Previous Occupation: Research assistant, University of Wisconsin, Madison, U.S.A.
Present Occupation: Technology risk consultant, Deloitte & Touche
Sector: Consulting / I.T.
Work Experience: 3 years
Interests – Professional/Personal:
Professional: Professionally, my interests revolve around building solutions to problem statements – in the education/energy/technology industry.
Personal: Personally, my interests are in writing, teaching & travelling.

Can you tell us a little about your family background/history?
I come from a typical lower middle-class Indian family. My father works for Indian Railways. My mother is a home maker. We are natives of Tamil Nadu, settled in Hyderabad. Given my disability and family finances, education was the only way for growth. My parents always encouraged me to study hard, study well and study against odds. The result of which is that, I ended up graduating from ISB. and my younger sister is currently pursuing her M.S. in the U.S.

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards\special projects)?
Receiving the Prathibha scholarship for academic excellence and gold medal from the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh remains my first and most beautiful memory. It served as an encouragement to perform well in academics, throughout my undergraduate days.  Going on to receive the Helen Keller Role Model Person of the year award – 2011, from the Home Minister and the ISB Torchbearer leadership award felt good too. Awards apart, I cherish three works of my life – the most:

The ELP project I did for Wadhwani foundation through ISB. This project helped me consult and identify jobs for persons with disabilities, where disability is an added advantage. Personally, it gave me a lot of satisfaction, that my education could change lives.

The Sahasra Venture that I did as part of PaEV course in ISB. This course is my best ever work till date. It helped me connect with more than 10,000+ students personally and went onto create scholarships that changed lives of atleast 50 families. We were also GSVC Asia-Africa finalists-2011 for this venture plan.

Working with Aamir Khan on Satyamev Jayate. This work, created an impact on the perception of millions on our country, towards disability. 100s of places are now getting disabled-friendly.
Lastly, the 2041 organisation led by Sir Robert Swan, selected my idea and works to be implemented towards causing a change in people’s attitude towards climate change. I am currently preparing to travel to Antarctica, to work with the 2041 team as an Antarctic Youth Ambassador.  I hope to create a significant impact there.

Tell us about your profile pre ISB, and recap your professional life after ISB including your career progression?
Prior to ISB, I did my electrical and electronics engineering in CBIT, Hyderabad. I worked with Infosys for a year. I then left for my M.S. degree in computer science at University of Wisconsin, Madison. I came back and worked as a GMAT trainer for a few months.

After ISB, I joined Deloitte as a technology risk consultant. I have been with them for over a year now. With them, I currently serve clients in the financial industry, pertaining to the clients’ information security concerns. On a parallel, I run my own venture ‘India Initiatives’ – a venture that works on raising awareness on the importance of higher education. I also work with a few NGOs on consulting universities, in making their campus infrastructure – disabled friendly.

Describe your fondest memory at ISB?
The fondest memory has to be the graduation night. Two things about it made it really special for me. One was that the day before it – Shiv & Sharmaji called me and asked me if the stage was completely accessible to me. And based on my suggestions, the operations team made the graduation stage – completely accessible, only for me. They never let me feel excluded. And that shows ISB’s value system, especially towards its students. The second part of it was when the Dean hugged me and said he was proud of me, for graduating from the school. That it also happened to be the night, when India won the cricket world cup, was just the icing on the cake :)

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 changed me in more ways than anyone/anything ever did. Firstly, it taught me that a person is what he/she wants to be in future, than what he/she has already done in past. Secondly, it taught me that life is not about doing things for yourself, but is about building processes and works that will create a lasting change in the system around you. And thirdly, ISB taught me the value of good, true friendships and how they are different from contacts/networks. In other words, ISB made me process oriented when it came to work and people oriented when it came to life. This in turn has radically transformed the way I live. The lasting impression of ISB is that, it was an experience and a true education.

How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
I think ISB made me fearless about my career. I do not worry about having a career anymore. I know I can always use my skills, to find a place or value – that’ll feed me and my family. I worry more about doing work that will make me proud of my life. ISB gave me a thirst that will never be quenched.

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

What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB ?
ISB’s strength is its stellar faculty and experiencing lectures, which was just the most awesome experience ever. Apart from that, I remember two very special instances of my programme.
The talk by Dr. Dipak Jain: It was a lesson on humility and an inspiration for life.
The talk by Sir Robert Swan: Awe-inspiring leadership lessons

Word of advice for the current class?
ISB is a brand, which gets you people’s attention to what you say, do or create. It is a catalyst that can propel your career, life and actions – in the direction you want to go to. So, ensure you work towards the getting the direction right and the rest will take care of itself.

What was your favourite course/class at ISB and why?
The PaEV course was my favourite course at ISB. The course was not just about one faculty and great content value – but it was also the bringing together of: more than three of the best faculties, industry speakers, ELP Projects team & external evaluation teams. The course taught me to write business plans, gave me real time experience of running ventures, allowed me to build teams and needless to say, gave me the best mentors, ever. My life would not be the same, without this course.

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.
Srinath sir, from the admissions team, was for me a mentor. Right from the time I applied to the school, to the time I left, he represented a reminder of the purpose with which I applied to the school. My relationship with him was valuable for many reasons.

He has been with the school since inception. And right from the very first day I met him to this day, he demonstrates the same enthusiasm, support, care and patience – that he shows to the thousands of ISB applicants every year. It was a lesson in service to me.

ISB’s grandeur needed someone who’d remind me of the need to keep things simple, an attitude to remain humble and of a life, beyond the school. His work and life-style did that perfectly to me. He taught me a lesson in character, by living it himself in the school.

Thirdly, it takes detachment to work hard and expect no results. But it takes complete parental love and care, to work hard without constant and selfless appreciation / reciprocation. The schedules at ISB often came in the way of me spending time with him. But I knew that if ever I was in doubt, he was the one person I could shamelessly run to.

His parting words on graduation day were ‘Make us proud’. It summarised ISB’s degree for me. I shall never forget him all my life.

What are the areas that you can contribute in to ISB?
I work closely with the admissions team at ISB and I hope to continue my association with that team, at every occasion possible. I hope to make ISB proud of the education it gave me, by coming up with atleast two to three significant works that will impact people’s life in the country. Infrastructure accessibility of the campus is another area I can always contribute in. Last but not the least, I shall always be glad to respond to any need that the school has

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
In my current career position, I enjoy understanding why things are the way they are and where can they be improved upon. I look towards building a solution and applying, built solutions to various potential problems in and around me. My attitude is that of someone, who can make a difference to every place he is in and is looking forward to creating that difference. Last but not the least; I enjoy listening more and gathering information.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
There is a lot of traction around conducting third-party security review assessments, for all the financial giant companies. Additionally, I see that the education industry is growing beyond imagination and anyone. And students attending training classes are more skill conscious, than just institute-brand conscious.

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