Preface Dear Batchmates, It was a farewell party to one of our colleagues at Conti’s Restaurant at Fort. We were all sad and depressed at the very thought of being separated. We wondered about the ups and down in life and beyond that the most critical the challenges and the learning from these moments. Contemplating on the same, we were triggered by a very simple idea to delight people at AIM which first gave way to our walkabout the “smile campaign”. Surmounted by the pressure and tension of cases, presentations, class participation, we thought this walkabout will bring some happiness to our friends and colleagues, hence we termed our walkabout as “Give me your best smile”. We wanted people to recollect their most memorable and happiest moment at AIM and as they recalled we clicked pictures of them, though it was not easy at times, yet we tried our best to make this possible and had a memorable time while doing so. We wondered this activity was quite momentary, so how can we stretch beyond just clicking best picture? This gave us the next big idea of a Year Book. Knowing or unknowingly we got ourselves involved into this project. We knew we had to fight our tough schedule of assignments, preparation of cases and presentations, yet we wanted to touch lives of our batchmates in whatever little way we could. As you flip through the pages of “The Wonder Years”, we hope you enjoy looking back on the times we spent together at AIM. Ankit Jain Ardhi Tartahadi
Acknowledgement
We thank everyone who made their contribution for this book. To our sponsors – Smart Communication, MindTree Limited, Security Bank, Pharex Health Care, Jollibee and Alumni Association for providing all the financial support. To Professor Borromeo and Ortigas - who encouraged us for this project. To our friends - Rahul Malhotra for his constant support in editing and some ideation, Abhinav Arora for professional photography, Adarsh Rathi for his idea on comments from friends and Macon Lampa for initial design layout. To Professor Richard Cruz – helping us formulate the marketing pitch for sponsorship. To Alumni Association – for providing alumni and industry contacts. To SSAR office - Mrs. Mitzy in processing our financial transaction. And last but not the least to all of you for providing the necessary inputs and being the real stars of this book.
Message from Dean- Victoria S. Licuanan
Dear MBA Class of December 2009 (Cohort 3),
Congratulations on your pioneering initiative to make this yearbook, documenting your past 16 months in AIM’s MBA Program. Your dedication to work on this special project is a testament to your camaraderie, as well as your ability to balance academic responsibilities with other endeavors. In the years to come, you will leaf through the pages of this volume, and look back at more than a year’s worth of the hurdles and challenges you overcame, of friendships and networks you built, of all the things that made your stay at AIM truly unforgettable. This volume documents your journey through AIM, and I am certain that your recollection will be as vivid and as colorful as the photos documenting your “Wonder Years”, truly the best years of your life. I know that this project will serve its purpose of helping preserve, not only memories of your good times at AIM, but also the values, traditions, and culture that are uniquely AIM. We, your professors and mentors, bear high hopes that your “Wonder Years” at AIM, will result in Asia’s leaders and managers that we are proud to call our own. Again, congratulations, and I wish you great success in your future endeavors!
Message from Associate Dean- Ricky Lim
Dear MBA class 2009:
Every batch of MBA grads is unique, each with its own personality and world view. I was thinking about your group, and I can say honestly that you were the happy and determined ones. Through all the tensions and papers and impossible deadlines, I saw you all smile and laugh. Also, you had great cohesion: I know you helped each other when you could, and you took risks with each other. Yours was indeed a learning community. Congratulations to all of you for completing the AIM MBA journey. We know you had ups and downs and really good and really tough times. From all this we hope you were able to take maximum lessons for the rest of your journey--compared to the road and trials up ahead for you, the MBA was a small blip. I wish you all the best. Continue to be happy, and determined: you will all go far.
Salamat and Mabuhay!