Reckitt Global Challenge 2021 Experience
I have always nurtured three qualities within myself, that have propelled me on this path of becoming a Management Trainee at Reckitt - the curiosity to learn new things, the ability to breakdown complex real-life problems via mental models and strategic initiative, and the competitive spirit to emerge on top. I pursued MBA as it provided a plethora of opportunities to hone these skills. It also facilitated constructive feedback on my problem-solving approach from corporate practitioners, navigating the ambiguous business landscape. Case Competitions turned out to be one of the most thrilling experiences of a pandemic-hit MBA program. I went on to the National Finals of flagship Marketing and Strategy competitions from Reckitt, Amazon, TAS and finished as Campus Runner-Up in challenges of ITC, Accenture Strategy and Reliance. I was awarded as the Top Ranked College Champion at IIM Kozhikode and featured in Forbes India as D2C Top 100 Competitive B-School Leaders 2021.
Reckitt Global Challenge was undoubtedly one of the toughest and most exhilarating competitions in my B-School journey. I am passionate about marketing and building brands, and naturally, the Global Challenge was always on my radar since Reckitt is a dream FMCG company for marketing enthusiasts. The competition tested one’s mettle quite thoroughly with the business simulation and the ideation challenge that required a scalable, novel business idea with a social impact. The entrepreneurial idea pitch requires deploying skills across diverse domains of market research, product design, brand strategy, design thinking, supply chain management and financial analysis. This warranted building a team of people with complementary skill sets that can bounce ideas off each other and deliver a holistic solution.
We pored over numerous research papers, consulted domain experts and former GC Finalists to build our product idea. It is imperative that one understands the problem statement of the competition with utmost clarity and subsequently build an innovative, feasible solution that is in line with the chosen brand’s ideology. I still remember the euphoric moment vividly when my team was declared as the Campus Winner, and we felt that all our hard work and late-night brainstorming sessions finally paid off.
One particularly differentiating factor from other organizations and competitions was how Reckitt was keenly invested in preparing us for the National Finals. It organized various workshops with its senior leaders from different brands, domains and provided hands-on mentorship to improve our solution. All of them were vying to win the challenge globally, indicative of the open-minded and competitive culture at Reckitt.
I was awarded a PPI after winning the campus round, which was later converted into a PPO after multiple rounds of interviews. This felt as the pinnacle of my long MBA journey, as getting selected in Reckitt’s coveted Management Trainee Program is an opportunity of a lifetime. It offers great exposure across sales, brand management and e-commerce - learning the ropes of the FMCG business directly from the senior leadership. Moreover, one gets to take complete ownership early on in their career which enables any business professional to practice the right amalgam of creative freedom, strategic decision-making, team leadership and operational execution.
Building and sustaining an FMCG brand in India is one of the most challenging tasks that requires one to be a generalist, deploying skills across disciplines. This is exactly what the Global Challenge simulates as it puts one in the shoes of a CEO - ideating and proving the company’s right to win, with the added contemporary flavor of managing complex virtual team dynamics in today’s world.
- Raunaq Walia