Business Today’s special issue on India’s Best B-schools shares inspirational stories of distinguished IIM Alumni, who have founded pioneering companies, led giant corporations and launched generation-defining products and services
IIM Calcutta (1983 - 1985)
K Ganesh, 60, Founder, TutorVista
First Job: Shop floor engineer at Tata Motors (then TELCO) in 1982 Leaders Admired: Sunil Bharti Mittal, Shiv Nadar Management Mantra: Show up, do that little extra for disproportionate outcomes
Ganesh made it to IIM Calcutta with his future wife and business partner Meena Ganesh. IIMC’s alumni website features them as “the husband-wife duo with a 100% success rate in the start-up world”
K Ganesh
Learning from IIMC: “I became more ‘employable’ because of top-tier management education. It gave me confidence and a safety net to start my entrepreneurial career.”
IIM Ahmedabad (1987-1989)
Nirmal Jain, 56, Founder, IIFL Group
First Job: Manager at HUL in 1989 Leaders Admired: Azim Premji, Nandan Nilekani, Warren Buffett Management Mantra: Focus on core competence and strive for excellence in execution
Nirmal Jain attributes much of his success to his years at IIM Ahmedabad, although he is a rank-holder Chartered Accountant and a Cost Accountant as well
Nirmal Jain
Learning from IIMA: “I got a holistic perspective of all aspects of business and also understood the importance of teamwork and interpersonal skills.”
IIM Ahmedabad (1987-1989)
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, 59, Founder, Info Edge
First Job: Executive trainee at Lintas India Ltd Ventures: Info Edge, which owns portals for job search (naukri.com), matrimony (jeevasathi.com); real estate (99acres.com) and education (shiksha.com)
Internet entrepreneur Sanjeev Bikhchandani was honoured with the Padma Shri Award, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in January 2020
Learning from IIMA: “It instilled in me an attitude that helped me a lot later in life. Whether it is managing a very high workload, meeting deadlines or having a certain benchmark for excellence- these are intangible but they help you in life.”
Sanjeev Bikhchandani
IIM Calcutta (1987-1989)
Sumant Sinha, 57, Chairman & CEO, ReNew Power
First Job: Tata Administrative Services Leaders Admired: Narendra Modi, Elon Musk Management Mantra: Identify an opportunity early, do your homework, go for it
One of three children of India’s former finance minister Yashwant Sinha, Sumant Sinha would dream of working for the benefit of the broader community while growing up
Learning from IIMC: “B-school education instilled in me the sense of confidence needed to face any odds, which helped in a big way to turn my dream of doing something for India’s renewable energy into reality at a time when the sector wasn’t even at the embryonic stage.”
Sumant Sinha
IIM Ahmedabad (1990-1992)
Deep Kalra, 53, Founder, MakeMyTrip
First Job: ABN Amro Bank in 1992 Leaders Admired: Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, N.R. Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, Sanjeev Bikhchandani Management Mantra: Never chase money; focus on building something valuable
“I was going to chase a professional career and if the internet hadn’t happened, I don’t think I would have started a company,” says Deep Kalra
Learning from IIMA: “It provided one with a well-rounded education essential for any kind of career. The second thing is that it gives you the requisite skills to tackle new situations that help you go down uncharted territories.”
Deep Kalra
IIM Bangalore (2002-2004)
Rajiv Srivatsa, 44, Founder, Urban Ladder
First Job: Software engineer at Infosys in 2000 Leaders Admired: Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Naval Ravikant Management Mantra: Paint the vision, align smart people who are better than you, and course correct
Rajiv Srivatsa laments the fact that there’s barely any encouragement for entrepreneurship in campuses. He said all the focus was on placements and not on starting one’s own venture
Learning from IIMB: “IIMB had a critical role to play in UrbanLadder’s journey. Our first customers, first investors, initial word of mouth… pretty much all of it was through IIMB alumni networks.”
Rajiv Srivatsa
IIM Ahmedabad (2005-2007)
Vineeta Singh, 39, Founder, SUGAR Cosmetics
First Job: Summer intern at ITC in 2004 Leaders Admired: Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Falguni Nayar, Katrina Lake, Sanjeev Bikhchandani Management Mantra: Empower teams and get out of their way
She turned down an offer of Rs 1 Crore from Deutsche Bank as a fresher to start her entrepreneurial journey. She now runs SUGAR Cosmetics, a D2C beauty brand valued upwards of $500 million
Learning from IIMA: It taught her to take risks- “I learnt how moonshots can make a difference to your entire career trajectory.”
Vineeta Singh
Business Today’s special issue on India’s Best B-schools Now On Stands!
Magazine Story by: Sohini Mitter, BT Team Designed by: Mohsin Shaikh Produced by: Bhoomika Aggarwal