Education
My MBA at Alliance Manchester Business School has enabled me to strengthen my business acumen and has aided me in enhancing my project and client management skills. The aforementioned skills are evidenced by my work on three consultancy projects with real-life clients, wherein I received stellar feedback from both my clients (Not for Profit, Commercial and International) and by my academic supervisors.
Three live client consultancy projects
Xpence Ltd. International Business Project
Dec 2019 to Apr 2020
As part of the International Business Project, our team of 6 members was tasked with identifying markets for expansion and developing go-to-market strategies for a fintech start-up, Xpence Ltd. based in Dubai, UAE. The firm specialises in providing banking services to SMEs, Freelancers and Solo Entrepreneurs.
B&M Longworth, Commercial Business Project
Feb 2019 to Jun 2019
The Commercial Business Project gives us the opportunity to solve a business problem for a firm operating within the UK. For this project, we helped B&M Longworth, a cleaning equipment manufacturer, to identify alternate revenue streams for DEECOM, their patented technology, which uses superheated steam to remove plastic remnants from filters.
Migration Museum, Not for Profit Project
Sep 2018 to Nov 2018
For our Not for Profit project, we were tasked with aiding the Migration Museum, which is based in London and covers human migration in the past, present and future, to increase their streams of revenue within their upcoming permanent location in 2022.
Additional valuable experiences
Manchester Matters, a TED talk style presentation, organised by the MBA Student Council at Alliance Manchester Business School, provides an excellent platform for us to share our areas of expertise, passions and interests with our classmates.
I had the opportunity to share my knowledge regarding one of the most elegant embroideries originating from India, Chikankari.
Here’s a link to the video.
Dubai Study Tour
The electives offered within the full time MBA at Alliance Manchester Business School aid in learning about various areas of business and meeting students who are part of the Global and part-time MBA programmes. As these electives are offered in various centres of the school around the world, it gives us the opportunity to travel and network with organisations within those countries.
I had opted for the International Business Strategy elective conducted in the Dubai centre, which facilitated exposure to the warm and welcoming Emirati culture and engagement with organisations like Emirates and Al Tajawal through company visits organised by the business school.
Business Case Competitions
As business consultancy students, we have several opportunities to particpate within a wide variety of business case competitions hosted by business schools around the world and several globally based companies. This gives us an excellent platform to apply our learnings and compete with bright minds to provide solutions to complex business problems.
During my MBA, I had particpated in the Venture Capital Invetsment Competition (VCIC), the British Petroleum Case Competition and the AMBS Case Competition. These experiences also provided me with a great platform to network and make valuable connections.
The Alliance Manchester Business School MBA enabled us to partake in MBAT, the largest inter-MBA sports tournament, hosted by HEC Paris.
I was happy to particpate within the Chess Tournament and represent my business school against some of the brightest minds from the University of Cambridge, IESE Business School and HEC Paris.
Prior to my MBA, I undertook my MSc. in Marketing Management from Durham University to expand my marketing knowledge and practical ability even further, resulting in a hard-earned Merit (75%). Additionally, I came third, within my cohort, for my dissertation on the topic of “The Influence of Culture and Emotions on the Perceived Human Crowding and Satisfaction Relationship“. I was also awarded, as part of the Integrated Marketing Communications module, a commendation for the “Most Innovative Advertisement“
Academic achievements
Awarded the ‘Most Innovative Advertisement’ for the Integrated Marketing Communications module
As part of the Marketing Management course, we had modules like Global Marketing, Marketing and Consumer Psychology, Marketing Management and Strategy and Integrated Marketing Communications. Assessments for these modules required us to prepare group presentationas and individual written assignments. Our team of 8 memebers worked on a creative advertisement campaign and were awarded a commendation for the Most Innovative Advertisement.
Dissertation topic: The Influence of Culture and Emotions on the Perceived Human Crowding and Satisfaction Relationship
Drafting and submitting a dissertation marked the culmination of my Masters in Marketing Management. For my dissertation, I decided to study the influence of culture and emotions on the human crowding and satisfaction relationship. The study aimed at determining the differences Indian and British customers have towards crowded retail stores. I was awarded a high score of 75%, which enabled me to rank third within my cohort.
I pursued my Bachelor of Commerce degree at R.D. & S.H. National & W.A. Science College, which is affliliated with the University of Mumbai. During the 3 years of my bachelors degree, I was able to develop a solid foundation in the spectrum of business, accounting and finance and make life-long friends along the way.
Additional valuable experiences
The 16th International Economic Convention
I was a Student Co-ordinator for the 16th International Economic Convention, an intercollegiate event, featuring particpants from global universities including Monash University, University of Melbourne and Union College, New York.
Brand Gyan
Brand Gyan was a student-run branding event, featuring stalwarts guest speakers from the Branding and Advertising industry. As a member of the Organising Committee for the event, I was tasked with preparing the opening presentation and managing the seating arrangements for our guest speakers.
Professional Experience
I led the marketing team at a rapidly growing EdTech firm, StudyPal.co based in Newport, California, USA. My tasks involved developing and implementing marketing strategies to increase app downloads, get more Study Experts on board and expand user base for certification exams. I also worked on strategies to garner partnerships for StudyPal.co within UK and Canadian markets.
My MBA at Alliance Manchester Business School enabled me to pursue a short-term project for the summer semester at Morrisons, one of the top 4 grocery retailers in the UK. Over the 10 week period of the internship, I learned about an industry (seafood manufacturing) I had no previous background in, worked closely with the senior management team and other industry experts within the organisation and presented my project to the CEO! This experience has definitely been a valuable addition to my MBA toolkit.
I was able to transfer my banking and finance expertise into my family business (exporting hand-embroidered Chikankari garments) based in Mumbai in India where I worked briefly. Chikankari is a traditional embroidery style from Lucknow, India. The maternal side of my family hails from Lucknow. By recruiting a few Chikankari artisans he knew in Lucknow, my grandfather started a local retail store in Mumbai in the early 90s called Lucknow Chikan International. It has expanded under the leadership of my maternal uncle and is now a global exporter.
I was fundamental in digitising all of the administrative operations at the firm, closely liaising with banks for export finance requirements and managing globally-based clients (Spain, Switzerland and Malaysia) through email and phone calls.
The Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vyasya Merger
Post the merger (Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vyasya Bank, April 2015) and the decentralization of operations, there was an influx of ING Vyasa employees and new joinees pan departments. There was a sudden increase in number of employees within our team who had limited or no experience handling bank guarantees.
At this point, I was in-charge of imparting product knowledge to the incoming members. I gave the new members an in-depth understanding of the process, which led to a cohesive learning experience.
Not only did I ensure that they understood the product well, but also ensured most importantly, that they felt at home.
This initiative to bring an element of ease to the working environment resulted in quicker learning and bonding among the new team members. The productivity levels increased by 25% over the course of 3 months.
The only team member to have cleared the JAIIB exam
Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF) conducts the JAIIB exam, which is conducted for the post of Junior Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers. I successfully cleared JAIIB in May 2015 and became the only accredited member in the team to have cleared the exam.
Achieved highest productivity as part of the Bank Guarantee team
I was primarily working for the Bank Guarantee and Buyers Credit team within the Trade Finance Department. As part of the January 2016 report, I had achieved the highest productivity in a six-member team, wherein the processing volume was over twice the productivity of the second-highest team.
Additional Information
Language
IT Skills
Other
In 2017, I had participated in a Mumbai-based photography contest organised by Canon, ‘Canon PhotoMarathon India’.
Here are a few of my entries for the competition: