New trend: ISB students opt to lead small companies

Head for a small company - preferably a technology start-up - and get into a lead role there. Become a big fish in a small sea rather than its opposite. This seems to be an emerging trend among the management students graduating from the Indian School of Business (ISB). For the first time, the school found around 30 of its 762 students - or about four per cent - joining small companies. "We have noticed this trend for the first time and these are in roles such as that of chief operating officer, head of marketing, head of technology or any other senior position," says V. K. Menon, Senior Director, and head of admissions and placements.

The B-school has just announced the results of its first-ever "integrated" placements - across its two campuses - Hyderabad and Mohali. Overall, this year's placement process saw a 21 per cent increase in the number of participating companies and a 27 per cent increase in the number of offers they got. It is officially called the Class of 2013 of the ISB's Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP).

Twenty-one of the 762 students opted out of the placement process altogether, preferring to start their own ventures, return to the companies they were working before taking the course or to their family businesses.

The 421 companies which took part made around 798 offers, a 27 per cent increase over last year. There could be more offers as placements are still underway and will conclude only in May. Around five per cent of the students are still engaged in negotiations with prospective employers. According to the school's press release, technology and consulting emerged as the leading sectors in which offers were made. "The technology sector made the largest number of offers on campus. There were 300 offers made by 53 companies such as Apple, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Facebook, Google, HCL, Hewlett Packard, IBM, ITC Infotech, Microsoft, Wipro Ltd, among others," the release says. Consulting saw 163 offers from around 30 companies including A. T. Kearney, Accenture, Booz & Co, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Global eProcure, KPMG, McKinsey & Company, Oliver Wyman, Parthenon and PwC.

Offers from the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) saw an increase. Several leading banks and other financial institutions made a total of 75 offers on campus. Companies included Citibank NA, Delta Partners FZ LLC, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, ICICI Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, UBS AG and Yes Bank.

Pharma, health-care and biotech was the other sector that hired in significant numbers. "For the third consecutive year, this sector made its presence felt and contributed 58 offers, made by leading players including Biocon, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, Max Healthcare Ltd, Novartis Pharma AG and Ranbaxy Laboratories among others," the release says. Consulting and sales & marketing were the leading functions in which hires were made. Recruiting companies for sales & marketing roles included Arvind Lifestyle Brands & Retail, Bharti Walmart, Britannia Industries, Dabur India, Hindustan Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, Videocon Industries, among others.

Women students comprised 29 per cent of the class of 2013. Several leading companies hired women in key roles such as director, chief strategy officer, general manager, executive assistant to managing director, vice presidents and regional manager. "A highlight of this year was the 'Axis Bank - ISB Leadership Programme', where the bank selected 12 women students to build a women leadership pipeline for their organisation," says the release.