head of Business Development, Financial Times

Group Head of Business Development, Financial Times

Kritasha Gupta (C ’15) is currently Group Head of Business Development at the Financial Times in London, focusing on new growth opportunities, strategic partnerships and emerging business models.

What was your first “big break”? Or, what is the most significant experience you have had that has made your success possible?

I made a slightly rogue decision to move to Belgium straight after Georgetown with a couple of suitcases and only a vague idea of what my job would be. What I thought would be 6 months turned into 7 years at POLITICO Europe where I got to be part of building it from a handful of people into a 250+ person business. I had no idea I wanted to work in news media, but I was hooked from day one. It gave me the confidence and the obsession with building sustainable news businesses that has shaped my career ever since. (I also met my husband in Belgium, so it worked out pretty well personally too!)

What is the most challenging part of your job? What is the most rewarding part?

There’s no perfect playbook for the future of news, so a lot of the challenge and joy of my job is experimenting: understanding what people will actually pay for, building new products and business models, and occasionally getting things wrong along the way. When something clicks and you can see a new idea genuinely helping fund quality journalism, it’s incredibly rewarding.

What is something current you are working on that you are excited about?

A big focus of my job at the moment is understanding the opportunities AI presents for the journalism industry. I’m currently working on how the FT can develop new commercial models around AI, which means grappling with some pretty existential questions: What happens when the way people find and consume information fundamentally changes? What will people still seek out and pay for?

There’s definitely some anxiety in that, but I find it incredibly exciting too. We get to experiment with new ways for our journalism to reach people, while helping figure out what a sustainable news business looks like in a world that’s changing quickly.

How is the ever-changing media landscape affecting your industry?

The definition of a “media company” has completely changed. We’re not just competing with other news organizations anymore – we’re competing with creators, podcasts, social platforms and now AI platforms for people’s attention and, increasingly, where they go for information in the first place. Audiences are more fragmented than ever, so you can’t assume they’ll come directly to you. It’s forcing media companies to think much more creatively about where we show up, how we build direct relationships with audiences, and ultimately what makes us worth seeking out.

Are there any ways that you feel Georgetown especially prepared you for your career?

Before I started Georgetown, my brother (also a Hoya) told me that the only real skill you learn in college is how to learn. I’d argue I picked up a few others – surviving all-nighters, finding ways to skip long coffee lines at Lau – but I think he was mostly right. Georgetown taught me to be curious, to take in different perspectives and get comfortable tackling questions that don’t have obvious answers. That’s been invaluable in an industry that’s constantly changing.

What is your best advice to those who are starting out in your field?

Stay curious and be comfortable with not being an expert. Some of the most important and interesting opportunities sit between established teams or don’t have an obvious owner. Being the person who asks the right questions, finds the right people and confidently pulls at threads is often what opens doors.

Also – don’t over-plan your career! I had no idea I’d fall in love with media. My early career was much more about accumulating interesting problems, experiences and people rather than optimising for the perfect job title. I think following what genuinely interests you will usually get you somewhere worthwhile – even if sometimes that’ll mean running in the opposite direction.

Best Business Advice Received:

Be hard on problems, soft on people.

Trait You Most Admire in People:

A good dose of self-awareness and not taking yourself too seriously!

Favorite App, Website, Podcast or Social Platform (other than related to your own company):

Desert Island Discs is my all-time favorite podcast and has been one of the longest-running radio broadcast formats in the world (first episode came out in the 1940s). I love going back into the archives and getting a flavor of the times. This one from Maya Angelou is a favorite: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009mlht

Favorite Georgetown Professor:

Father O’Brien. In classic Georgetown fashion, his class on the Church in the 21st Century had nothing to do with my major but is one I still think about often. He was an incredible storyteller, and I’ll always remember an assignment where we visited all the different places of worship Georgetown had to offer and reflected on the similarities and differences between each experience. It was a beautiful reminder of our common humanity and fundamentally changed the way I think about faith and spirituality.

Favorite Georgetown Restaurant or Bar:

Breaking absolutely no new ground here: a Hot Chick from Wisey’s followed by a cold Sam Adams at The Tombs.

Favorite Georgetown Memory:

A close tie between the “White House Run” when Obama was re-elected – thousands of students from colleges across DC running from their campuses to the White House for a massive celebration – and getting to perform in Rangila alongside 800 students at the Kennedy Center.

To read other Alumni Spotlights, click here.