Previous Occupation: Field Service Manager, Schlumberger. Managed cementing operations in the Haynesville Basin, Louisiana (U.S.)
Present Occupation: Senior Petroleum Engineer – Barmer Hill Project, Cairn India Limited.
Sector: Oil and Gas
Work Experience: 5.5 years
Interests – Professional/Personal:
Professional: Field operations, operational excellence
Personal: Travel above all else, adventure sports

Can you tell us a little about your family background/history?
I moved to the United States when I was 17. My parents live in Chicago. I wanted to come back to India to gain some international work experience. I have one younger brother who lives in Cincinnati.

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards\special projects)?
Five months into my three-year rotational programme at Cairn India, I was singled out for my work, plucked from the programme and placed in a team that needed accelerated execution.

Tell us about your profile pre ISB, and give us a recap of your professional life after ISB, including your career progression?
Pre-ISB, I was completely into field operations. I worked on oil rigs for five years all over the United States. It was a very hands-on, fast paced type of job. It was very people oriented, and service quality was the key deliverable.

Post-ISB, I decided I wanted to stay in the oil and gas sector because my experience is valued and hard to come by. Oil and gas is still one of the most exciting and compelling fields to work in. I now work for an operator rather than a service company. When Cairn India hired me, I was placed in the Management Leadership Development Programme. This is a three-year rotational programme within the company. I started out in the Business Transformation Group where I worked on a procurement transformation project. After five months, I caught the attention of the COO, who liked my profile and my work. The COO had me pulled out of the programme and placed on the Barmer Hill team where I could combine my past experience and the skills I gained during my time at ISB to ensure excellence in execution.

Describe your fondest memory of ISB?
Being part of the Solstice team and owning an ISL team were among the highlights for me. I’ll also never forget wearing my Dabaang costume at 4 AM at the Bollywood party and getting people to dance via the threat of my police baton! Another special memory was the day the Raging Bulls won the ISL 2011.

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?
Moving back to India was a huge adjustment for me, and it is only thanks to the friends that I made at ISB that the transition was easier. The network has been amazing and people are extremely helpful. I do see myself viewing problems in a different light post my MBA. Before my year at ISB, I had a narrower focus and would never have looked at the big picture. Now I find myself doing exactly that, and it adds value to what I bring to the table. The collaboration among classmates at ISB is what I cherish the most.

How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
It has given me a platform, a brand name and a community of people to rely on. For example, the project I was working on involved people from different companies, and at one project meeting we discovered there were five ISB graduates within the team ranging from the Class of 2005 to the Class of 2012. It gave us all a common bond and made us more productive.

If you have to sum up ISB in one word:
Supercallifragilisticexpallidocious!

What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB ?
Professor Prashant Kale's class.

Word of advice for the current class?
Savour ISB because the reality check is inevitable.

What was your favourite course/class at ISB and why?
Consumer Behaviour because Professor Rishtee Batra made the class interactive and fun. Also, I had a blast doing my end-term project.

In what areas can you contribute to ISB?
Wherever they need help, especially with people coming to ISB with oil and gas backgrounds.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
I meet many different people every day and I enjoy that. Also, working in a cross-functional team allows me to focus on my biggest skill, which is people.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
I am excited and optimistic about hydraulic fracturing in India and increased shale play activity. One of notable trends in the industry is that operators are moving towards a high-risk, high reward model.

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