From The Chairperson’s Desk
“Dr. Nilanjan Chattopadhyay”
On behalf of your alma mater, let me wish you a very happy and successful New Year. Hope in 2012, you will surpass all your past records to surge ahead in your life and career. I am happy to inform you that we have started a new initiative to connect to IMT alumni. Director, IMT Ghaziabad had a meeting with some of the senior alumni at the India International Centre, New Delhi last month. In an intense discussion for more than three hours resulted in some invaluable suggestions from Alumni fraternity to take the brand IMT forward and thereby shape the future of your institute. We will continue this series, through similar meets all around the nation in the coming few months. We are now gearing up for the next admission cycle. More than fifteen thousand students have applied for admission in IMT this year. Personal interviews of the qualified applicants will start on February 1st at Ghaziabad and the four major cities of India. Let me request you to spare some of your valuable time to meet some of the applicants to handpick your juniors. I request you to drop us a mail indicating your availability for this. I will share the required details of venue and dates as they get finalised in the coming weeks. On behalf of IMT, let me seek your active support in the ensuing admission process. Dr. Nilanjan Chattopadhyay Chairperson Alumni Relationship Committee
Alum in News Mr. Rajeev Karwal is back in the business of consumer electronics with tablet PCs. Mr. Rajeev Karwal’s LinkedIn profile describes him as a “rare leader who is an innovator, a shaper, yet an effective manager. His adaptive nature and high nervous energy has made him a success with startups, turnarounds as well as steady-state organisations.” Mr. Karwal worked with Onida (steady-state organisation), and subsequently became the head of sales and marketing for LG India (startup) for two years when it set up shop in 1997 after two failed attempts (one with Chandra Kant Birla). He was one of the two claimants for the Korean company’s success in India, the other being K R Kim (the then managing director).
Rajeev Karwal Founder Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions
For over three years after that, Mr. Karwal headed the consumer electronics business of Philips India , followed by another three years as the managing director of Electrolux and one year as the head of the consumer durables, information technology and telecom vertical of Reliance Retail (startup). In 2007, he set up consultancy outfit Milagrow Business & Knowledge Solutions. And now, Mr. Karwal has returned to the world of consumer electronics with tablet PCs under his Milagrow brand.
Mr. Karwal’s tablet, the Milagrow TabTop, has been designed in Taiwan and is produced in China. The design is IMT Ghaziabad Batch of owned by Mr. Karwal and the Chinese producer cannot sell it 1984 to others. The machine, according to Mr. Karwal, is the first in the world with all the ports required for computing: HDMI, USB, line out, SIM and SD card. It is faster than rivals, Mr. Karwal claims, and is fitted with a Quad band built-in 3G module that can support most global telecom services in frequencies between 450 MHz and 2100 MHz. The 16 GB model is priced at Rs 24,990 on Flipkart, the online retail store, and the 32 GB has a price tag of Rs 29,990. Mr. Karwal says he makes money at these prices, though the recent fall in the rupee vis-à-vis the dollar has wreaked havoc. Mr. Karwal says his tablets are value for money. Various estimates suggest the tablet market will be about 200,000 in 2011 (if direct imports are included, Mr. Karwal says the number should come to 500,000), or about 3,850 a week. Mr. Karwal says he sells 25 to 30 pieces a week. At the moment, he sells only in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Surat, but hopes to add Bangalore, Indore and Bhopal to the list soon. One of the Ambani brothers, he says, recently ordered one from a store in Mumbai. Milagrow TabTop’s marketshare in Delhi, Mr. Karwal says, is 1 per cent. Mr. Karwal has positioned his tablet at the enterprise market, especially small and mid-scale companies. There could be leverage for him in this. Milagrow, the consultancy, started out as an expert in small- and mid-scale businesses — a “venture catalyst and one-stop destination for small business”. That connection could come handy now. Mr. Karwal also runs a CEO mentor programme for such businesses. Once every month, on a Saturday, he holds a session called Venture Doctors
where small businessmen can come to him with any problem and he will write out a “prescription”. For subsequent visits, the old prescription has to be brought along. (Mr. Karwal also heads the Forum for Ethical Business and recently authored a book called Corporate Blogging in India.) Mr. Karwal has got special apps developed for sales force automation, hotels and hospitals. The TabTop comes fitted with 50 apps related to productivity, utility and networking. “Unlike others where you need to download apps, ours is a ready-to-eat tablet,” says Mr. Karwal. To sell the tablet, Mr. Karwal has avoided mobile phone retailers because their showrooms are too small to display personal computers properly and the consumer engagement is too short to evaluate a tablet. So he has chosen to go through multi-brand retail chains, and of course online stores — two or three sell on Flipkart every day, he claims. Many of these chains Mr. Karwal knows from his days at LG, Philips and Electrolux — another leverage. There is no doubt that the tablet market is all set to explode, and hence the possibilities are huge. So, Mr. Karwal is up against giants like Apple, Samsung, HTC, BlackBerry, Dell, HCL and others. But the deep pockets of these rivals do not seem to bother him. Mr. Karwal says Milagrow, held 100 per cent by him along with his wife, Shobha, is adequately funded for the next 18 months or so. That’s perhaps because in the last four years Mr. Karwal has been signed on by a number of companies including a tractor maker, a truck maker, and a home appliances company, among others, in the country. “I have deliberately stayed away from consumer electronics in India,” says he. Outside India, Mr. Karwal says, he has advised consumer electronics companies in Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. For detailed article visit http://business-standard.com/india/news/ready-to-eat/459536/
Yaadein - Class of 1986 Reunion After weeks of planning and preparation the day finally arrived - 26th November 2011 „Yaadein‟ – the 25 Year Re-Union of the Batch of 1986, IMT Ghaziabad, hosted by the Alumni Relationship Committee. It was a real treat to see all the alumni so excited to meet their peers, some of them even flying down from different countries to be a part of this experience. Twenty five men, meeting each other after a quarter of a century isn‟t a small thing. They were nervous and excited. Some of them couldn‟t even recognize each other, recalling old names and cherishing the long lost days. They had hundreds of memories to recount and couldn‟t wait more for the evening to unfold. After lighting the lamp and being addressed by the director the alumni took a walk through the campus remembering what it used to be back then, and sharing with us all the stories of the “chungi ke paranthe” and “KKD - Karan ka dhabha”. A sapling was planted in the MDP garden dedicated to the class of 1986. Then there was the classroom session which took them back to their student life, reminding them of the attendance and the quizzes. Dinner was served at the MDP and after the meal came the grand finale at the amphitheatre. The “Amphi Nite” was surely the catch of the day. There was no match to their undying spirit when it came to partying. They were back to their twenties, dancing by the bonfire and singing. Written large on their faces was their joy and satisfaction to have come back to their alma mater and met old friends with whom they shared the halcyon days of their student life. The video played at the amphitheatre with their yesteryear photos took them back into those days. Many of the alumni spent the night in the IMT hostel reliving the same hostel feel after 25 years. They were visibly pleased as they left the campus, refreshing old memories and creating some new ones. The pleasure of hosting and watching the evening, however, belonged to the Alumni Relationship Committee.
The Collaborative Initiative The Director, Dr. Bibek Banerjee addressed a gathering of 15 alumni based in Delhi on December 11 ,2011 at the India International Centre, New Delhi, as a part of our initiative to connect better with our important alumni all across the country, Delhi being our starting point. IMT Ghaziabad is undergoing a phase of reinventing itself and this meeting was seen as a platform for the alumni to put forward their thoughts as the most important stakeholder of the brand IMT. They interacted with their fellow senior IMT Alumni and discussed the pertinent issues that IMT and its alumni are facing today. Certain key initiatives were discussed about emerging IMT that included the pilot project in collaboration with the Kellog School of Management wherein six of IMT students will be working closely with six Kellogg students on live projects focusing on social innovation and inclusion in various rural parts of the country. IMT also has a tie up with NIIT for long term Programs on NIITâ€&#x;s imperial platform to create a module for customized executive education program. We have signed an MOU with Harvard Business School with the main aim of improving the quality of curriculum. IMT has been recently awarded a Crisil rating of AAA+. Also keeping innovation in mind, IMT conducted virtual interviews for its admission process starting with the batch of 2011-13 in collaboration with V-Mock. The discussion was very intense and proved to be very productive as the alumni put forward their views and concerns on the different aspects. The Alumni were concerned about the Dilution of the image of IMT due to multitude of campuses and questioned whether the `campuses across India. Mr. Rajiv Mathur from the batch of 1986 pointed out that the faculty exchange program is a differential factor for IMT and gives faculty an international exposure in todayâ€&#x;s era of globalization. Also gets a change in faculty profile. Dr. Banerjee also pointed that alumni sitting in the selection panel is also a differentiating factor. But there is no homogeneity in the process and glitches in execution which dilutes the whole purpose of getting an alumnus into a selection panel. All the Alumni were in consensus that the uniqueness of IMT was the fact that it was completely student driven and it made the students better equipped to handle practical problems while in college, but they also suggested that the management should be more actively involved in the placement process by putting their industrial contacts to use for the benefit of the students. Mr. Somit Makkar from the batch of 1994 pointed out that a proper and specific structure should be in process with benchmarks and milestones. Also the mentorship program should have proper records for future. Certain new programs for the alumni were put to the table that included the Finishing School Program and Executive PhD Program. The Finishing School Program shall provide timely boosts in career and also focuses on career mapping. It is chalked out to be a six-day program in collaboration with Dale Carnegie University and will be self-financed through enrollment. The Alumni Relationship Committee, with the support of the management plans to hold several such meetings with the alumni all across the country in near future. The suggestions given by the alumni regarding their views on enhancement of the Brand IMT and also for connecting with the alumni prove to be very productive and beneficial.
Campus Buzz Marketing World Cup 2011 As the happening 2011 comes to an end, IMT witnessed the culmination of one of its most coveted events of the year – the Marketing World Cup. MWC‟11 saw overwhelming response from the students across the length and breadth of the country. There were over 200+ team registrations which included teams from IIMs, IITs, NITIE, SIBM, MDI, XLRI, IIFT, FMS and many others. There was ultimate competition in terms of innovation, creativity and intelligence in all the events of MWC‟11. Teams came up with very thoughtful and innovative strategies, campaigns and ideas. Marketing World Cup is the only core marketing event across B-School circles in India. This year MWC theme was Blue Ocean, as innovation is the key to breakthrough change and progress. The fight for the customer attention is no more based on fierce competition, but on value innovation. And hence the theme was based on most talked about theory of this era. MWC‟11 boasts of corporate sponsors and partners such as IndianOil, SAIL, Airtel, Business India, Suzlon Energy, Croma, Bausch & Lomb, VIP, Spykar etc. It proved to be a great platform for budding marketers to showcase their talent in various categories of events, which addressed various facets of marketing from youth centric market research to integrated brand promotion and shelf space management. With students across India vying to get a place in the finals, the
competition for the qualifying round was intense, and the most innovative teams were invited for the finals that were scheduled for 26th-27th Nov‟11 at IMT Ghaziabad campus. The Marketing World Cup‟11 finals began with our guest of honours Mr. Gopal Krishnan, Sr. Vice President - HR, IndusInd Bank and Mr. Ajay Davesar, Head – External Communications, HCL Technologies Ltd.,lighting the lamp and officially declaring the Marketing world cup open, followed by an insightful talk on TheIndian Advantage and Innovation in Indian Companies. Our respected faculty Mr. Amitabh Deo Kodwani, Chairperson PGDM(Full Time) was also present to share with us his experience and thoughts on Innovation in an Indian Context. All the events were conducted smoothly and participants demonstrated a great show of creativity, talent and hard work. Team “Monsters with Chivalry” became the ultimate champion with total 192.5 points. Team “Mariners” were Runner‟s up with 175 points. The closing ceremony presided over by Mr. Shishir Tripathi, Head CLM, Uninor testified MWC‟11 being a success.
RISCON The Annual Risk Management Conclave of IMT Ghaziabad, organised by FinNiche – The Finance club of IMT-G, is a two- day conclave with focus on current issues that plague the Financial World. On Day 1, eminent financial experts like Mr. Ajay Sahai –CEO, Federation of Indian Export Organisations, Mr. Rajeshwar Rao – Chief GM, RBI and Mr.J.K. Mallik – Director, RBI addressed the gathering and shared their expert views on these issues and discussed effective means of assessing and mitigating the investment associated risks. The first session began with Mr Ajay Sahai, sharing his views on the foreign trade policy in India. During his course of interaction with the students, he touched upon various areas including his bullish expectations from the Indian economy and rise of India as a major superpower by 2030. He however voiced his concern over the lack of investment made in the key areas such as Infrastructure, Healthcare and Education and over the increasing gap between India‟s urban and rural population.
Following Mr Sahai‟s insight on India‟s EXIM policy, Mr. Rajeshwar Rao spoke about the impact of depreciation of Indian currency on various sectors of the Indian Economy. According to Mr. Rao, “The RBI as a Central Bank has a crucial role in addressing the issues arising from the movement of exchange rates. The decisions would be influenced by the impact of rates on various sectors of the economy and the implications for monetary management.” During the third session, Mr J.K Mallik too shared his concern about the depreciating rupee and its impact on inflation. He also said that the multiple increases in the policy rates over the last 19 months were justified and expressed his confidence about its outcome. The first day ended with a Panel Discussion with panellists from the financial world discussing this pertinent and very engrossing subject discussing on a very contemporary topic “Impact of Euro Debt Crisis on the Global Economy”. The panel included industry heavyweights such as Mr. Sunil Nair – Deputy GM, RBI, Mr. C. M. Khurana, GM, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Dr. P.T Giridharan – Director, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Mr. Vishesh Srivastava – Assistant GM, Punjab National Bank, Mr. Gopal Mondal – Director – F&A, Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd and Mr. Jagannadham – VP, SMC. On Day 2, six teams from premium B-Schools across India competed in the final round of Shreyas Nidhi , a competition based on mutual funds. The final six teams were chosen from the 100 teams which participated in the online quiz conducted on November 4, 2011. With each year, IMT Ghaziabad‟s FinNiche evolves as it concentrates on current global and national financial developments and its implications on investments and related risks.
Alum Quotes
1986 Batch Speaks Their Heart out‌
Since its inception in 2006, the Alumni Relationship Committee (Alcom) has been working towards strengthening the bond between the alumni and the institute. With activities like guest lectures, panel discussions, mentorship, chapter meets, reunions and the annual alumni meet, Alcom has tried to provide multiple platforms for deepening this connect.
In the same vein, Sampark has acted as an interface all through the years, bringing to you not only the latest happenings on campus but also updates with respect to our alumni community. This edition of Sampark is an effort to bring you the newsletter in a new light. We sincerely hope you like it and send in your feedback at
alumni@imt.edu
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Compiled By The Sampark Team Alumni Relationship Committee