Six Alumni of IIM Ahmedabad have been presented with the 5th ‘Young Alumni Achiever’s awards on June 16, 2019. The young alumni below the 45 years of age receiving the IIMA “Young Alumni Achiever’s Awards 2019 included MD - Head of South East Asia, The Boston Consulting; MD Credit Suisse; MD Warburg Pincus; University Reader at Cambridge University; Group CEO, Fractal Analytics. IIM Ahmedabad started the awards in 2015. The awards are given to alumni under the age of 45, to recognize outstanding achievements in various fields of Corporate leadership, Entrepreneurship and Academics.
Awards 2019 Presented in 3 Categories
Continuing the legacy of honouring its alumni, IIM Ahmedabad has presented this year’s awards in three different Categories
- Corporate Leaders category – 3 Alumni
- Entrepreneur category – 2 Alumni
- Academics Category – 1 Alumnus
Speaking on the Award Presentation ceremony, Prof. Errol D’souza, Director, IIM Ahmedabad said, “It is an award that recognises excellence, but more than anything else, it is actually saying something about the motivation that drives these individuals.” And added further, “It is a journey from which everyone can learn. This sort of drive must have been inherent in them but we hope that some would have emerged at the institute and they continue to achieve more in the fields they are in.”
Corporate Leaders Category
In Corporate leaders Category, IIM Ahmedabad honoured three alumni:
- Vaishali Rastogi, PGP batch of 1997, Senior Partner and Managing Director, Head of South East Asia, The Boston Consulting Group
- Sumit Jalan, PGP batch of 2002, Managing Director, Co-Head of Investment Banking and Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, India
- Viraj Sawhney, PGP batch of 2000, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus, India
Entrepreneur Category
Pranay Agrawal, PGP batch of 1998, CEO Fractal Analytics and Srikanth Velamakanni, PGP batch of 1998, Group CEO, Fractal Analytics were awarded for their achievements as an Entrepreneur
Academics Category
The third category of honor was Academics, for which Dr. Suchitra Sebastian, PGP batch of 1997, University Reader in Physics at University of Cambridge, UK was awarded.
IIM Ahmedabad Award Recipients speak about Alma Mater
On receiving the awards and being honoured by IIM Ahmedabad for their outstanding achievement, the Alumni shared their learning at IIM Ahmedabad and addressed the following two queries:
- Role Played by IIM Ahmedabad to achieve your dream?
- What does this award mean to you?
Vaishali Rastogi, PGP 1995-1997, MD, The Boston Consulting Group
“Today I manage the whole of South East Asia. I hope that it inspires the future leaders from IIMA to reach for the stars. I hope my journey will inspire women as well. I like mentoring women and see them grow. Through the alumni network, I would like to make some contribution to the institute. It could also be in terms of joint courses.” Sharing her advice to the students, she added, “There is no ceiling except the one that you define in your own mind. If you can get over that, you can achieve whatever you want.”
Sumit Jalan, PGP 2000-2002, MD, Credit Suisse, India
“We feel privileged to take the lessons we have learnt here to the corporate world in India. We are taking that responsibility ahead. It is not just the professional approach, but IIMA has also taught us how to deal with real life.”
Viraj Sawhney, PGP 1998-2000, MD, Warburg Pincus, India
“This institute has phenomenal teachers and mentors. That creates an obligation for every student to give back to the institute in whatever way they can.”
Pranay Agrawal, PGP 1996-1998, CEO Fractal Analytics
“Teaching methods at IIMA made you believe that if you can get through this you can get through anything. Also, I had not expected to have strong friendships, but my experience was incredible. Srikanth and I became friends on campus and that bond continues after 23 years, 21 of which have been as business partners.”
Srikanth Velamakanni, PGP 1996-1998, Group CEO, Fractal Analytics
“I grew up thinking that people in business are corrupt. I had never thought of doing entrepreneurship. Business ethics was the course that shaped my thinking.”
Dr. Suchitra Sebastian, PGP 1995-1997, University Reader in Physics at University of Cambridge, UK
“I was not sure what I wanted to do and then I ended up in Business school. With the IIMA experience, you are equipped to do anything and there is no fear of failure.” Dr Sebastian used the lessons of management in physics and on this experience, she said, “When I moved to physics I realised how bad the presentations were because when you are in the business world, you need to communicate to a client whereas in the academic world, it is a mark of superiority and no one can understand what you are talking about. I think due to this I can communicate better than many physicists.”
Established in 1961, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) is recognized globally for excellence in management education. One of the top management schools in the world, IIMA educates leaders of the enterprises. The Institute’s strategic priorities include: strengthening connection with its various constituencies, including academics, practitioners, alumni, and the community; nurturing a high performance work environment of stretch, autonomy, and teamwork; and strategic growth while maintaining emphasis on quality. Government of India, MHRD NIRF Ranking 2019 and MBAUniverse.com Ranking 2018-19 have ranked IIM Ahmedabad as #1 B-school in India.
IIM Ahmedabad offers 2 years full time Post Graduate Programme (PGP) in Management, Post Graduate Programme in Food and Agri-Business Management (PGP-FABM); One year MBA - Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPX) among other management programmes.
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