June 22, 2017 | Ahmedabad: The Third IIMA “Young Alumni Achiever’s Awards were presented today to seven formidable Alumni. The awards, started in 2015, are given to alumni under the age of 45, to recognize outstanding achievements in various areas of work.

“IIMA is recognizing contributions of eight of our young alumni, who have demonstrated leadership in a range of fields, spanning corporate, entrepreneurial, and public service contributions. These eight are representative of our numerous other alumni that are contributing as leaders and change agents in their organizations and communities. I am hopeful that the work done by these, and other alumni, motivates our students to contribute to society in meaningful ways.” said Prof. Ashish Nanda, Director, IIMA.

This year’s awards were given in three different Categories. As Corporate Leaders three alumni were recognized:

1) Mr. Rahul Agarwal, PGP batch of 1996, currently the MD & CEO of Lenovo India;

2) Mr. Sudhir Sitapati, PGP batch of 1999, currently Executive Director and CCVP, Refreshments, South Asia and Africa,   Hindustan Unilever Ltd; and

3) Ms. Tulsi Naidu, (PGP batch of 1996, CEO.  Zurich Insurance Company, UK.

“Through these awards the Institute recognizes and celebrates the achievements of our alumni who have made significant contributions in their workspaces fairly early in their careers. Every year, I get pleasantly surprised by the range and depth of the contributions our alumni have made. They have really made us proud,”   said Prof Rakesh Basant, Dean, Alumni and External Relations.

Ms. Sucharita Mukherjee, PGP batch of 2001, Founder and CEO, IFMR Trust and   Mr. Yashish Dahiya, PGP 1996, Co – founder & CEO, PolicyBazaar were awarded for their achievements as an Entrepreneur category.

The third category of honor was Public Service, for which Mr. Kartikeya Misra, PGP Batch 2004, Collector and District Magistrate, East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh and Mr. Rohan Chand Thakur, PGP batch of 2006, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, were awarded.

Rahul  Agarwal, one of the award winners, said  “IIMA instilled in me a sense of competitiveness, an appreciation for rigour & clear thinking and a habit of hard work & detailing that I wasn’t used to earlier. While there is a lot that u learn on the job, especially about people management, about execution & about being pragmatic, the foundation that was laid there has been instrumental in my entire career. It would be unfair if one doesn’t mention the instant credibility that one gets with the IIMA brand which aids u in many ways. Getting into a prestigious place like IIMA itself gives you the conviction that u can go for the moon and that shaped whatever goals I put for myself.”