I was ecstatic after receiving offer letter for MBA IB from IIFT .I had to wrap up from Pune and travel to “City of Joy”-Kolkata which meant I had to buy formal and casual business wear. So obviously my first choice was
Pantaloons, what a mesmerizing collection of various brands they have. Brands such as
Louis Philippe, VanHeusen, Allen Solly, Peter England, etc. I was amazed to learn that all these brands come under umbrella of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL), part of USD 44.3 billion Aditya Birla Group and India’s first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse.
I had to submit documents to IIFT so I took print outs and unknowingly I had availed another service of
ABG-Birla Carbon , world leader in the manufacturing and supply of carbon black additives. I had to complete all my medical tests before joining, so went to Aditya Birla hospital and got all tests done.
Finally, the day came to leave Pune and sitting in the train, I was pondering how electrical locomotives have made our life so easy. We all know copper is an indispensable part of locomotives. Out of curiosity I searched on net and found that
Hindalco Industries Limited is the metals flagship company of ABG. It is the world's largest aluminium rolling company and also a leading producer of copper. I started feeling too obsessed with the ABG group and thus, to distract myself I thought of relishing food and took out parathas packed in aluminium foil-yes, yes, no prize in guessing-
Freshwrapp also belongs to ABG.
And who does not know
UltraTech Cement, Desh ka no. 1 cement. It is also one of the leading cement producers globally. And no guesses, parent company is ABG.
Finally, after landing in Kolkata I could not get signal in my mobile, someone suggested me to switch my network operator to
Vodafone Idea which too is an ABG and Vodafone Group partnership.
After developing a deep interest in the Aditya Birla Group, I surfed through their site and first thing that struck me was their focus on sustainable growth. The ABG has signed the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s
WASH Pledge.
So in spite of my negligence, ABG is already big in my life and as I have started observing more and more, I have discovered that ABG relates to every aspect in my life.
“
Failure is not fatal. Failure is inevitable. If you don’t fail, it perhaps means you are not taking enough risks “-
Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman ABG.
I can very well relate to this statement if I think of an incident which happened to me when I was preparing for my tenth board exams. During that phase, I brought myself under immense pressure to score high which made me very anxious and stressful regarding my results because of which I could not focus on my studies. I almost stopped studying for a month prior to the exams. My self-esteem and confidence hit rock bottom. At that time my family and friends supported and motivated me and made me realize that to believe in self is of utmost importance. It shaped my mind and approach as an individual and I realized that I should focus more on making short term preparatory targets rather than worrying about the results. I started studying with this methodology and passed boards with flying colours.
ABG has always focussed on how to GET BIG in spite of the minor hiccups such as More, Aboof.com and the competition faced. They have also committed mistakes, but have also learnt from them and have consolidated their position and improved their performance to become profitable. Following this approach, it has touched millions of life spanning 34 countries and has 120000 employees .ABG perfectly aligns to my career aspirations and I will love to be the next addition to their employee list.