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Gautam Gadgil
Class of 2006
Managing Director, Sporting Edge Academies
Present Occupation: Managing Director, Sporting Edge Academies, Mumbai, India.
Sector: Sports and Real Estate
Work Experience: 9 years
Interests – Professional/Personal:
Professional - Business models around sports.
Personal – Astronomy, travelling.
Can you tell us a little about your family background/history?
I grew up in Nasik, Maharashtra. My dad is an engineer from IIT Kanpur and is currently Executive Director with a large, listed company. My mother is an entrepreneur turned homemaker. I have one younger sister who is currently working in Australia.
Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards\special projects)
I launched Sporting Edge Academies, in partnership with Australian cricketing legend Steve Waugh, in late 2009. Sporting Edge provides a unique branded sports solution to real estate developers who are developing large township projects to help them differentiate and enhance their product offerings for their customers. We have signed up three large projects with reputed developers, including an association with the Brigade Group in Bangalore, which was announced in the last week of November 2012.
Prior to joining ISB, I was a Chartered Accountant, and had worked with organisations like PricewaterhouseCoopers, Wipro and Infosys in corporate finance and assurance roles. After graduating from the ISB in 2006, I got an opportunity to work as an Investment Manager with Macquarie Bank, Australia’s largest investment bank, at their Sydney office. I worked with Macquarie Bank until I launched Sporting Edge in 2009.
Describe your fondest memory at ISB?
There are many. The evening tennis sessions at the Rec centre were always fun. The mixture of tension, apprehension, excitement and anticipation during the placement week was another unforgettable experience.
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?I think my year at ISB changed me as a person. The thought process and the approach towards situations (both professional and personal) were refined with a good balance between fact and intuition. ISB also instilled in me a lot of confidence and self-belief to go out there and pursue my professional dreams. I don’t believe I would have become an entrepreneur had it not been for that one year I spent at ISB.
If you have to sum up ISB in one word?
Transformational!
What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
The peer interactions and networking opportunities.
Word of advice for the current class?
Enjoy your year at ISB. Try to create a good balance between academics, peer interactions and extracurricular activities.
What was your favourite course/class at ISB and why?
Negotiation Analysis by Professor Dishan Kamdar. The teaching methodology was engaging and there were substantial tangible takeaways that have been relevant to me on an ongoing basis.
In what areas can you contribute to ISB?
I am currently involved in assisting with admissions interviews and mock interviews for current students. I would like to continue with this and I’m always keen to explore other ways in which I can get involved.
What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
That we have been able to create a business model around branded sports and that we are contributing, in our own small way, to creating a sports culture in India.
What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
Sports, as an industry, is at a nascent stage in India – it comes with its own sets of challenges and opportunities. However, there is tremendous interest in this sector and things are evolving rapidly. I believe we will see a lot more structure and many organised players reshaping this industry over the next five to 10 years.