Previous Occupation: Database Analyst for a publishing/ media company
Present Occupation: Director, IT Operations for an IT services/ consulting company
Sector: IT Services & Consulting
Work Experience: 10+ years

 

Can you tell us a little about your family background/ history?
My father is a Civil Engineer and my mother has been in the teaching field for more than 40 years.  

Tell us about your profile pre-ISB, and recap your professional life after ISB, including your career progression.
Prior to ISB, I was in the United States for nine years. I pursued graduate studies for two years and later worked with a couple of companies in the IT product/ services space (including a start-up). Prior to joining ISB, I was working for a publishing/ media company. My Pre-ISB experience gave me broad exposure to various aspects of IT (pre-sales, post-sales implementation, customer facing roles, development, testing, large projects, standardisation, etc.) but as an individual contributor. My post-ISB roles have also been in similar areas as before but with a focus on overall management, operations and strategy in those areas.

Describe your fondest memory of ISB.
My group member (we were a group of two) and I submitted an Operations Management assignment at 4 AM one morning only because the submission deadline was approaching, we had already spent hours on it and it seemed like a lost cause because we weren’t sure of our responses. However, in the end it turned out that most of our responses were correct.

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?
Personally, I would say that post-ISB, my approach to some aspects in life has been more structured (in a positive way). While I don’t and cannot claim to have retained everything I learned at ISB, the lasting impression has been that I am aware of a broad set of tools that apply in the real world

How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
I had never worked in India prior to ISB. While I had the work experience, the relevant experience in Indian IT was lacking. I give a lot of credit to ISB for having helped kick-start my career in India. My first job post-ISB was through the CAS placement.

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

What was the main highlight of your  programme at the ISB?
Working and interacting with people with diverse experiences and personalities.

Word of advice for the current class?
Unless your target company relies heavily on grades to make its hiring decision, in my humble opinion, you should focus more on learning.  Be realistic about options post-ISB – it will take you time to build your career.

What was your favourite course/ class at ISB and why?
Managing Teams — excellent faculty and excellent learning

What are the areas in which you can contribute to ISB?
I can share my experience post-ISB and perhaps help set the right expectations and attitude.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
It is a challenging role and each challenge is a learning opportunity.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
I foresee a migration toward SaaS-based products.

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