Vinod Gupta

School of

Management,

IIT Kharagpur

Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008 Newsletter of Vinod Gupta School of Management

From the desk of Team Scuzzy:

Welcome to the Summer Edition of VGSOM's Biannual letter - Scuzzy.

We will be taking you through the eventful last six months at VGSOM.

The biggest news of course being the phenomenal success that was our Final and Summer Placement. The students witnessed a remarkable turnout by the biggest companies and ended up with favourite profiles.

The issue covers the 2 year experience by graduating students, the extracurricular activities and the achievements of VGSOMites at various B School events.

The issue also covers the guest lectures that were held at the institute, the sessions held by Mr. Partha Ghosh and the MADISON AVENUE arranged by the Marketing Club. We have tried to give the readers an insight into this semester's happenings at VGSOM.

As always, Happy Reading.

Alumni Committee:

Sharad Dhondiyal

Saurabh Malhotra

R. Ramya

Col. Indrabalan

Manyil

Anuj Gupta

Shantanu Rawat

Ravi Seth

Amit Joshi

Faculty In-charge:

Dr. Prabina Rajib, VGSOM Batch of 94

In this issue...

Summers and Final Placements

VGSOM and Alumni in news.

Guest Lectures.

Write ups at VGSOM

Enthusiastic Clubs and Events

New Professors at VGSOM

Achievements Galore

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

2

Finals’ Placements ‘09

IIT Kharagpur’s Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSOM) has wrapped up Vantage 2008, its

annual recruitment programme, on a high note with a 30% increase in the average compensation

levels offered to the 120-strong batch. The highest international compensation of $80,000 (Rs 32

lakh approximately) this time around beats last year’s Rs 13 lakh, with an increase of over 146%.

The top domestic compensation this year came in at Rs 18 lakh per annum. While the domestic

average stands at Rs 11.44 lakh pa, the median is an impressive Rs 10.32 lakh pa. The roles offered

to students ran the gamut from global leadership, management consulting, investment banking,

corporate planning & strategy, brand management and real-estate consulting to equity research,

knowledge management, SCM consulting, treasury, risk management and product merchandising.

Around 30% of the batch bagged PPOs (pre-placement offers) from renowned names like Barclays

Capital (Singapore), A&J Consulting (USA), Citigroup, Ernst & Young, PwC, ITC, RPG and Yahoo,

following the six-month internships offered by VGSOM. First-time recruiters who thronged VGSOM

included the likes of Lehman Brothers, Yes Bank, Knox Capital, Angel Broking, Schlumberger, Deloitte

Consulting, Avalon Consulting, Eicher Consulting, MarketRx, Heinz, Bombay Dyeing, Maytas, i2

technologies and Reliance ADAG. Consulting biggies like Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Ernst & Young,

Accenture, Avalon, and Deloitte participated in the process along with niche consulting majors like

Eicher Consulting, i2 technologies and Bristlecone (SCM Consulting), MarketRx and Headstrong. The

finance sector had diverse representation through Lehman Brothers, Yes Bank, Citibank, HSBC,

Irevna, STCI, Infosys BPO, Knox Capital, AnandRathi, ICICI Bank and ICICI Prudential. Marketing

profiles were in plenty as well, with offers from ITC, Vodafone, Heinz, RPG, Bombay Dyeing and

Reliance ADAG.

Students preferred sunrise sectors like real-estate (Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj), retail (Spencers) and

infrastructure (Maytas Infra) over the traditional ones. IT sector recruitments had strong growth

through interesting profiles offered by IBM, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Technologies, NIIT

Technologies, Maverick Systems, Aricent, Evalueserve and EDS. Operations’ profiles were offered by

Schlumberger, ITC, Voltas, Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland.

Vantage 2008 snapshot:

Total number of students =120

Total number of offers made = 160

Number of PPOs = 41

Total number of companies confirming

participation: 70

Total number of companies slotted: 55

Mean domestic salary = Rs 11.44 Lakhs p.a.

Median domestic salary = Rs 10.32 Lakhs p.a.

Highest domestic salary offered = Rs 18 Lakhs p.a.

Highest international offer = $ 80,000 p.a.

Average international salary = $ 70,000 p.a

Profiles offered No. of students

BANKING & FINANCE 28

MARKETING 24

STRATEGY & CONSULTING 22

IT & SYSTEMS 21

OPERATIONS 20

HR 5

Sum 120

Finals Placements figures

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

3

Summers’ Placements ‘09

STUDENTS of IIT Kharagpur’s Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSOM) wrapped up the

summer placement process for the 120-strong batch of 2007-09 with a variety of sectors and roles to

choose from, for their internship programme. VGSOM, with its unique six-month summer internship

model, attracted companies across sectors, thus giving ample scope for the interns to work on live

projects.

Some of the first-timers on campus included Microsoft, KPMG, Yes Bank, Synovate Business

Consulting, Xerox, Acumen Funds, Horizon Asset Management, Avigo Capital Partners, CavinKare,

Cadbury’s, i2 Technologies and Pagalguy.

One of the major highlights of the placement process was the presence of the ‘Big 4’: Ernst & Young,

KPMG, Deloitte and PwC who offered a number of exciting roles in the consulting sector, including

the prestigious PwC GRID profile. Synovate Business Consulting offered management consulting

roles, while firms such as Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj came up with real estate consulting roles. i2

Technologies and CGN Consulting offered niche profiles like SCM consulting and operations

consulting respectively.

The finance sector saw participation of private equity players such as Horizon Asset Management,

Avigo Capital Partners and social venture fund Acumen Funds. The sector was also dominated by

firms such as Barclays Capital, Yes Bank, Anand Rathi, Aranca, HSBC Analytics, Innovest India,

Credence Analytics, Latent View Analytics, Infiniti Research and Futures First. The profiles on offer

included investment banking, equity research, and investment research.

The marketing and FMCG companies flocking to campus included ITC, CavinKare, Xerox, Mahindra

and Mahindra, RPG and Cadbury’s. Aricent and Honeywell offered technical marketing profiles for

their internship programs.

IT remained the usual stronghold of the institute with firms such as Microsoft, Robert Bosch, IBM and

Wipro recruiting students. Pagalguy.com offered an exciting entrepreneurship role to interns.

Operations profiles were offered by industry bigwigs like Cadbury’s, Voltas, Maruti, Tata Rallis, Tata

Steel and Bombay Dyeing. There were a total of 48 companies that lined up for recruitment on

campus.

Summers’ Placements figures

Profiles offered Number of students

BANKING & FINANCE 27

MARKETING 23

STRATEGY & CONSULTING 22

IT & SYSTEMS 19

OPERATIONS 18

HR 5

Sum 114

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

4

Guest Lectures

Mr. Harsh Manglik Accenture MD

Mr. Shantanu Roy IBS, Kolkata Director

Capt. Ram Mohan TVS Motors Advisor, Ex-President

Capt. Ram Mohan TVS Motors Advisor, Ex-President

Pof. Debashis Chatterjee S.P. Jain Centre of Management Dean

Mr. Sunil Gaitonde GE Labs

Mr. Shridhar Aiyengar KPMG, Infosys, ICICI, Rediff Ex-India Head

Mr. Radhakrishnan Nair Tata Steel Head, Corporate HR

Mr. Sidharth Das Gupta Philips Electronics Emeritus Quality Expert

Mr. Partha Ghosh Boston Analytics, Chairman & Founder , Ex-

Partner(McKinsey)

Ms. Seema Modi Heinz Head Of Marketing

Ms. Kanan Nabar ITC Foods Brand Manager

Ms. Nandini Sethuraman Spencers Retail VP, Marketing & Brand Management

Mr. Abhinash Manghani Fortune Park Hotels, ITC Grp. Head of Sales and Marketing

Mr. Sandeep Marwaha Pantaloons Retail Ltd., Future group Head of Operations (East)

Mr. Bushen Raina Tinplate Company of India Limited Managing Director

Mr. Subir Chaki Eveready Industries Executive Vice President

Mr. Sarath Naru VentureEast Funds Managing Partner

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

5

Tapas Mukherjee,

Managing Director, Phoenix Yule Ltd.

Mr. Bushen Raina,

Managing Director, Tinplate Company of India (TCIL)

Mr. S. Radhakrishnan,

Managing Director, DPSC Ltd and DESCON Ltd.

Mr. Subir Chaki, Executive Vice president

(Manufacturing),

Eveready Industries

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

6

After MIT & Harvard Partha S Ghosh conducts a workshop

In VGSOM, IIT – Kharagpur

on

Globalization, Strategy and Leadership

The students of IIT Kharagpur had the privilege of taking lessons on leadership, strategy and globalization from Mr. Partha S.Ghosh who is a world renowned corporate strategist, management thinker, consultant and presently the chairman of board of Boston Analytics. Mr. Ghosh has earlier been a partner at McKinsey & Co. After having conducted such workshops at Harvard University and MIT, Partha Ghosh conducted a similar workshop between 14th and 17th Feb 2008 at IIT Kharagpur.

As a precursor to the workshop, Mr. Partha Ghosh took the students through a brief history of the events that shaped the world today, right from the Renaissance, Industrial Revolution, and Dot Com Bust to the grave global issues faced by us today leaving the students to ponder over the next landmark event.

Critical aspects to management today such as leadership, globalization and strategic problem solving were all discussed in interactive sessions, with exercises and participation from the students keeping the workshop interesting while at the same time educating. Quoting Queen Elizabeth, Partha Ghosh emphasized that “It is not in the seeming but in the being”. He then discussed the importance of “Becoming” and highlighted the importance of developing inner qualities of leadership instead of being overwhelmed by the external aspects to leadership.

In all, 9 sessions over 4 days were all interactive and educative and would go a long way in helping students acquire such life skills to be used in their professional lives.

This workshop was organized by Incendio, The Activities Group of VGSOM-IIT Kharagpur which dedicates itself to hosting a series of intellectually stimulating conclaves, conferences, seminars and workshops.

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

7

The Enthusiastic Clubs

MADison AVENUE

Students of Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur geared up to hit the ‘MADison

Avenue’. Yes, this is the name of the marketing and branding workshop held at VGSOM on the 8th

and 9th March ’08, coined after the Marketing and ADvertising club – the MAD Club of VGSOM.

MADison Avenue, which is planning to go global in its very first launch, brings to its participants, a

plethora of online events like quizzes and case study competitions open to all corporates, B-school

students as well as aspirants. Added on to these is a workshop and lecture series on various issues

related to branding inviting eminent dignitaries from various corporate giants and brand leaders like

Airtel, Cavin Kare, Cognizant, ITC Foods, Fortune Park Hotels, Pantaloons, Zee Sports and more,

some of whom are also sponsors of this fiesta. Some of the other sponsors are Mcgraw-Hill and

Voltas, PaGalGuy.com being the online media partner for the event.

The online events include Bheja Fry, the online quiz, an event to get you exercising those grey cells in

trying to link the daisy chains of brands and logos, the Marketing Strategy Case in association with

Cavin Kare’s Natural Fairever named ‘STRATOsphere’ and BlaBla, the case study competition in

association with Zee Sports and Volta.

Madison Avenue’s guest lectures include Mr. Abhinash Mangani, from Fortune Park Hotels; Ms

Kanan Nabar, Brand Manager, Bingo, ITC Foods; Ms. Seema Modi, GM, Marketing Heinz; Ms Nandini

Sethuraman, RPG Spencers Retail and Mr. Sandeep Marwahe, Business Head (East), Pantaloons -

Future Group.

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

8

Kshitij & Springfest

Kshitij is the annual techno-management fest organised at the Indian Institute of Technology

Kharagpur, India. Students from engineering and business disciplines participate in Kshitij, making it

the biggest techno-management symposium in Asia. Over the years, Kshitij has been associated with

noted fortune 500 companies. The event which was dubbed the largest of its kind in Asia drew over

20000 participants for across the world. The guest lectures at this edition of Kshitij included eminent

speakers like Jimmy Donal Wales, the founder of Wikipedia , Lawrence M Krauss ,a Theoretical

Physicist and author of the bestseller 'Physics of Star-trek' and Dilip Chabaria . Performance by

Chronio and FT the humanized robots enthralled all with the capabilities of artificial intelligence and

automation. VGSOM students organized the prestigious management event 'Exemplar'- A strategy event. They

are also coordinators of other management events like El matador, Brand Gaia , ATelier .These

events provided an opportunity to the MBA students to hone their leadership and managerial skills.

The management events were dominated by VGSOM students who defeated several top

management college teams. The resounding success of the event can be gauged from the fact that

more than 400 students participated in the strategy event Exemplar and similar number for other

management events. This success can be attributed to the efforts put in by the VGSOM team right

from conceptualization to the implementation stage.

The last weekend of January ( Jan 24-27, 2008) witnessed the one of the biggest cultural fest of

India, 'The SpringFest 08'-The tam rue spirit of youth at IIT Kharagpur. The management students of

VGSOM, IIT Kharagpur conducted one of the most sought after segments of the Fest-"Litothon". A

conglomeration of 7 absolutely exciting literary events, Litothon was graced with some of the most

creative and spirited energies from different parts of the country. A few top notch educational

institutions included IIM C, XIMB, Presidency College, Loreto College, CBIT. Jam-Packed auditoriums

were the norm of the day, and why not when there are huge cash prizes worth Rs. 50, 000 gift

vouchers and so much fun to have. Not only the participants and audience but the event organizers

had a gala time organizing events at this mega fest. All in all, the 4 days were filled with wit,

presence of mind, verbal excellence and fun. Surely, Spring Fest memories will be entrenched firmly

in our memories and are worth cherishing.

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

9

VGSOM in News VGSOM students help raise funds for a worthy cause

“Dedication is not what others expect of you, it is what you can give to others”.

That seems to be the mantra of "Shraddha", an entity formed and run by the management students

of the Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur. And for those who thought that MBA

students make news only during placements, this would come as a pleasant surprise. The MBA

students, who will eventually be part of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in their future

corporate careers, have started early on, during their MBA student days.

"Shraddha", which has as its mission "Restoring faith", was conceived in 2007 and the students had

decided to promise their blood and sweat for the society. They have sweated it out and worked

towards improving the life of the underprivileged. And what could be better than working for their

counterparts, the underprivileged students of Disha Seema, a school located within the campus of

the temple of learning, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. A temple within a temple,

Disha Seema is a school where local farmers and tribals alike, send their children to see them grow.

Education is growth after all.

MBA Students of the Vinod Gupta School of Management, along with the students of Disha Seema

worked together, towards raising funds in a novel way. T-shirts were bought from the contributions

of the students, the MBA students who then painted them with their younger counterparts. Painting

T-shirts that were eventually sold during IIT's Springfest '08 was an activity that combined work with

fun. The satisfaction of feeling one with the society and community is to the students an invaluable

effect of their activity. The proceeds from the sale of these T shirts will now go back to where they

should – Disha Seema plans to use the funds thus raised towards improving the infrastructure and

quality of education imparted to the underprivileged.

And Shraddha plans to continue to work towards such socially relevant causes. In the pipeline are

AIDS awareness campaigns and educational drives. The students plan to conduct educational camps

for adults and children in the villages around Kharagpur where the IIT campus is located. For these

MBA students at the Vinod Gupta School of Management, life is not only restricted to exams, fests,

parties and placements after all…

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

10

Life at VGSOM by Kunal Sharma, Batch of 2008

We entered the portals of this great institute with a colossal craving to learn the art of managing corporations; riding high on hopes and sanguine of success. That was two years back. How fast have the times whizzed by for the 121 students of the graduating class of 2008 of the Vinod Gupta School of Management!! Through these two years, we have shared some fantastic flashes of fun; dates with distinction; times of tribulations; jiffies of judgment and oh yes, how could I ever forget – MOMENTS OF TRUTH!! Let me share some of these special memories with you…… some who may be privileged to be part of this great institute in future, some of you may have already graduated with distinction from here and for the class of 2008 that has lived this moments and will cherish them forever. I have never had such an exalted feeling as when I have as I cycle past the large plaque on the main IIT building (almost all times in a rushed manner to successfully reach on time for the 7:30 AM class) which says "Dedicated to the Service of the Nation". I think I need say no more. To be part of an institute that generates intellectual capital of such high order and class to serve the nation is an honour and privilege in itself. The intellectually simulating discussions at Cheddis at 4:00 AM in the morning over Chai and Tinku – some working on a Business Plan for some competition while others discussing the outcome of the VGSOM Olympics Cricket final match that has just finished, is a delight and something that all of us will reminisce forever. Of course, needless to mention, we live the Cheddis experience through the other popular food hangouts on the campus - Dulal Nandi, Tikka's, Veggies, Billoo's, Sahara, Dreamland and our very own Night Canteen. Case studies and assignments has been such an inseparable part of our lives for the last two years that I am sure we shall display "withdrawal symptoms" for a few months after we leave. I am sure that I can keep on talking about these experiences at the risk of being accused of sounding discursive. And I am sure I don't want to take that risk. VGSOM ROCKS!!

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

11

Fresher’s Party & Farewell Party

Finally the wait of the Batch of 2009 ended on 13 January 2008 when there senior batch finally

decided to throw a mismatch theme welcome party for them. The evening was lightened by the

colorful and hilarious performances by the senior batch that almost brought the stage down,

literally, with their bhangra performance. The juniors saw the hidden talents of their seniors in

singing, dancing and mimicry. The seniors played perfect host by laying out a stupendous full course

dinner. A gruelling question and answer round at the end of the evening saw Megha Shankaran and

Abhishek Kaushik emerge as the Ms and Mr Fresher respectively.

It was that part of the year where all good things come to an end. Farewell’ 08 – an occasion for the

1st years to bid farewell to their beloved seniors. The evening saw plethora of events and cultural

programmes, with the skit on life at VGSOM at the top. The batch of 2009 showed their skills in

singing, dancing, mimicry and above all ability to host such a grand event. The Air force officers of

2009, who would be completing their course, were also facilitated.

Our New Professor

Dr. Saroj Datta

Mechanical Engineer,

Jadavpur University.

PGDBM, IIM, Calcutta.

Ph.D. , University of

Burdwan

Dr. Saroj Datta

Dr. Saroj Datta is a Mechanical Engineer from Jadavpur University, Post

Graduate Diploma in Business Management from IIM, Calcutta and

Ph.D. from University of Burdwan. He has over 25 years of industry

experience and 10 years academic experience particularly in the area

of marketing and execution of pollution control projects. He has

worked for blue-chip multinationals and Indian companies such as

Gibbs & Hills, ACC-Vikers-Babcock, Flakt India, GEC, India and Orient

Paper& Industries. During the last decade he has been actively

involved in teaching, consultancy and research in the area of Marketing

Management. His present area of interest includes Consumer

Behavior, Business Process Reengineering, Knowledge Management

and Leadership. He has also authored a book called “Marketing Sense”

and an eBook on Marketing Management for IMT’s eMBA programme.

He is the Head for IMT’s Eastern Regional Operation.

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

12

Achievements in B-School Events Team Members Prize Event Festival College

Paurush Singh, Smita Singh I

Manifestation Vista IIM B

Rahul Yadav, Ratnakar Vellanki, Saurabh Agarwal I Bzzwings B-Plan Competition

Vista IIM B

Vishal Arora, Ravi Mishra, Sharad Dondiyal IV FXCM Fast-forward Forex trading

Vista IIM B

Ratnakar V, Rahul Yadav II Paper Presentation on BOP NIMITT SPJIMR

Rahul Yadav, Ratnakar Vellanki II Tatva Case Study NIMITT SPJIMR

Balasubramanian V, Ratnakar Vellanki II Anveshan NIMITT SPJIMR

Balasubramanian V, Saurabh Agarwal I KonnectIndia paper presentation

AIMS IIM K

Balasubramanian V, Saurabh Agarwal II Cognizant IT case study AIMS IIM K

Balasubramanian V, Kanishka Bhambhani, Saurabh Agarwal

I Pratyancha Ensemble XLRI

Sameer Rane, Rohit Sharma, Md. Mohsin , Vikas Yagnik ,Rachit Arya

II War of Wits Ensemble XLRI

Sameer Rane, Md. Mohsin I Online Trading Ensemble XLRI

Sachin Mehta I Strategy Game Mastishk NITIE

Krishnendu III Retail Guru Mastishk NITIE

Saif Athar ,Subhamoy Pati I NTPC Electron Quiz NTPC

Sandeep More, Kaustabh Sule III NTPC Electron Quiz NTPC

Sachin Mehta, Aditya Mishra I Bangalored Intaglio IIMC

Gaurav Jain III JIGYASA-India Quiz

Akshay Jain ,Chirag Gupta II x % stake (M & A) Abhyudaya IFMR

Ravi Mishra, Rahul Golcha I Case Study Analysis Transcend SIBM

Ravi Mishra, Rahul Golcha II ( Marketing Research Transcend SIBM

Hima ,Saif Athar, Bushra Firdaus II Paper Presentation IIT Delhi Fest

IIT Delhi

Akshat Mohindra, Ratnakar Velanki II Corporate Debate Kshitij IIT KGP

Vishwas Mysore III Duel Springfest IIT KGP

Bhargav B, Nikhil Jain II TCS Challenge Springfest IIT KGP

Anuj Gupta, Nikhilesh Tayal, Shantanu Rawat,Vishal Arora

I Atelier Kshitij IIT KGP

Aditya Mishra, Nitin Singla, Sandeep Sahota, Rahul Gupta

II Atelier Kshitij IIT KGP

Ravi Seth, Pankaj Judge, Gaurav Singh I Brand Gaia Kshitij IIT KGP

Ravi Seth, Gaurav Singh III Tycoons Kshitij IIT KGP

Md. Mohsin Ansari,Saurav Dhiman, Rachit Arya II Strategem Optima IIT KGP

Hima, Monica Goyal, Supratim Mitra , Sudhanshu Jain

III Atelier Kshitij IIT KGP

Amarjeet, Gaurav Jain , Amit Joshi, Vineet Verma III AD-spoof Springfest IIT KGP

Abhishek Kaushik, Anuj Gupta, Rohit Baweja, Vishal Arora

II AD-spoof Springfest IIT KGP

Gaurav Jain, Vineet Verma, Subhamoy Patil I Exemplar Kshitij IIT KGP

Scuzzy, Volume 1, Issue 12, April 2008

13

Sports @ IIT Kharagpur

INTER HALL EVENTS

1) Inter Hall Lawn Tennis Tournament – Winner (Gold Medal)

VGSOM became the Inter-Hall Champions of Tennis for the year 2007-2008! VGSOM's first Inter-

Hall victory ever! VGSOM beat MMM Hall (1st Year) in the finals 2-0.

Shaunak played and beat Mushtaq Singh 6-3, 6-1

Col Indrabalan and Shaunak played and beat Mushtaq Singh and Chirag 6-3, 6-2.

The team included Shanunak, Akshat, Col. Indrabalan, Sumit Saxena

VGSOM – OLYMICS Tournament

1) Cricket

Gentlemen

Total Teams: 8 from 2006 batch and 6 from 2007 batch

Winners –Gaurav Katra, Tarunw Gupta, Ankit Arora, Sameer Rane, Sonal,

Gaurav Singh, Pankaj Singh

Ladies

Total Teams: 2 from each batch

Winners –Deepti, Avni, Deepshikha, Pinni, Shambhawi, Smita Singh, Smita

Prakash, Simran

2) Volley Ball

Total Teams –6 from 2006 batch, 5 from 2007 batch, 1 from defense

Winners:

Vishal Mittal, Samrat, Shaunak, Vishal Khashu, Vishal Gupta, Rahul Yadav