Previous Occupation: Assistant Manager - Quality and Training, ITC Ltd.
Present Occupation: Junior Associate, McKinsey & Company
Sector: Management Consulting
Work Experience: 3 years, 9 months
Interests - Professional/ Personal:
Professional: Six Sigma
Personal: Music - I play guitar and synthesizer.

Can you tell us a little about your family background/ history?
I come from a family of academicians. My father is a professor of Law and my mother is a professor of Botany at Bareilly College, Bareilly. My elder sister is married and is now settled in the U.S.

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards/ special projects).
I secured the 4th rank in the ISB’s Class of 2013.

At ITC, I generated potential savings of INR 200 lakhs per annum by deploying an innovation initiative. I improved product quality in three of four premium brands And managed 25 Lean and Six Sigma projects involving 70 stakeholders. Lastly, I was responsible for reducing customer complaints by institutionalizing preventive systems.

Tell us about your profile pre-ISB, and recap your professional life after ISB including your career progression.
I majored in Electronics and Communication Engineering at IIT Roorkee in the batch of 2004-2008. I joined ITC Limited upon graduation as a management trainee. After nine months of training, I was posted at Munger Cigarette Factory, Bihar as Assistant Manager - Quality, and was responsible for the improvement in the quality of products manufactured at the factory. A year later, I was appointed Assistant Manager - Process Improvement, for two factories  Munger and Bangalore. There, I institutionalised the use of structured problem solving tools through Lean and Six Sigma. Thereafter, I moved to the Head Office at Kolkata where I headed the quality function across eight manufacturing units and spearheaded innovation, process improvement, training and recruitment.

I am yet to start working after ISB and I expect to begin around July 1, 2013.

Describe your fondest memory of ISB.
No particular event stands out, but the time I spent with my friends at my quad was the best - be it just chilling out, discussing studies, eating together or even pulling each other’s legs, I enjoyed it all!

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?
ISB has definitely left a lasting impression on me. Through the coursework, I gathered practical problem solving tools and frameworks to analyze business problems. I can now analyze business news articles from various angles - something I could not comprehend earlier. Studying round the clock under constant time pressure has helped in developing my work stamina.

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

What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
The world-class faculty! I have never been taught by such good professors!

Word of advice for the current class?
Go for the learning and placements will happen.

What was your favourite course/ class at ISB and why?
“Entrepreneurial Decision Making” was my favorite class because the professor taught us a lot of practical tools using innovative teaching methods. Even the course readings were very practical.

What are the areas in which you can contribute to ISB?
Admissions, recruitment and mentoring are the areas in which I can contribute to ISB.

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