Samir Mehta
Class of 2007


 

Tell us a little about your family background/ history. How has it influenced you?
My dad is a post-retirement entrepreneur, focused on engineering and heavy machinery. He spent many years in automobile R&D which gives me my love of automobiles, engineering and problem solving. My mom started her own kindergarten 20 years ago with Rs. 5000 in capital investment and she now has thousands of little alumni. She used to be faculty at a university before she started her school and the desire to be in the field of education comes from there.

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards/ special projects).
I’ve been part of a number of internal start-ups since ISB, some more successful than others. I helped start up the online executive education group at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. We grew that business 300% in the first year, and almost the same rate the next year.
Personally, my wife and I were blessed with our daughter in 2010 and no adventure quite compares to parenthood. I’ve also dabbled in various outdoor challenges, I’ve completed a full marathon (which is a tad over-rated), hiked the Grand Canyon rim-to-river in a day (totally worth it), and I do CrossFit (which I highly recommend for serious fitness nutjobs) for recreation now.

Tell us about your profile prior to attending ISB and recap your professional life after ISB, including your career progression.
Prior to ISB, I was a module leader with Infosys. I remember during my ISB interview I was asked “We just saw 40 other guys that had resumes identical to yours. Why should we pick you?”. Hopefully, my career path after ISB will be proof of how I am different.
After ISB, I was recruited as part of a 4 member strategic initiative team at NIIT, with a focus on creating new businesses for NIIT in China. Back in 2007, going to China was considered a little bit crazy, especially if you didn’t speak the language. I moved from Hyderabad (SV-2, F block) to Delhi to Shanghai in 2 months. I learnt a great deal about business, people and company culture and was reasonably successful. I will remain ever grateful to NIIT for that opportunity.
I was then hired to start up the online executive education business at Thunderbird, which I mentioned earlier. This meant packing bags and moving from Shanghai to Phoenix, Arizona. We were a little start-up inside a 70 year old institution. The challenges and adventures of that initiative were outstanding. I led business development and hired and trained up a sales team for that venture. The education industry is changing at a rapid pace, and being able to spearhead a small part of that change was exciting.
Most recently, I have joined the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), a pioneer in leadership development to help start up a digital learning products business. The opportunity to join CCL, which is truly global in its reach with clients and partners was impossible to pass up.

How do you think your time at ISB has contributed to your career and personal growth?
ISB has helped me at every stage. In my first job out of ISB, in China, I was writing business plans, working through the internal gated project approval process with the top leaders to get the project approved. Once approved, I was executing. My time at ISB helped me be a very savvy customer with market research firms, legal firms, architecture firms and lead internal teams to achieve the business goal.
Without the ISB experience, I would have been lost at sea.
Personally, I built a few phenomenal relationships at ISB which are very valuable to me. Although I don’t see my batchmates particularly often, facebook and linkedin help me stay connected.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
If I could state one management quote in this alumni profile, it would be this - “Culture eats Strategy for breakfast”. I love the culture at CCL. The underlying belief at CCL is that all people can grow into better leaders. I share that belief. This is what motivates me to keep creating innovative solutions for our clients every day. This combined with a global role and the ability to influence the digital learning strategy for the organization keeps me going.

Briefly describe a typical day at work, in a way that illuminates the kind of challenges and opportunities your role involves.
I’m based on the East Coast in the US. My day starts early, with a call with the India or Singapore office or a client in one of those locations. I switch quickly to another meeting to discuss strategic direction for some products that we are building with our IT team. Some days, I may find myself presenting to our executive team or our board on how we are doing and where we want to go. I will often write parts of proposals for some of our larger clients. Many days are spent going from the 30,000 ft view to the 3 ft view and back. It’s fun, and it’s exhausting at the same time. Quality products and services are all about details and if you don’t see the details, your strategy is worth nothing.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Are there any trends that you can identify?
The leadership development or executive education industry is going through a huge amount of change. Previously, one-size-fits-all solutions were the standard but now the industry is moving towards highly customized solutions. Leveraging technology and evaluation of impact of the programs is going to be key to the success of leadership development.

What was the main highlight or most memorable aspect of your programme at the ISB?
Everything, but if I had to bullet it down here goes..
The quality of the professors and the coursework was outstanding. Its amazing how many professors I can still remember by name, face and also one or two of the crucial lessons that I learnt from them.
The staff at ISB, the unsung heroes, making everything work perfectly without asking for any credit. Ask people who went to other schools if they had it that good.
Needless to say, the camaraderie and relationships with my batch-mates was most valuable. The ISB football team of 2007 in particular will always be close to my heart.

If you could offer a word of advice to the current class at ISB, what would it be?
No ISB alum can ever stop gyan at one word. I shall attempt to be humorous and thereby grab your attention for 2 paragraphs.
Here is my advice for the quiet folks on campus who think that recruiters will magically see their desire and capability.
“Get out of your shell. There are more people like you at ISB than you know. Go to the atrium, go to events. Start an introverts club where everyone can go and not talk to each other if they like. When you get out of your room, you will discover the great relationships that are possible. Only 10% will be in the dean’s list. If you didn’t make it in Term 1, it’s probably not going to happen. It’s not that important anyway. Learn a new skill – squash, swimming, golf, dance, student club leadership. Do something new. Get out of your comfort zone, because the magic happens outside the comfort zone. “
Here is my advice for recruiting season. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Pick a company that suits your culture. Your real culture, not the one you’ve been fooled into thinking you want because the Mckinsey guys came to campus 45 times in the first 4 terms. Understand yourself and find a company that suits you. Call the alumni there, speak to them, and you will get a good handle for it.

How do you feel you can contribute to ISB?
I have done a number of events for ISB over the years. 4 of us ISB alumni in Shanghai organized the FT 20 celebration in 2008. I’ve also done coffee with an alum in various locations. I am glad to help as an alum in any way possible.

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