'I Have Maximized My Learning Experience In MBA' - Anirudh Namboodiri - Best 50 - Class of 2016

What have you done at your Post-Grad/Business School/Undergrad level that makes you stand out from the crowd?

I think that the fact that differentiates me from the crowd is that I have maximized my learning experience in MBA. I have given my best to all the assignments and classroom learning sessions. Along with the rigorous academic curriculum, I have also pursued my interest in finance by clearing the CFA level 1 exam in Dec 2014, CFA Level 2 in Jun 2015 and the FRM Level 1 exam in Nov 2015.

I have also participated in a lot of case-study competitions and won many of them. I was even awarded a PPO from Yes Bank through the Transformation Series competition, where my team was the national runners-up. Besides the PPI/PPOs, the prize money, the experience of conducting primary research and then presenting your ideas to a company’s top management or the brightest minds in the country (like Mr. Bibek Debroy who was judging the Yes Bank transformation Series), the key gains which I believe I found from participating in these corporate competitions are new friendships made due to the gruelling “Band of Brothers”-like experiences. These experiences are not just CV points, but learnings and cherished memories which will be useful throughout my career.

What have you done in your life that you are the proudest of?

I have always believed in not just maximising my opportunities but in actively seeking new learning opportunities. There is one instance during my 2-year stint at Schneider Electric which I fondly remember always because it was one of the reasons which inspired me to pursue an MBA.

I had my first real-life management opportunity where I got a chance to manage an “Innovation” team of 10 people as a part of the organization’s CMMI level 5 journey. This was a very challenging assignment as I had to manage people, some of whom were more than 5 years senior to me to deliver an unspecified output in a very strict timeline of 4 months. There were a lot of hiccups, but the project was completed well within the timeline and resulted in total savings of $54000 per year for the organization. However, I believe that the value addition for the young aspiring manager in me was far more than a dollar value because I learnt two important skills of “saying no” and not being ashamed of asking help from others.

Meet the rest of India’s 50 Most Employable Management Graduates from the Class of 2016 here.