Gautam Das - Class of 2005
Vice-President-Treasury, Citi Bank


An alumnus from the Class of 2005, Gautam Das is now the Vice President, Treasury of a reputed foreign bank and the winner of the prestigious Citibank scholarship. Gautam is now scaling new heights of success in his career and enjoying his personal life as well. How does he do it? Read on to find out…

Responsibilities and challenges of a Vice President, Treasury

I manage the forex and derivative piece of the commercial banking business of a foreign bank. This is both a market and customers facing role. And, as all Treasury jobs, this is a high pressure job, which requires me to be updated on market movements at all times. This job demands a calm and alert mind, and be responsive towards any market change.

Team work is another responsibility, as well as a challenge in this field. It plays a very crucial role here. One needs to be alert to face any crunch situation and embrace change at all times.

Current employment opportunities in the Finance stream

Today’s economies are porous and very inter related. India has trade and capital account relationship with the US and many other counties. The economic downturn that began in the US mortgage industry spilled over to other countries across the globe, including India.

Finance being the core affected domain, there has been an impact on jobs in this area. In my opinion, Indian policy makers and industry leaders have done a fantastic job in minimising the impact. Thankfully, our economy is majorly consumption driven and hence the impact was comparatively less. Things are improving and we are coming out of the downturn at a fast pace. India is an important emerging economy and it will have a larger role to play in the world order in the near future.

Intense Work Life versus Personal Life

I believe it’s essential to find out what really matters to you. For me, work and personal life both hold equal importance. At work, I am fortunate to have an excellent team and a very supportive boss. I try to minimise the unproductive activities at work and my employer, Citi, fosters a healthy work life balance.

I try to protect my personal time. I ensure that I give sufficient time and attention to Ahan, my two year old son. I believe one needs to grow and evolve from within. Therefore, I take some time out for my personal development. For instance, this year I have enrolled myself in a guitar workshop. I also participated in the Mumbai Marathon this year, along with my wife. We took this as a challenge, trained hard, and both finally completed the 21 km run in good time.

Life after ISB

The ISB made a dramatic contribution to my life. Firstly, it taught me to follow a structured approach to any challenge in addition to vastly increasing my network. The ISB also helped me in working and associating myself with a diverse student pool. Most importantly, the ISB brand is a permanent asset. To continue my association with the ISB, I’m engaged with the admission process and hope to do more from my end.

Good times at ISB

I can recall the year at ISB as a whirlwind experience. However, there are a few experiences that I can file as memorable. The most vivid one is that of the moment when I found my name on the list of winners for the Citigroup scholarship. There were seven gruelling rounds of interviews - the frantic preparations, the palpable tension, and finally the sweet taste of success.

On a lighter note, another vision that comes to my mind is that of my quad mate Dipanjan Paul, approaching me with a request to teach him swimming. For a week or so, he regularly thrashed about in the pool and then spent longer time resting on a chair on the swimming pool deck with a book. I was the hapless trainer, with honest intention, while Dipanjan’s real motive was to impress a bunch of Italian (beautiful girls) students, who hung around the swimming pool.