Alumni relations committee of IISWBM hosted CROSSROADS’22 2.0

The alumni relations committee of the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management ( IISWBM ) hosted ‘CROSSROADS’22 2.0’, an alumni-student interaction on 5th November 2022 at the IISWBM Auditorium.

After organizing it online for two consecutive years, this year the event took place at the college campus. The event started at 10 AM and had notable alumni working in top positions from

varied fields including Finance, Marketing, HR, Operations, and Business Analytics, where they shared their experiences, insights, myths, and doubts in the industry with the present management students of the institution to help them get a better idea of their respective industries and help them find their niche.

Several distinguished alumni were present at the event:

• Mr. Sabyasachi Paul, Vice President of Research at Eastern Financiers Ltd

• Mr. Partha Pratim Dutta, Director at ADP, New York

• Mr. Debjit Banerjee, Vice President at ITC Infotech

• Mr. Abhi Ray, Director at Deloitte

• Mr. Bagish Kohli, Business Head- Agro Chemicals at Standard Industries Corporation

• Mr. Vishal Agarwal, Asst. Vice President & Team Lead-WCRM at HSBC

• Mr. Abhijit Ray, Head Plant at Tata Steel

• Mr. Anindya Dasgupta, Account Director at Kantar

The event started at 10 am with a speech by the HoD of the MBA day department Dr. Archana Sharma and placement officer Mr. Vishal Francis Gaitanu.

Dr Sharma said, “ IISWBM is the OLDEST Business School in Asia but instead of resting on that laurel, Dr. Archana Sharma Ma'am wants the Institute to be in tune with today and most in step with MODERN TIMES. For doing the same, she focuses on constantly changing the course curriculum and introducing new subjects or specializations every few years. Business Analytics is one such specialization added to the MBA curriculum in recent years. She would also be speaking about IISWBM and the event CROSSROADS and how the event helps the students get first-hand knowledge on different MBA specializations.”

Mr. Sabyasachi Paul also gave a speech on finance. “You cannot ignore your finances – Either manage your own money or make a career in managing other people’s money”, the vice President of Eastern Financiers (Finance Specialization) added.

“All of you will venture out to earn a living for yourself, and learn to manage your finances irrespective of what career you choose. Perils of leaving it blindly for others to manage or losing the opportunity to earn a ‘2nd income’. Make a career in investment management/Wealth Management – A discussion on stocks, mutual funds & other investment avenues like PMS/AIF - PE/VC. Other similar career paths in credit/investment banking.”, he concluded.

Mr. Partha Pratim Dutta, Director, ADP, New York (HR Specialization) spoke about his practical experience in subjects like Finance, HR, Marketing and HR, Operations, and International Business among others. He also spoke about his first-hand experiences on the Cost reduction programme for Mahanadi Offshore project, zero-based budgeting, doing business in India and Nepal, working with Gallup and Princeton University on an employee satisfaction survey, and compensation survey at wall street zone with William D Mercer.

From around 12:30 PM to 1:05 pm Mr. Debjit Banerjee, Vice President, ITC Infotech (Analytics Specialization) gave a speech on "Innovation - The Frontier of Competitive Advantage" outlining the nature of 'innovations' and their impact on the Industry over the years. How organizations identify, develop and deliver impact-making innovative products or services.

1:15 PM to 1:50 PM: Speech by Mr. Abhi Ray, Director, Deloitte (Marketing Specialization)

Summary: How the advent of Jio and Covid has accelerated the growth of digitization in India and its impact on the marketing landscape with the emergence of a new category of marketers going by the name of "influencers". Also brief ideation around what marketing entails as a whole and traits to look out for to identify if marketing is the right vertical for you to build a career

2:30 PM to 3:05 PM: Speech by Mr. Bagish Kohli, Business Head- Agro Chemicals, Standard Industries Corporation (Production and Operations Specialization)

Summary: Keeping in view the now-changed globalized world, Mr. Bagish Kohli will share with the students the evolving opportunities in Production and Operations Management.

3:15 PM to 3:50 PM: Speech by Mr. Vishal Agarwal, Assistant Vice President- Wholesale Credit Risk Management, HSBC (Finance Specialization)

Summary: Being an experienced banker/ credit risk officer, Mr. Vishal Agarwal will share his experience with the students on banking as well as finance. He will be having a free-flow discussion with the students regarding Finance Specialization.

4:00 PM to 4:35 PM: Speech by Mr. Abhijit Ray, Head Plant- HR and Talent Acquisition, Tata Metaliks Limited (HR Specialization)

Summary: Mr. Abhijit Ray will address the following questions:

1. What is HR?

2. What made me choose HR and whether you should take up HR?

3. How choosing HR helped me shape my career.

4. What as an HR person I have done in my life?

5. Q n A session

4:45 PM to 5:20 PM: Speech by Mr. Anindya Dasgupta, Account Director, Kantar (Marketing Specialization)

Summary: How the advent of Jio and covid has accelerated the growth of digitization in India and its impact on the marketing landscape with the emergence of a new category of marketers going by the name of "influencers". Also brief ideation around what marketing entails as a whole and traits to look out for to identify if marketing is the right vertical for you to build a career.

The Alumni Relations Committee Members included: Rajarshi Nag, Triyasha Ghosh, Rishav Das, Pallabi Mukherjee and Rajashree Masid. Meanwhile, the senior members are: Soumalya S Talapatra, Aavery Basu, Payal Parida, Aswathy Murali and Debrup Nandy