Previous Occupation: Business Analyst at Genpact
Present Occupation: Director at Mindshare, GroupM
Sector: Media and advertising
Work Experience: 3 years and 1 month (in total)
Interests – Professional/ Personal: 
Professional: Experimental marketing
Personal: Latin American dance

Can you tell us a little about your family background/ history?
I come from a family of doctors (both my parents and younger brother are doctors) in Patna. I spent my formative years with my grandmother as my parents were posted out of the city. I completed secondary school at St. Joseph’s Convent in Patna and moved to Delhi Public School (DPS) R.K. Puram, New Delhi for high school.

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards/ special projects)
Professional: Documentary credits are a zero tolerance zone for customers of GE and demand a holy trinity of efficiency, effectiveness and timeliness. Prior to my involvement in the process, it was a black box of shifted responsibilities and massive defaults. Within a year of being inducted into the GE organisation, I assessed and resolved key pain areas which included an ambiguous line of authority, misplaced cost centres and absence of a rhythm for bonds management, to devise a streamlined flow of bonds from requisition till maturity. The infant and emerging nature of the function meant that I acquired much of the industry knowledge on my own, consulted with banks and negotiated with clients using limited resources and bargaining power in an environment that can only be characterised as niche – specific skills, deep dive knowledge and creativity. I also earned one of the fastest Six Sigma quality certifications for this project along with the highest company rating.

Personal: With “Vibrant Delhi,” a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that works to encourage and facilitate citizens’ partnership in local governance, I get the opportunity to help make Delhi a better place to live. My most significant contribution in this space is to a United Nations award-winning Solid Waste Management project wherein I helped organise and facilitate trainings, workshops and information camps to spread awareness about the needs and benefits of segregating household waste with a reach of 118 group housing societies in East Delhi. This experience is precious to me because it helped me recognise and harness my strength in connecting with each distinct group and uniting them in the achievement of a common goal.

Tell us about your profile pre-ISB, and recap your professional life after ISB, including your career progression.
After I earned my Masters’ in Economics, I joined Genpact as a Business Analyst and took care of credit risk and documentary credits for GE Water.  I spent close to two and a half years there before coming to ISB. During my tenure, I was exposed to the intricacies of finance and risk analysis and also got the opportunity for direct stakeholder management with GE level 1 executives. I was able to grow the process from single contributor to a four member team.

At Group M, I am a part of the “crack team” (as the leadership likes to call us) that has been set up to initiate Mindshare into the field of marketing consulting along with our core media offering. I spend a significant part of my working hours developing my capability in the field of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) consulting and pitching solutions to potential clients.

Describe your fondest memory of ISB.
There are several!

• I came to ISB with the aspiration of becoming a marketing professional and worked really hard to achieve it. I took all marketing electives and immersed myself in marketing trivia and success stories. In my last semester I took a class called “Marketing Models” and based on the discussions I had with the professor, he assumed I was a marketing insider with a lot of past experience. That was my proudest moment and I felt vindicated.
• ISB gave me the opportunity to perform on stage on innumerable occasions such as Aikya, ILS, Club fests, dance wars, etc. I made my debut in acting on stage in front of a packed Khemka Auditorium with a reading of “Vagina Monologues.” I cherish each of those performances.
• Last but not least, I found my soulmate at ISB, which certainly merits a place in my list of fond memories.

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, my key take-away from ISB is humility. Each student was definitely an overachiever in his/ her own field and sometimes it made us too vain. But ISB has instilled in me the better sense to not judge a book by its cover and appreciate the different qualities or perspectives that people bring to the table.

How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
Apart from helping me acquire business and life skills critical for sustenance in the corporate world, it has helped me break the stereotype of an economics major and initiated me into my chosen field of marketing.

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

What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
The people I met and the discussions in and out of class.

Word of advice for the current class?
Create and live your own dream, not someone else’s at ISB.

What was your favourite course/ class at ISB and why?
“Marketing Models.” It summed up everything we had learnt in the seven semesters and then some. It was especially important for me because it came after my job appointment and I knew exactly how I would need it.

What are the areas in which you can contribute to ISB?
Mentoring current students on setting expectations and job preparation. Also, I would love to share my experiences and new developments in the industry that I work in so that people can make an informed choice on what the industry has to offer and the difference they can make in it.
Also, I’d love to work with the Centre for Emerging Markets Solutions.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
I don’t have a repetitive representative day. Every day is a new challenge and I take full responsibility for what I want to do, right from business development to stakeholder management.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
Multi-screen viewing and customised marketing are developing and here to stay. Companies that are integrating how consumers interact with them will reap the benefits of investment in new and emerging media.

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