Previous Occupation: Manager, Renewable Energy Practice, Evalueserve
Present Occupation: Consultant, Expert Group on Low Carbon Strategy, Planning Commission, Government of India
Sector: Sustainability policy, Alternate Energy
Work Experience: Six years
Interests – Professional: Solar sector developments in India, multicultural leadership issues and international development
Interests – Personal: Eating out, spending time with friends and family

Tell us about yourself – your profile, recap your professional life after ISB including your career progression
I have six years of experience in the energy space, working in various positions with the Government and corporate sector. Currently, I’m with the office of Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, where I’m part of the National Expert Committee on “Low Carbon Strategies for Inclusive Growth”. This committee is working on charting out a national strategy for India’s low-carbon and sustainable development, while also maintaining the national GDP growth rate for the next decade and beyond. This committee is being chaired by Dr. Kirit Parikh, Chairman of Integrated Energy Policy of 2006.

I am also on the Global Task Force of World Economic Forum’s two projects in the global energy architecture and solar space in India.

Before joining the ISB, I was leading the renewable energy research practice at Evalueserve and in my last stint with them, assisted in setting-up Evalueserve’s research centre in Cluj, Romania.

As I was convinced about rejoining the sector upon my graduation from ISB, I was focused on the renewable energy sector and involved myself in various activities related to this area at ISB. I was keen on gathering some good policy-level and  development sector experience in the energy space, as it would have been a great value-addition to my private sector strategy experience. Hence, I had applied to the Planning Commission and the whole process took around five months to materialize.

In the interim, I had briefly joined the corporate strategy team at Genpact as an Assistant Vice President.

Describe your fondest memory at ISB?
I have fond memories of the times spent with my amazing bunch of closest friends.

With the knowledge and experience gained at ISB, when looking back, tell us something that you would have done differently while you were a student here?
Looking back, I donot have any regrets. I had the best year of my life at ISB. But, in hindsight, I should have been involved in even more outdoor activities and specifically, spent more time at the recreation centre!

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?
One year at ISB gives you the chutzpah to take difficult decisions in life. At ISB, we were exposed to so many choices at any one point in time – be it choosing from the range of courses or deciding how to spend our hard-earned free time and there was no opportunity or time to regret. Through my ISB experience, I became more confident in my ability to take courageous decisions and also look ahead and not have any regrets later.

Another vivid experience was the repeated testing of our endurance to complete academic formalities within the tight deadlines, along with managing our personal lives – the whole experience has made me take a completely relaxed and stress-free approach to almost any challenge in life.

How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
The ISB branding helps us greatly in our personal and professional lives. We command of respect in our professional lives because of the ISB tag. It gives us the confidence to take up different career paths because you know that you can always fall back on the ISB degree and alumni network if things donot work out along your decision.

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

What are the areas that you can contribute to in ISB?
I would like to bring the development sector perspective to our business curriculum. This perspective is currently imparted through the “Government Society and Business” course and some other initiatives at ISB. But I do feel that much greater interaction and exposure to the development sector can be made possible at ISB through sessions by development organizations, workshops, educating students about these career paths and field visits.

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