Part A
With a revenue of USD 44.3 Billion, The Aditya Birla Group stands as the third largest private sector conglomerate in India. Present in 35 countries, ABG has vested interests in staple fiber, metals, cement (largest in India), viscose filament yarn, branded apparel, carbon black, chemicals, fertilizers, insulators, financial services, telecom, BPO and IT services. Their punch line "Taking India to the World" sums up their vision for India and for the last 162 years, they have been living up to it.
Like almost every other Indian, ABG has touched my life in all possible ways, fashion being the most prominent. Allen Solly, Louis Philippe, Peter England, and Van Heusen have been providing the comfort,luxury and class that most of us crave for. Pantaloons has always been my one stop shop for quite a few years now. Right from the fabric to the ambiance to the customer service, ABG has successfully maintained impeccable levels of consumer satisfaction and value.
ABG has established itself as a major player in the infrastructure business with Ultratech Cement being its best known brand. Throughout India, 3 out of 7 advertisement boards have Ultratech cement on them. At almost every construction site, people wearing yellow helmets with the Ultratech logo on it are a common sight.
In the telecom sector, the merger of Vodafone and ABG's Idea cellular has now become the largest telecom operator in India. This reflects the vision of ABG towards making India a prominent market in the world.
Part B
ABG being a humongous conglomerate has its leadership constituted by the finest of individuals. Introspection has led me to realize that my traits of simplicity, task prioritization, determination and sheer will could be in sync with the qualities required to start off as a potential candidate for the leadership team.
Ever since 2010 I have been focused on making myself whole. Be it academics, sports, music, art, I have been trying to get the most out of life and learn as much as possible to help myself become a better person. There is a lot to learn every day, every minute but this was not how I used to function as a child. I had been struggling to grasp things around me at school and at home. Through the years when people asked me what I wanted to be, I used to be blank. I was just confused as people around me wanted to become astronauts, engineers, doctors where all that I had in mind was to maybe be good at something. Through the years, I started meditating, trying to bring some focus into my life.
After months of ardent meditation I was left with the answer in my mind - "Be Whole". This is where I was now sure about what my goal in life would be. Usually people are good at one thing and fail miserably at another. My focus now was to excel at one thing while manage to do appreciably well in others too. This way I was able to polish my talents and groom myself into a person who speaks of value. Not to boast about myself but today I am able to grasp things that come my way with ease, hone new skills and develop new talents which is rather difficult to do considering the busy schedules as we grow up. I have this hobby of learning a new musical instrument every year. Its been 5 years since I have been doing this and I am still enjoying every moment of it.
This shift in focus from being clueless to being determined and sure about what to do next is what I consider to be my greatest achievement in life so far.