Ritu Garg
Class of 2009





Tell us a little about your family background/ history. How has it influenced you?
I was brought up in a professional family environment with working parents and many Engineers and Doctors in the extended family as well. My grandfather was a renowned academician and recipient of the National Award and there was always a significant focus on children’s academics. But there was never any pressure to study long hours and my parents believed in me and the way I wanted to shape up my career. I was intrigued by Medicine and decided to pursue that as a career. I performed well in school and was fortunate enough to get into one of India’s premier medical colleges. From early on, I was encouraged to take my own decisions and be independent. Whether deciding which stream to pursue, which college to join, I had to take a call. I think this has been the biggest influence. I learnt to take accountability of my own life and stand by my commitments.

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards/ special projects).
For me, the biggest achievement is credibility and respect among colleagues and peers. It is very satisfying to be recognized in the industry for my work and I have been very fortunate to develop long term bonds with team members and superiors in the organizations I have worked for. I have been entrusted with special projects which had companywide impact. For example, during my last role at Fortis, I had worked on a specialized tiered dashboard which captured and tracked sharply articulated, precise key business drivers. Dashboard was internalized in the organization and is in use today.
On personal front, putting together the website Healdaddy.com within a span of two months, from conception to gathering data to website design, has been my biggest achievement. I run a Facebook community as well, where people can ask other members for recommendations on which doctor to see and which hospital to go to. It is a totally unbiased forum without any commercial affiliation.

Tell us about your profile prior to attending ISB and recap your professional life after ISB, including your career progression.
I came to ISB after spending 12 years in medical college, which is an entirely different world! Medical schools have a strict hierarchical culture, where even someone one year senior is addressed as Sir or Madam. So I sort has a culture shock when I joined ISB and got exposed to the Business/Corporate world which is far more egalitarian.
One year at ISB was truly a transformational experience for me with tremendous exposure and industry interaction. On the advice of one of the seniors from an earlier batch, I decided to major in Finance to overcome my discomfort with numbers- Medicine and numbers don’t go hand in hand and I was not comfortable with subjects like accounting and corporate finance. In hindsight, it was one the best decision I took. It gave me a significant edge in the Corporate Healthcare world where financial acumen skills are not very mature and there is always a need for people who can understand both the clinical and financial side of operations.
After ISB, I joined Fortis Healthcare through campus placement and spent close to six years in different roles. I got the opportunity to handle many functions, starting from the Operations of a large hospital to heading Strategy for the company. After almost six years at Fortis Healthcare, I got an opportunity to work with India’s first Multinational Healthcare Company, a joint venture between Toyota, Secom Hospitals Japan and Kirloskar group, where I led the strategy and expansion plan at the blueprint stage.
I find acquiring different skill sets and getting a deep insight into various functions very exciting and I have recently joined a leading executive search firm dealing with CXO level and Board engagements to develop and lead Healthcare Practice. During the years spent in Healthcare Delivery side, the gaping talent crunch was always an issue and there is an urgent need for the right talent, both on the clinical and non-clinical side, with much needed alignment on both sides. With this in mind, I am now working on building a robust system to address this need and work with organizations in finding the right clinicians and leaders. One of our focus areas is getting the Indian Origin clinicians practicing abroad to come back and join the Hospitals in India which have world class infrastructure and large volume of patients.

How do you think your time at ISB has contributed to your career and personal growth?
As I mentioned above, one year at ISB was one of the most enjoyable and rewarding years of my life, both from personal and professional stand point. I got a chance to lead the Healthcare Club and learnt a lot by interacting with peers, brainstorming on industry trends, connecting with top leaders and organizing one of the most successful Health conclaves. I discovered a whole new dimension of my personality and became comfortable making new friends across industries.
I took an elective course in Entrepreneurship and our group was selected by GSVC and GSEC for the final round in Seattle and Berkley and I think that was a great experience and contributed significantly to my understanding of the Healthcare Industry. We could not go all the way and start the venture at that time but that entrepreneurial streak was internalized. Perhaps this is what led to the web portal Healdaddy.com which is India’s first portal with hospital reviews, ratings and pricing all together in one place along with recommendation on select leading doctors for major specialties. It has 50 hospitals in NCR to begin with, and is more a passion than a business venture.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
In my current role, I love interacting with new people every day. It is amazing to hear about people’s stories, their professional journey, the challenges faced in many situations and how they circumvented those. People we interact with are leaders who have made their mark in their respective fields and are already in senior/top management and have a lot of insight to share.
Briefly describe a typical day at work, in a way that illuminates the kind of challenges and opportunities your role involves.
I would divide my typical day in two broad roles or segments. One is Business Development, where I reach out to Healthcare Organizations typically to either a Promoter or CEO or HR Head and discuss the business challenges and opportunities pertinent to them and how we can support their talent needs. Most of these discussions are confidential in nature and at times there is an incumbent already in the existing role and it gets very tricky discussing the gaps and need for bringing lateral talent from outside the organization.
The other part is executing mandates and interacting with potential candidates. We typically have 90 minutes to two hours for a detailed assessment of the person and fitment for the role and, more often than not, there is still so much one would like to discuss for an holistic evaluation. These interactions are both interesting and challenging because one has to sift through the long discussion and anecdotes to sharply pick up very relevant information and pointers to assess role elements and skill sets required for that role.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Are there any trends that you can identify?
The Healthcare Industry in India is indeed at an inflection point of growth with increasing pressure to create sustainable business models across geographies and target segments. As we see growing participation from private equity players and rapid advancement in technology platforms, there is going to be a paradigm shift in the way hospitals are run. Some specialties like Dental, Ophthalmology etc., are already being carved out of hospitals and follow the retail model with small multiple centres. Then there are new emerging business models like home care and health e- commerce platforms offering video consults and second opinions, which are disrupting the way healthcare is administered. The large tertiary Hospitals chains will have to be cognizant of the changing landscape and environment around them, tweak their own service offerings. Talent infusion at leadership managerial levels with skill sets to manage these new challenges will be a key differentiator.

What was the main highlight or most memorable aspect of your programme at the ISB?
I think my experience and learning outside of the class was phenomenal at ISB. I would say everything I did at Healthcare Club was very exciting. All of us in the club decided to combine the Healthcare and Pharma conclave to pull off a mega two-day event with global speakers. Putting together the whole event including a Business Plan, competition and making sure that we have a full auditorium remains one of my most memorable experiences.

If you could offer a word of advice to the current class at ISB, what would it be?
“Make the most out of this year”! I always tell ISB aspirants that the value they can get from the program is dependent only on them and what they choose! ISB offers a platform to interact with the best faculty, develop a network in industry through conclaves/events, develop life long bonds with peers or focus on preparing for big consulting companies/investment banks, etc. It may not be possible to do everything but you can always choose what is most important for you and what makes you blossom! So just go ahead and do it. The rest will follow.

How do you feel you can contribute to ISB?
I would love to contribute to ISB in multiple ways. With the Healthcare focus at Mohali, I would be happy to help organize industry interactions, talk to students and share Industry trends and insights. I have been involved in interacting with ISB aspirants and students who enrol for deferred admission and would be happy to continue doing it. Participating in alumni events and connecting anyone from the ISB family to people in my network is something I do and will continue to do in the future as well.