Tell us a little bit about yourself and your professional life after the ISB.

I am originally from the US and I came to India to join the ISB, Class of 2003. Before that, I spent two years as an equity research analyst in a firm called the United Management Company. We were managing a little over a billion dollars worth of assets, had done very well over there. I majored in Finance and Entrepreneurship at the ISB and then went on to join the ISB itself. I worked at the ISB for almost five years through a series of roles, including setting up several programmes such as the Experiential Learning Projects (ELP) and also managed the Wharton Global Consulting Practicum. I also looked after CCA and instituted several new things in that capacity such as a new orientation week format, many of the different activities that happen throughout the year and making those go smoothly. We then got into expanding the exchange programmes at the ISB. After that I shifted to ASA and looked after the PGP for a couple of years. My favourite thing about that was improving the student satisfaction rating from where it had been for many years (fairly abysmal levels) to something more respectable by revamping some processes and so on.

Since leaving the ISB in 2008, I joined NIIT Limited, an IT Education firm and I have been working there in two different capacities. My original role was the leader of Growth through Innovation (GRIN), a programme that incubates new ventures and new business ideas within the organisation. So I worked on that for about a year and a half, and now I am heading Corporate Development which is really the strategy and planning functions along with being involved in some of the new ventures that we are into.

What was your key takeaway from the ISB?

Just being part of such a peer group and the kind of breadth that our batch had was very exciting and certainly developmental. I learnt many, many things along the way. It is difficult to say that this particular thing is so much more critical to know than any other particular thing . . . maybe just picking up the overall “vocabulary of business” is most important. ISB administers THAT in concentrated doses! During my time working at the ISB I learnt a lot about managing expectations which can be very high at times. In that capacity I also learnt a lot about leading people, it was the first time I had any sort of team reporting to me. It was certainly a pleasure to work with all the staff and faculty at ISB and that was definitely the best part of the whole experience.

In terms of career growth, the brand is of course very strong. When we started out, I can remember telling people “ISB” and cringing every time when they said “Whaaaat?” In those days the ISB was a very up and coming proposition but today it is much more widely known and respected throughout. I guess this is partly due to the spread of alumni throughout the industry. Today it is difficult to visit most companies or even the airport without bumping into someone from the ISB.

What is your vision for the school?

If you look at the original vision of the school, many of the points are starting to get fulfilled – such as being global and top ranked, etc. So I think the school is at an interesting juncture to ask itself the question, what next? I am not sure I have all of the answers but it is a very good question for the school to be asking itself now. And having come so far in such a short period, perhaps it is a good time to set some additional goals afresh.

What are the strengths that the school can leverage upon and areas it can improve?

I think the school’s Indianness is certainly a strength and also an improvement area. Today with India emerging as a global super power and with all the rich cultural diversity of India, being Indian is certainly a strength. It is also an area that we can continue to improve further by bringing more international students and faculty. I think the hybrid faculty model is certainly a powerful strength because it gives the ISB the chance to on the one hand have professors who are deeply invested in building the institution as well as the flexibility to adapt very rapidly, try new things and cherry pick lecturers from institutions around the world.

And the areas it can improve – well this is a moving target. It is always encouraging every time I come back and see more and more improvements. Many of the things that I might have listed one year ago, two years ago, three years ago, keep getting improved. For example, the ranking was on my list for quite some time, as it builds a lot of visibility for the ISB outside the country. Even many smaller things like the improved signboards and the resting benches scattered around the circle road. But yes, certainly helping students to find their career direction (calling?) is always a challenge. Leadership development is also not easy and I don’t think any business school has fully figured it out but this is an area where I think the ISB can continue to show initiative and develop new models.

What do you think is the alumni’s role in building the school?

In my case, I had the privilege of spending five years building the school as my primary career. It is exciting to see more and more alums doing that. Apart from this, there are so many things, including bringing your company for placements, ELPs and projects. Perhaps most importantly is what I call building the ISB-Mafia. As part of the founding Alumni Association Senate I have first-hand experience about how difficult it is to get the alumni body moving together in one direction and actively participating with one another. It is always a struggle to build the activity level that is expected from a school of our stature. So it is very important that all of us (including myself!) get more involved and find new ways of adding enough value so that others also begin to participate, so that together we create a vibrant alumni community. As we all know, the ISB is a lot more than just what happens on campus; it is a much larger concept.

What is the best thing that has happened to you in the last year?

I have been re-exposed to one set of ideas which I originally encountered at the ISB. There is something called the Theory of Constraints by Dr Eliyahu M Goldratt and he has a set of business philosophies and ideas which provide a very simple framework for understanding and managing business. It is rare to come across something that is so profound, yet practical at the same time. It is worth checking out.

What was your favourite place on campus?

I have many favourite places around campus. I always enjoyed rock climbing on the boulders with my son Rohan; though some of those are now encroached by SVs. Even just my office where I spent five years holds many fond memories. Then there is a specific place on the circular road where if you sit at night, an owl will come to check you out (Smita and I nicknamed her the Amamma Owl). Also, the top floor of the Academic Centre above the LRC is another fantastic place where I used to take tour groups. You can see the entire campus from that vantage point, and there is always something new to point out no matter when you go.

What is your favourite quote?

One day when I walked into my office at the ISB and someone had etched a gigantic quote into the window. At first I did not appreciate what it meant and it took quite a while to really sink in. It was a quote by Gandhiji – “You must be the change which you wish to see in the world.” What that means is that there is only so much use in complaining or wishing for something to change, it is another thing to put yourself into it and make it change through the sheer force of who you are. And of course, Gandhiji is the ultimate example of that.