'Footballer, Singer,Trekker, Bass guitarist, Coach, Baker' - Pallab Bhattachara - Best 50 - Class of 2016

Pallab has been chosen as one of the top 50 most employable candidates across schools and programmes in India for the Class of 2016. He has one of the best 50 profiles among the candidates who participated in the Best50 competition.

About Me

Footballer; Singer; Trekker; Bass guitarist; Coach; Baker. Hi, I am Pallab Bhattacharya, an MBA 2nd year student from JBIMS, Mumbai, specialising in Marketing. I am an easy going person who believes in keeping it simple and taking things as they come.

I am a chemical engineer from ICT, Mumbai (formerly UDCT). Right from being the football team captain, to forming a band and playing bass, to handling various events and responsibilities like being the Overall Coordinator of Sportsaga 2011, one of the biggest inter-collegiate sports festivals in Mumbai; my engineering journey was a self-development experience in itself.

In my stint at Toyo Engineering India Ltd., an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company, I was working in the Business Development and Sales team. I was in charge of all business development activities for one of the core sectors. I was assigned corporate branding responsibilities as well. My biggest achievement was getting selected into the Strategy Team after my first year itself, making me the first and the youngest one to have achieved this at Toyo so far.

Pursuing MBA seemed like a natural progression for me and I consider myself very fortunate to be selected in JB. The sheer magnanimity of the illustrious alumni adds a bit of weight on our shoulders to carry the legacy forward right from day one. In this joyful journey, the best part has been learning from the best in the industry, a luxury that very few colleges enjoy. I have had a good academic record and performed well in corporate competitions (P&G CEO Challenge and Deloitte Maverick). For my internship, I got the opportunity to work with HSBC bank in the retail banking division.

I am an All India Football Federation (AIFF) certified football coach, having obtained my D-license in 2014. An avid trekker, I have completed national level expeditions in Dalhousie (9,000 feet), Sarpass (13,600 feet) and Roopkund (15,750 feet). I have also completed a 6 day Cycling expedition in Goa.

I believe that experiences make a man and with experiences in various fields, I feel confident enough to take on the world and add to the list in the impending corporate life.

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

I have had a great mix of academic and non-academic achievements in my MBA journey so far.  On the academic front, I have been ranked third in the marketing batch of 2016 at JBIMS.

In the non-academic front, I am the captain of the college football team leading the team to 2^nd position and 3^rd position in Sydenham and IIT Bombay tournaments respectively. I was the campus winner and national finalist in P&G CEO Challenge among 600+ teams from the premier institutes. My team reached the Deloitte Regional finals (top 6 among 500+ teams). In the Mcgraw-Hill Business Strategy Game, we were not only the campus winners but also among the global top 10 performers for 4 weeks in a row. I was also the winner of E-gig, an entrepreneurial quiz organised by IIM Rohtak.

Managing both the academic and non-academic work pressures and taking time out for interests such as football and trekking, amidst all other buzzing activities and distractions in a bschool life have been the highlight that makes me stand out amongst others.

If you had unlimited money, what would be that one mobile application that you would create and what problem would it solve?

The biggest reason according to a survey on why BEST is losing a lot of commuters in Mumbai is the fact that people often don't really know —> 1) how much time they have to wait for a bus, 2)  how much time it will take for them to reach their destination once they have boarded the bus. The result is overcrowding on trains and/or metros and on roads since people opt for personal vehicles instead.

What I would build is an app that would give the estimated time of arrival at that particular bus stop of a bus by using GPS and google maps. It would also show what the expected time of reaching the destination is. This would improve reliability in terms of the bus timings and estimated duration. The app would also integrate all bus routes, bus no.s, timings and suggestions for the benefit of the commuters.

This app would help to reduce overcrowding of local trains and also encourage the use of public transport. This would not only be an environmental benefit but also benefit the bus companies in their business.

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