Previous Occupation: Entrepreneur
Present Occupation: Strategy Consultant,  Mckinsey
Sector: Private Equity/Principal Investment
Work Experience: 10+

Can you tell us a little about your family background/ history?
I lived in Bangalore for the first 10 years of my life, after which I moved to Hong Kong – a city that has been home ever since. 

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards/ special projects).
Not a high achiever, quiet a boring soul – I spend 9 hours in the office everyday doing what I am told, but nothing beyond that.
On a serious note, I don’t go after awards or look for too much external validation.  I do what I think is both fun and fulfilling.  I once decided that I wanted to learn how to travel through the air, on the surface and below it – so I got a pilot’s license, learnt how to sail, crawl on dry earth (sometimes I manage to walk) and most recently learnt how to scuba dive.
On the professional front, the fact that clients keep coming back to me for help in making decisions that will have both significant and lasting impact on their lives is achievement enough.

Tell us about your profile pre-ISB, and recap your professional life after ISB, including your career progression.
I was an entrepreneur before I moved to India for ISB.  My first business started off as a hobby during my senior year of high school and became a full-fledged business in college.  At a time when it was “fashionable” to have a dot com start-up, I was in the thick of it with three global locations and dozens of people working for me – a college freshman with two independent fast- growing companies. This was the adventure of a lifetime!
Post-ISB, I had no real focus. I started a radio station and a newspaper for HT Media, then got tricked into becoming a news anchor on NDTV.  I decided that the industry was too slow and boring and managed to get into Ernst & Young (E&Y). Private Equity (PE) funds that I worked with liked my work and news got around to McKinsey – they called me and made me a pitch that I couldn’t refuse. I now work with the McKinsey private equity and principal investment practice across Asia, serving LPs, GPs and their portfolio companies.

Describe your fondest memory of ISB.
Late one night, driven by boredom, a false sense of bravado and goading by someone you all know (who shall remain nameless), a group of us decided to reunite the wild beast on the lawns with the jungle (or well, what was then the jungle) – the one true place that the beast belonged. 

The fond memory here is not the late night act, but what transpired the next morning.  All of us unfortunate residents of the erstwhile jungle were rounded up and given a lecture … or rather a yelling (yes, this person will also remain nameless) on how we were supposed to be mature professionals and it was beneath us to indulge in barbaric acts, etc. It was rather amusing at the time to see this person lose it completely (thinking back I am sure this person’s head turned bright pink and steam billowed out of his/ her nostrils) while all of us were trying very hard to concentrate on the ground in front of us and not crack up. But, this isn’t the fond memory… it gets better!

One brave soul then decided that this indignation had gone too far and proceeded to articulate the reasons for this unbecoming behaviour.  You see, at the time the jungle we lived in didn’t have any female residents – it was deemed too dangerous. This soul proceeded to explain:  “Sir/ madam, you see each of us came to ISB for different reasons – some of us to study, some of us to get out of IT services, some of us to become investment bankers, and some of us to meet potential life partners. If we are denied this basic opportunity, if you deny us this basic right to intermingle, then we are left with no choice. We were in fact forced because of your decisions to, well, intermingle with the wild beast and look after its needs.”

The look on the former pink turnip’s face … priceless!

How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
The most powerful thing about ISB is the brand promise that it has created in the minds of business leaders in India. This brand opens doors and establishes legitimacy – critical in the extremely competitive world that we live in. Every step I have taken in my post-ISB career, the brand has helped me get into the room, it has made people listen to what I have to say, and has played a key role in legitimising my personal brand.

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

What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
Room service (yes, we had it back then), the camaraderie, and no – not the classes – that was just the icing on the cake.

Word of advice for the current class?
Do not worry about your grades. You are here to learn – I don’t mean the things you learn in the classroom (you can probably learn these things sitting in a library).  You are here to learn about yourself, understand what is important to you, explore your limits, to make friends and build your network. Your grades will not get you the career you want, and even if they do, that job will not last. 

What was your favourite course/ class at ISB and why?
Negotiation Analysis (NEGA) with Professor Dishan Kamdar.  It was fun, it was practical, and also it was the only class I really remember anything from!  He managed to etch BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) permanently into my mind.

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.
No, not really.  I didn’t have this, and looking back, it would have really helped.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
The impact I have on clients, investee companies and the lives of their employees.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
The PE industry in India is changing – I see more mezzanine structures in non-control deals and GPs looking to do more control transactions. The sector play is gone; it is now about operational capability and improvements that can be driven by changing how companies operate. Successful GPs are trying to figure out how they can align their interest with that of promoters and learn from the mistakes of the past decade. The era of easy money is history, but I believe the golden era of PE is upon us – the promise of capital and expertise will now start getting realised and India will start to benefit from the significant experience and capability funds bring to the table.

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