Pancham Gupta from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad is one of India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2022!
The following is Pancham's set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst incoming MBA graduates to determine the top-50 Most Promising Incoming MBA students of 2022. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Pancham's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his words
My name is Pancham and I'm a former Associate (Private Equity Group) in Bain and Company. I completed my undergraduate studies from SSCBS with a specialisation in Finance, where I was involved with Enactus SSCBS (the social entrepreneurship cell). As a social entrepreneur, I am the Co-Founder of a social business venture, which generated INR17L+ in revenue in its first year of operations. Academically proficient, I was awarded University Rank 1 for BMS in 2020, and was conferred with the Best All Round Student Award in UG.
Tell us more about your extracurricular achievements
Global 1st Position (2017), 2nd Position (2018)
World Water Race (for water-related social businesses)
• 1st Position in 9 National B-plan competitions (incl. IIM Indore, NSUT) | 3rd Position in 2 competitions
• 1st Position (out of 200) in ‘Best Manager’, a national competition of 20 case rounds by Mark-It SSCBS
• 1st Position in Zonal Debate and Extempore competitions conducted by the Directorate of Education
• 1st Position in 9 National B-plan competitions (incl. IIM Indore, NSUT) | 3rd Position in 2 competitions
• 1st Position (out of 200) in ‘Best Manager’, a national competition of 20 case rounds by Mark-It SSCBS
• 1st Position in Zonal Debate and Extempore competitions conducted by the Directorate of Education
Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
Some years back, my team and I participated in the Enactus National Championship, and at that time we exhibited our recently developed business venture. The presentation was a culmination of the months of research that had gone into the project, hundreds of hours spent on the ground understanding the market and ensuring that our project was successfully implemented for our target community. Despite our best eorts, we were not successful at winning the competition.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
Others may be surprised to know that apart from my professional commitments, I have a deep love for food, and I find cooking to be therapeutic. Even after the most hectic day, I feel comfortable when I cook for myself and my family.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
Perseverance - This is the skill that I swear by and the one which has carried me through life's challenges. As one goes through life, the challenges and diculties keep on increasing and one constantly finds oneself against new and complicated situations. The onus there, is to figure things out and keep moving. For this, perseverence plays a major role as it lets you keep standing, and fighting till the end, till you succeed. I am proud of how I displayed it as I transititioned to my undergrad degree, how I juggled multiple activities how I got my first job and how I came to do my MBA
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
1. Strong Communication skills
2. Empathy
3. People Management Skills (both upward and downward)
4. Comfort with uncertainty
If you were the CEO of any company of your choosing, which company would you choose and what would your first action be as CEO?
I would like to be the CEO of Better.com - and as my first action would attempt to mend relations, and handle the crisis that led to the firing of 900 employees on zoom
Any Other Comments Or Factors You Would Like To Highlight About Yourself?
Responsibilities to ensure that the case delivery was on schedule. It doesnt speak of my commitment to my work, and how I ensure deliverance on the expectations that my supervisors have of me, but also how I ensure that my team exceeds expectations as a whole as well. It further doesn’t speak of the wonderful relationships that I formed with my friends, my mentors, my managers, and my peers. All of these relations, and interactions, helped develop my work ethic, and it is these countless relationships that continue supporting me to this day