Aditya Maheswaran
Class of 2013
Consultant, Hay Group




Previous Occupation: Worked in the Strategic Marketing Group at Cognizant
Present Occupation: Consultant at Hay Group in the Leadership and Talent strategy space
Sector: Consulting
Work Experience: 5.5 years
Interests – Professional/ Personal: Neuroscience, philosophy, leadership, unleashing people potential and public speaking

Can you tell us a little about your family background/ history?
I was raised in Chennai, where I did my schooling and earned an engineering degree. I have an elder sister who is settled in Singapore and works at Global Foundries. My father is a mechanical engineer and has his own set-up in the power sector. My mother is a freelance trainer and consultant in behavioural sciences.

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards/ special projects).
I've been passionate about public speaking and leadership since I was very young. I joined Toastmasters International nearly a decade ago and was bestowed with the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), the highest recognition by Toastmasters in the field of public speaking and servant leadership, at the age of 23 − one of the youngest in the world to achieve this distinction.
I was a TEDx speaker in 2011.
Rotary awarded me their prestigious “Young Achiever Award” for 2011 for exceptional contribution in the leadership and speaking space.
Recently, I won five levels of rigorous public speaking contests and went on to win the India-level public speaking contest. This qualified me to represent India at the World Championship of Public Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August 2014.

Tell us about your profile pre-ISB, and recap your professional life after ISB, including your career progression.
I started my career at Cognizant. After a year, I was taken into the Strategic Marketing Group, since my interest and capabilities suited it better. In this team, I was involved in liaising with industry experts and helping leaders at Cognizant shape the strategy of the firm. Apart from this, I was involved in marketing campaigns and client relationships.
ISB helped me get a broader perspective of business. It also helped me get into the space of Organisation Behaviour and Leadership consulting, something I was truly passionate about and interested in. I see myself working in this field even a couple of decades from now!

Describe your fondest memory at ISB.
Any ISB alumnus will find it difficult to pick just one fond memory. On a personal note, my favourite memory is of hosting events and anchoring them on stage. I got a kick out of that. But as a student, my fondest memories are of partying and socialising at one end, and the conversations I had with my classmates at the other – the magnitude of perspectives I gained on every little thing due to the diversity of students at ISB was amazing. Each such conversation brings back good memories.

In your personal life, how have you changed post-ISB? Do you see yourself doing something differently because you went to ISB? What has left a lasting impression?
An MBA helped me to talk the language of multiple functions and businesses, which otherwise would have been Greek to me. This, along with realising that business is not as complex as I had assumed it to be, is a confidence booster. My time at ISB has taught me to observe more, listen more, accept competition and accept setbacks, knowing that either sustained success or sustained failure is a myth. The important thing is to maximise productivity and enjoy the process!

How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
It has contributed tremendously, both in monetary and non-monetary terms. I was new to both behavioural sciences and consulting, though I had always been passionate about both. An MBA from a reputed school like ISB gave me a head start (although I got the job off-campus), after which I found it easier to prove my worth.

If you have to sum up ISB in one word:
Happiness.

What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
The campus, housekeeping services, professors, friendships, partying, thinking, books and peace of mind!

Word of advice for the current class?
ISB offers you a buffet. You can't eat it all. So prioritise as early as possible, decide what tastes best to you and go after it!

What was your favourite course/ class at ISB and why?
I loved Entrepreneurship by Professor Arun Pereira, Strategy by Professor Prashant Kale and Marketing Services by Professor Piyush Kumar.

Was there anyone during your time at ISB who acted as a mentor for you? Tell us a little about this relationship and why it was valuable.
I had no particular mentor as such, but some interesting discussions with Professor Abhijeet Vadera with respect to human behaviour and philosophy were helpful.

What are the areas in which you can contribute to ISB?
I could contribute by talking to students and guiding them or by taking up electives in behaviour, leadership and business communication.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
The freedom to ideate, find solutions and execute in the industry and service line that I'm passionate about.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
Leadership is subtle. The biggest change in leadership is the death of an alpha-leader, the hero who saves a company or project from distress and restores peace. Increasingly, leaders are realising how important emotional intelligence and the power of being vulnerable is, and how crucial it is to be role models and create a second-line of leadership, rather than just be an autocratic and charismatic one-man army. That's the shift we enable our clients to make.