An MBA for Cultural Acclimatization -Serena Kallian

If the expression ‘MBA student’ conjures images only of freshers who have just crossed their teens or twenty-something engineers with a couple of years’ experience, then Peter Sayal is definitely going to be a surprise profile. He is 30+, a doting dad and has had three plus years of experience in several firms in the US as well as a short stint with an Indian NGO. Peter holds a double Bachelor’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, in aerospace engineering and business management (2009-11). In an interview with the magazine, Peter shares his career goals and why he chose to go for an MBA in India.

Tell our readers a bit about yourself, tracing your academic and professional background.
I did my schooling under the CBSE board in Muscat, after which I went to the United States to pursue further studies. There I did a double Bachelor’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. I completed one degree in Aerospace engineering and the second degree was in Business management with a focus on accounting, economics and finance. As far as my professional life is concerned, I spent more than 3 years working as an engineer for various firms like GE, Lafarge, Armstrong. I have also worked as a financial analyst at Novellis which was acquired by Aditya Birla Hindalco. I came back to India about a year ago and that is when I started thinking of doing an MBA. In between I had worked as CFO of an NGO in Mumbai.

What was the idea and objective behind choosing to do an MBA from IIFT, especially when you already had a Bachelor’s degree in business?
Basically I wanted to get an MBA from one of the top ten B-Schools in India, because I realized that getting a job in Finance matching the profile I’m looking for (something in securities/equity research) would require an MBA degree in India. Unless one has an MBA, firms typically do not look at you for such positions no matter how good your background or your knowledge base in the area may be. I tried for a job in this particular industry for about six months when I came back from the United States. I did not receive even an acknowledgment from the firms that I sent my resume to. So I realized that to make myself stand out in this market, I would have to get an MBA and not just any MBA but one from among the top B-Schools. IIFT was among those I shortlisted . I appeared for and cleared the entrance test and the selection process. And when I got the call for the programme, I was more than happy to accept the offer.

What are your main expectations from this programme?
Primarily, I expect to get an MBA with a focus on finance. Secondly I hope to learn from peers who have been born and brought up in India. I have been out of India for 20 years now and so my perspective is rather different. If I hope to build a long term career in India I need to know how people in India work and think, especially in view of the change that this country has gone through since 1991. During most of these crucial years, I have been outside India and so I want to know and experience the aspirations of young Indians. That is also one reason why I preferred a residential programme so that I may learn from my peers and interact with them. I also have come to believe that in any B-School, 20% of the learning happens inside a classroom and 80% happens outside. So if you don’t have a good peer group to interact with, I think you will miss out on 80 per cent of learning.

You have had a background in business education during your graduation in the US. What would you say is the difference between that and education at a B-School here in India, in terms of focus and practice?
I had taken only a few elective courses in finance back in Georgia. At IIFT, I will be taking some of the other electives in finance that I could not do earlier. The difference would primarily lie in how things are taught and done in an Indian setting versus an American setting. What I learn here will definitely complement what I have learnt in the United States. I definitely expect the experience to be quite different and in about two weeks and two classes, I can tell the difference. The pedagogical approach is also quite different from what I am used to from my US days; in the Indian context things are more regimented. There is a lot of emphasis on rules here. Back there in the US, there was a lot more interaction involved in the classroom. But I am just getting used to this new environment. In terms of academic rigour, Georgia Tech is known as one of the most academically rigorous schools in the United States and so having studied there, I am better prepared to face the rigour here.

So your primary aim in doing an MBA here in India has been to gain more exposure to the Indian way of working. Has your experience at the NGO been of help so far?
Working at the NGO was primarily a stop gap arrangement before I joined an MBA - I really needed an opportunity to be able to say that I have worked in India and I am familiar with its work culture and the markets. My aim was definitely not working in an NGO throughout the rest of my career. But through this experience, I have come to understand that the work culture here is a lot more people and relationship oriented. The seven months that I spent on this job was indeed challenging, but a learning experience for me. I have learnt to relate to people, my peers. When I came to India I got this feeling that people were always looking at me for answers or to come up with a solution. In the USA, every body was part of the solution. I hope to use my work experience at the NGO to my benefit here at IIFT and later in my corporate career in India as well.

These are your initial days at IIFT. How has the experience been so far with peers, faculty etc?
To begin with, I did notice that people felt a little odd approaching a thirty plus guy, when everybody else around was twenty something. So I made the effort myself to reach out to people and help them feel at ease about my age and experience. I am married and am a father. I didn’t want people to feel intimidated by all that. I also don’t want people to place me on some kind of a pedestal because of my background, I’d much rather that people saw me as their classmate. Getting my peers to accept me was a bit of a challenge. But I am glad that I have already made many friends here.

Any parting words for our readers?
I’d like to tell them that when you decide to take the MBA plunge, come with the expectation that this is going to be a different experience. Come with a very open mind without any pre-conceived notions. Make your own opinions and learn to experience things the way they are. I feel we tend to rely too much on second hand information in India and don’t trust our own gut feeling. So if you have the gut feeling that this is not the place for you, explore that possibility as well.

I also want to encourage people to do their own research to back their gut feeling. I had actually spent a lot of time doing research about the various B Schools in India that I was targeting. I had got in touch with a few recent IIFT alumni, especially this one person who was approximately my age and at a similar stage in life, to gauge his impression of whether the programme was worth the investment of time and money. All this research did help me make an informed choice of programme and institute.