Senior Management professional, B.Tech (IIT, Delhi) and MBA (IIM, Ahmedabad) would like to coach young professionals to develop a strong understanding of business principles and practices for their c

Learn more about Anil

• Tell us more about your subject. How did you develop an interest in this field?

  I have had the privilege of receiving my education from two of India's foremost institutions: IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad. These institutions not only provided me with academic knowledge but also played a significant role in shaping my character. Throughout my educational journey, I maintained a strong meritorious record and consistently sought to connect my learning with real-world events.
  
  Over my 30-year career as a senior executive in the corporate world, I applied my knowledge and expertise to create and nurture new businesses. A crucial element of this growth was the development of human capital. I emphasized continuous learning for my teams and established a culture of knowledge-sharing. Both learning and imparting knowledge have been integral aspects of my professional journey.

• What or who is the motivation behind you choosing to teach & why?

  Eleven years ago, I made the decision to transition from my corporate career to become an independent Management Consultant. I had the opportunity to work with a renowned educational group, Manav Rachna Educational Institutions, which operates two universities and around fifteen schools.
  
  In 2016, their Chancellor suggested that I should coach their MBA students to prepare them for their careers. This evolved into a teaching role at the university, initially focusing on one subject but gradually expanding to cover multiple faculties and subjects. As a Professor of Practice, I now teach subjects in Finance, Strategy, Operations, and Project Management to MBA and BBA students. This journey has been immensely rewarding for me, and I have been able to enhance students' textbook learning with practical insights from the business world.

• How does your work help society?

  Engaging with students provides me with a unique opportunity to understand their challenges and priorities. These young individuals, mostly aged between 20 and 25, possess malleable minds. By combining empathy, knowledge-sharing, and moral values, I believe they can evolve into responsible and invaluable future corporate citizens. Having played out most of my innings (at 64 years of age), I have now embarked on a mission to mentor the next generation.

• If you had to think of a role model for your work, who do you think of & why?

  My role model is Mr. E. Sreedharan, widely known and regarded as 'the Metro man'. He graduated from a regional engineering college and went on to build some of the most remarkable infrastructure projects, including the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro, subsequently applying his expertise to ventures like the Kochi Metro and Lucknow Metro. As an admired engineer and technocrat, he garnered acclaim for delivering projects within budget and on time, often against significant odds. His work in the field of Project Management is a source of inspiration for both practitioners and students.
  
  During the last eight years of my corporate career, I led a Project Management company - Feedback Infra. I drew inspiration from Mr. Sreedharan's dedication and accomplishments. His Padma Shri recognition reflects his status as a true Karmayogi.

• Tell us about your hobbies outside teaching.

  I have a passion for travel and have explored diverse destinations both within India and internationally. These experiences have exposed me to diverse cultures and lifestyles.
  
  Additionally, I am deeply interested in lifestyle photography and possess a flair for writing. Over the past 11 years, since embarking on my independent career, I have consistently published theme-based desk calendars for my clients and associates, a creative endeavor that I cherish.

• Do you have an anecdote to tell us about your student or professional life?

  In 1999, I joined Bhartia Cutler-Hammer, an electrical engineering company, as the Chief of Business Strategy. Quickly, I gained recognition as an internal Change Agent with a remarkable track record of successfully spearheading diverse management initiatives.
  
  In 2001, my company revisited their earlier effort to implement ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and asked if I would take the role of Champion. Before my joining, the company had tried its hand unsuccessfully, having invested heavily in both - the ERP package as well as the hardware (servers).
  
  Despite my limited knowledge of ERP at the time, I diligently gathered information from industry contacts and journals, ERP vendors, leading consulting firms, and online sources. I presented a comprehensive proposal to the management, recommending that we abandon the ERP licenses and servers previously purchased in favor of contemporary technology. Despite initial skepticism, my recommendation was accepted.
  
  Securing the best technical resources was not difficult and we could rope in leading vendors of ERP, computer hardware, and implementation consultants. The managerial challenges of implementing ERP were significant. Forming a cross-functional team was the most formidable task, and I insisted on deploying the organization's top talents across all departments - Sales, Purchase, Production, Quality, Finance, and HR. Convincing the organization to spare its best resources was a challenge, but I successfully argued that ERP would shape our future operations, and we needed the best minds to lead this transformation.
  
  This experience, along with other smaller victories, bolstered my confidence that we could achieve this daunting objective. We executed a "big-bang" ERP implementation and successfully launched all modules simultaneously within seven months of initiating the project. This gained widespread publicity as a remarkable success story in our industry.