1. Can you please tell us about how you ventured into Product management? Please describe your current role at Ajio as Group Product Management. (roles and responsibilities, day to day activities)

I started working as a channel manager for an internet based business (Sulekha.com) 2 years before I studied at Great Lakes. The role then for a blogging platform was understanding traffic patterns, analytics, writer needs, working with tech and QA to release features. This helped me get a view of what it takes to build a product. At Great Lakes, I spent the year understanding frameworks, models and different viewpoints on a business. I took that and felt I am more aligned to pursuing a product management career path, and that’s how I pitched myself to companies on campus. I have since then been in B2C companies that build products on the web and gradually on an app since 2008 to now (2022).

I am right now in a leadership role for 5 micro verticals (Area - Online Fashion Retail at Ajio) that span Search Experience, Relevancy, Personalisation, Promotions and Pricing. The daily role involves running the programs, with a view on the key metrics. It also involves close mentoring with a team of product managers and analysts. It involves working closely with business teams, design, data science and technology units. Our work involves looking at visioning from a medium term standpoint, track execution on the short term, keep a close pulse on consumer preferences and patterns through a rigorous deep dive with user analytics, and observing opportunities to work with partners to help us at scale for data science related use cases.

2. What is the one key takeaway that you would give to incoming students?

Keep a close eye on your industry of preference. Try to understand why something happens, try reading between the lines on what’s presented to you and what could possibly be happening. If it's possible, try to write a blog, or have a reading list of people to whom you can discuss viewpoints. This enables you to stay closer to the ground levels of your preferred industry. Invest time in newsletters and books. Patterns and frameworks would suddenly hit you one fine day and you will discover cross industry synergies and you will be able to appreciate things better.

3. What are some of the most valuable learnings that Great Lakes provided you with during your course?

Being humble, Being disciplined, ability to keep an eye on execution, ability to solve for brevity, and to be able to enter a no fear zone that brings out your creativity levels without pressure affecting you. I realised that life is about finding your flow and niche, and backing yourself to the hilt. The aim of an MBA is to broaden your awareness levels and accelerate learning. You learn to dream about multiple career possibilities, and then pick the path that you are most suited with.

4. What were the opportunities that GLIM provided you with and how would you encourage students to take advantage of the opportunities they are given?

Diversity of students from multiple disciplines helped me connect with people from different backgrounds. It helped that I genuinely liked travel, cultures and understanding people, places and filling the dots in between. Great Lakes helped me accelerate that learning. Life is about connecting with people over varied backgrounds, that helps you form your network. Great Lakes made me connect with people all over India.

To the current set of students, I would urge them to make more friends, memories during the time on campus. Loosen yourself a bit, and get to know who you truly are and what motivates you. It happens more easily when you let your guard down and genuinely form connections on campus, with teachers, with alumni visiting college.