KIIT School of Management Alumni, Animesh Padhi Recalls His Experience Through Interview

KSOM aims to deliver quality education along with excellent placements to students. The institute has a 100% placement record. Alumni are placed in reputed organizations. Animesh Padhi, alumni from KIIT School of Management recalls his experience with the b-school through an interview.

1. Tell us about your domain and your work profile. At the professional level, did you pursue the same field you were interested or did you switch?

   Ans: I am currently working as the Senior Area Manager – Sales Operations, Modern Trade, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with Kellogg’s, one of the largest cereals and convenience foods companies globally, based out of Hyderabad. Yes, I have pursued my interest in the field of sales and operations from the beginning of my professional career.

2. Can you briefly tell us about your career path so far?

   Ans: All thanks to my alma-mater KIIT School of Management as I was selected by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer through Campus recruitment in Jan 2013, first as a Summer Intern followed by a pre-placement opportunity, where I started working as a Sales Trainee in northern Odisha, based out of Balasore followed by successful Executive stints across varied Eastern India geographies such as Patna, Kolkata, and Ranchi. In April 2019, I joined McCain Foods, a global Frozen Foods major, briefly as Manager – Retail Sales for AP & Telangana, as my maiden movement to Southern India. In July 2019, I joined Kellogg’s India, as Area Manager – Sales Operations for AP and Telangana overseeing Traditional Trade, channel sales distribution, customer marketing initiatives, and executive team management. It has been quite a humble and rewarding journey so far in my professional career coupled with many national-level recognitions.

3. Is industry work different from what you learn at B-School?

   Ans: As far as my standpoint is concerned, I’d say that B-school teaches us the basics, or the fundamentals required to commence a career in any sort of professional premise. And as we know no norm remains constant throughout life and change is the only constant. Hence B-school learnings give us rightful direction; however, consistent upskilling is the need of the hour as one progresses in his professional space. So, both your theoretical learnings as well as pragmatic application of the same always go hand in hand. Rightful learnings of life skills pave the way towards a great career albeit leadership acumen and people management.

4. How do you think your MBA program has added value to your life, both professional and personal?

   Ans: Being a proud alumnus myself, I’d like to articulate the fact that the program that I was a part of in KIIT School of Management (KSoM), has not only taught us how to make the assignments done but also taught us how to deliver the project / work efficiently with pride and dignity. From MBA we not only learn about the field we are working in but also, we get exposure towards other domains as well, such as finance, marketing, IT, Operations, analytics, etc. So, these cross-functional learnings and exposures make us distinctive from others which helps us build our own USP into the field and stay highly relevant eventually. KSoM had provided us with the best-in-class edu infrastructure and a sustainably conducive environment to grow from strength to strength.

5. What was your initial thought process when you joined your MBA programme?

   Ans: Since I had BBA at my background from the same college, I had some idea about my journey since I was an alumnus had watched our seniors and learned all good from them in a great way. I already have had witnessed great and shining examples from the same institute itself. Therefore, I was pretty much confident about joining and pursuing my dreams as I knew from within that I could get the best out of it with sheer focus and dedication.

6. You must have spent a memorable time at your B-School. Do you miss being a part of it? Share a few good memories.

   Ans: If re-doing the same course would have been relevant in real life, I would opt for another round just to re-cherish the memories that we have created amongst us. I am glad that I have been able to contribute two years to this program which helped me learn, groom, communicate, and made me a better version of myself. The best memory which I do always cherish is when I had received my convocation degree from our erstwhile Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Hari Gautam, in presence of the who’s who of our nation. Also, I had received immense love and appreciation from my junior batch mates as the best student (all-round excellence) of BBA during the farewell ceremony.

7. Briefly take us through your life at the campus, the activities you used to do, and your routine life.

   Ans: Our Day started with the morning addas accompanied with breakfast over the canteen table from where we used to rush to our classes at 9 a.m. In classes, we used to learn, enjoy, and groom ourselves. Our progress was measured by our assignments, surprise tests, case studies, and some extracurricular activities. For extracurricular activities, we could take charge in our clubs of personal interest which helped us bloom into better leaders and human beings. Life on the campus was filled with activities, fun, and learning.

8. Apart from academics, what were the other activities you were involved in and how did it enrich your life?

   Ans: I was very active in terms of getting myself involved in various other activities, as my college gave the right platform to the students to uplift themselves and nurture and showcase their talent and skills. I was fortunate enough to be selected to lead several initiatives such as NSS, NHRD conclave, and B-School fest (Kolosseum) core committee.

9. You are a proud alumnus of this top B-School. What is the best part of KSOM, Bhubaneswar from a student's perspective?

   Ans: KSOM is known for its academic excellence and exposure. They have a balanced mix of experienced faculty members from various top-tier B-schools. We as alumni are lucky to gain this exposure and learnings from such great faculties, be it full-time or visiting. KSOM arranges national-level conclave of various disciplines and encourages every student to actively participate in these.

10. What is your suggestion/guidance for the MBA aspirants?

    Ans: MBA is for the aspirants who are extensively and exclusively interested in the business/ entrepreneurship/ leadership domain. It should not essentially be treated as a backup or an alternative option but as a necessity to develop yourself to mould for a future manager-ready role and responsibility. It is the gateway to showcase your exceptional professional skills led excellence through various traits of decision-making, analytics, and leadership-oriented learning approach.