The Conversation was conducted by the Corporate Relations and Placement Committee, IIFT Delhi for ABGLP Woo Me Competition Season 2’s Second Round.IIFT Delhi: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?Mr. Datta – I did my Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Heritage Institute of Technology after which I worked as a Probation officer at SBI. Soon, I got into IIFT and did my summer internship with ICICI. Later I got an opportunity for a PPI at ABG & converted that and I joined the LEAP program.IIFT Delhi: What is your role at ABG.Mr. Datta – The first year consists of 3 stints of which first 4 months were at Peter England in Retail, the second stint was at Ultratech Cement in manufacturing and the third one was in Corporate Strategy. This is done to give a taste of the different roles and businesses that are a part of the huge conglomerate that is ABG.IIFT Delhi: What were your key takeaways from the program?Mr. Datta – We have to deliver in a very short amount of time, which helps us learn a lot about the variety and difference in different projects and roles. The exposure to talking to different stakeholders, vendors and customers is one of the key takeaways.IIFT Delhi: Your journey of professional growth at ABG so far?Mr. Datta – Different roles help in overall development, like the first role I had was in sales and operations, the second one was in procurement and the third one was as a strategy analyst. Understanding the different requirements of different roles helps in professional growth.IIFT Delhi: How does culture play a pivotal role at ABG in shaping leaders for tomorrow?Mr. Datta – A lot of effort is put in by ABG into each of the LEAP candidates. A lot of opportunities to explore different domains are provided and then giving them the freedom to decide the role they want to take up based on their experiences.IIFT Delhi: Any interesting anecdotes you would like to share from your LEAP program?Mr. Datta – A good relationship with the LEAP batchmates is very important because if someone has experience in the sector that you are currently working in, they can help you out, and vice versa. Also, because there is a lot of rotation and switching between businesses and roles, maintaining healthy communication with your fellow LEAP candidates is always helpful.IIFT Delhi: What are some challenges associated with a General Management role/ profile and what is your advice to aspirants on how they can prepare themselves for the role?Mr. Datta– You are expected to know project management, stakeholder management and effective time management and this can be done through communication with the managers, seniors and peers. As a LEAP candidate, you are expected to make that step change and quickly grasp what the role requires.We would like to thank Mr. Rochisman Datta for enlightening the students of our Institute on the culture of Aditya Birla Group, LEAP and sharing invaluable career advice with budding aspirants at a very critical juncture of their careers.