10 Famous MBA Alumni of Top B-Schools in India

With a long history of generating outstanding business executives and entrepreneurs, India is home to some of the top business schools in the world. These prestigious B-schools, which range from Mumbai's Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), have produced numerous successful graduates who have gone on to achieve tremendous success in their respective fields. Undeniably education from top distance MBA colleges or regular colleges instils leadership qualities and builds a strong foundation among students.

In this blog, we will discuss some of the well-known MBA graduates from the best business institutions in India. We will discuss the backgrounds, accomplishments, and contributions of these distinguished personalities. Now let's examine some of India's most well-known business leaders' outstanding accomplishments.

1. Dr. Raghuram Rajan

Raghuram Rajan was born on February 3, 1963, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He entered IIT Delhi in the electrical engineering programme in 1981 and was awarded a Gold Medal for being the best all-around student. After IIT, he got selected for IIM Ahmedabad, where he graduated with a gold medal in MBA. He began his career at Tata Administrative Service as a management trainee. Still, he soon left the position to pursue a doctoral programme at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. As a faculty member at the University of Chicago, Dr Rajan published numerous articles on Organisational Structures, Corporate Finance, Growth & Development and Banking. In 2003, he was appointed as Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund.

The Research Department during Dr. Rajan made substantial contributions to the working policy of the IMF. In 2012, he was appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor to the Indian Government under the leadership of Dr. Manomohan Singh. On 6 August 2013, Dr Raghuram Rajan succeeded Duvvuri Subbarao as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He brought the inflation level down to 3.78% during his tenure, which became the lowest since 1990. Rajan stepped down from the Governor position on June 18, 2016, and returned to the University of Chicago to continue his teaching career.

Dr Rajan has published many notable books, such as “Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy” & “The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind”.

2. Ajay Banga

Ajaypal Banga was born in 1960 in Khadki, Pune, Maharashtra. He received his education from Hyderabad Public School and graduated from Delhi University with B.A. in economics. He then got selected for IIM Ahmedabad and completed his MBA. Ajaypal started his career in 1981 with Nestle and worked there for 13 years. Then he moved to PepsiCo and helped to launch its fast food franchises in India. In 2009, he joined Mastercard as CEO and President.

In February 2015, US President Obama assigned him to the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. He further served as one of Obama's Commission on Cybersecurity members. The Government of India awarded Ajaypal Banga with Padma Shri in 2016.

3. Uday Kotak

Uday Kotak was born on March 15, 1959 in Mumbai. Uday was fond of mathematics and completed his bachelor’s degree from Sydenham College, Mumbai, and his MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in 1982. Uday started his career in finance in 1981 with Kotak Capital Management Finance Ltd. Over the years, the company has begun to provide a wide range of services such as investment, mutual funds and insurance.

In 2003, he started Kotak Mahindra Bank as a small banking institution focusing on personal finance and commercial banking. Within no time, the bank gained momentum and became one of India's most trusted & famous financial institutions. Today, Kotak Mahindra Bank has branches in over 800 locations around the nation. In 2018, Uday Kotak was named the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year. He was also recognised by Forbes as one of the wealthiest people in India.

4. Vineeta Singh

Vineeta Singh is an Indian entrepreneur and the Co-Founder & CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, a famous makeup brand based in India. She is known for her innovative approach to the beauty industry and for her efforts to create a brand that celebrates diversity and inclusivity. Vineeta Singh was born in 1983 in Gujrat. She went to DPS school and got selected for IIT Madras in electrical engineering. After passing out from IIT, she entered IIM Ahmedabad, where she learned about startups. While in IIM, she was offered a pre-placement package of INR 1Cr, which she turned down. She then started a failed business and ran to keep her stress away. After that, she researched the need for an Indian cosmetic brand and started ‘Sugar’.

Under her leadership, Sugar Cosmetics has been recognised for its commitment to ethical and sustainable business practices and its efforts to empower women in the beauty industry. She has also launched several initiatives for women empowerment to support women entrepreneurs, including a mentorship program and a scholarship fund for women pursuing careers in the beauty industry. Vineeta gained popularity on the show called “Shark Tank” and invested in multiple startups. She has received several awards for her work, including the Femina Women's Award for Business in 2020. She was featured in Forbes Magazine as the ‘Most Powerful Women in Business’.

5. Chetan Bhagat

Chetan Bhagat is a famous Indian author, YouTuber, columnist and motivational speaker known for his best-selling novels adapted into Bollywood films. Chetan Bhagat was born in a traditional Punjabi Hindu family in New Delhi on April 22, 1974. He started to write during his school years and used to write articles for his school’s literary magazine. Bhagat completed his education at IIT Delhi in Mechanical Engineering. Later on, he went on to pursue his MBA in Marketing from IIM, Ahmedabad.

Chetan Bhagat first worked as an investment banker in Hong Kong before pursuing a full-time writing career. He started to write his first novel, “Five Point Someone” when working at Goldman Sachs, which became a huge success and a bestseller in India. Later on, Rajkumar Hirani adapted the screenplay from “Five Point Someone” and directed the famous movie “3 Idiots”. After this, Bhagat wrote two more novels, "One Night @ the Call Centre” and “3 Mistakes of My Life”, which became India’s fastest-selling books. His fourth novel, “2 States: The Story of My Marriage”, was inspired by his life and was adapted into a film of the same name.

Apart from writing, Bhagat is a well-known motivational speaker and has delivered numerous talks at events & educational institutions. He also engages in philanthropic activities such as supporting education for underprivileged children and women empowerment.

6. Ashneer Grover

Ashneer Grover was born in a wealthy family in Delhi on June 14, 1982. He completed his education in Delhi and got selected at IIT Delhi for Civil Engineering. After graduating, he entered IIM Ahmedabad and completed his MBA in 2006. He got selected at Kotak Bank during campus placement and worked there for seven years as an Investment Banker. With his merit, he closed multiple deals for Kotak, amounting close to $3 Billion. Then he resigned from his job and joined American Express, where he started to understand the FinTech industry. After Amex, he joined the startup Grofers as CFO and collaborated with numerous founders & investors to raise funding. Here, he gained most knowledge about entrepreneurship from Grofers.

Later in 2018, along with his friend Mr. Shashvat Nakrani, he started to build BharatPe. He got the idea to make a single QR for merchants which they can use to receive payments from customers without any charges. The company has rapidly gained popularity in India and attracted significant investment from high-profile investors. Ashneer became popular among the general public through Shark Tank Season 1 and is the man behind the term “Doglapan”, which he frequently used during the show. He also published his autobiography with the same name which has become the third highest-selling book on Amazon. Ashneer has resigned from BharatPe and is currently working on this third startup.

7. Deep Kalra

We all have heard about MakeMyTrip and have also used it to plan vacations, travel, book tickets and much more. But do you know the man behind MakeMyTrip? Deep Karla was born in the year 1970 in Hyderabad. Right from childhood, he was very intelligent & ambitious, which led him to become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the nation.

Deep Kalra studied in a private school in Hyderabad and completed his graduation from Delhi in Economics. In 1992, he pursued MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and started his career at ABN Amro Bank. He then worked with AMF Bowling with a vision to set up a bowling alley but soon dropped the plan. In 2000, he started MakeMyTrip. He began with a vision of skipping the expensive cost of travel agents and promoting a peaceful journey for travellers. He co-founded Ashoka University and the NGO “I am Gurgaon''. In 2011, Deep was ranked among the most powerful digital influencers.

8. Avani Davda

Avani Davda was the first CEO of Tata Starbucks and, at 33, became the youngest CEO of Tata Group. Avani grew up in Mumbai and graduated from H.R. College of Commerce and Economics. She then pursued her MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. At NMIMS, she received a gold medal for her academic excellence. She started her career with Tata Group as a recruit under the TAS leadership programme in 2002.

She was a born leader and under her leadership, Tata Starbucks witnessed aggressive expansion with 85+ stores opening in just three years. She resigned from her position on 18 December 2015 and joined Godrej Nature’s Basket as the Managing Director. She was featured in Fortune USA's annual global list of “40 Under-40 Leaders” in 2013. She secured 13th rank on Fortune and Food & Wine’s list of ‘25 Most Innovative Women in Food & Drink’ in 2014.

9. Ankur Warikoo

Ankur Warikoo was born on 25th August 1980 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Later he shifted to Delhi and completed his schooling at Don Bosco School. He completed his BSc in Physics from Hindu College and MS in Astronomy & Astrophysics from Michigan State University. In 2004, he started working as a consultant in a corporate training consultancy for a year. Then he joined an internet firm Accentium Web as Co-Founder. Here, he started websites like Gaadi.com and Secondshaadi.com.

In 2014, he invested in numerous companies as an angel investor and created an e-commerce platform called nearbuy.com. He gained attention when he started to post on his LinkedIn profile. Within a short span, he began to attract followers. He has 1.9M+ followers and has published a book called “Get Epic Shit Done”. Soon it became one of the highest-selling books in India. He has been listed as LinkedIn India’s top voice for three consecutive years and in Fortune Magazine’s “40 under 40 India” in 2014.

10. R. R. Bhatnagar

Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar was born on December 30, 1959, and is currently one of the most renowned Ex-IPS officers in the nation. He completed his MS and MPhil and attended IIM Ahmedabad for Post Graduate Diploma in Management. Bhatnagar started his career as an IPS officer in 1983. He then became the head of the Narcotics Control Bureau in 2016. In 2017, he was appointed as the Director General of the CRPF. He eventually received the President’s Police Medal for his service on 15 August 2007.

He was also praised for his role in handling operations during Naxalite-generated violence in Chhattisgarh. He retired from the IPS on 31 December 2019 and is currently serving as the advisor to the Lieutenant Governor.

Takeaway

The Indian MBA landscape is filled with numerous talented and successful alumni who have significantly impacted various fields. Many famous personalities who have graduated from IIM & NMIMS have touched the sky, achieved the impossible and contributed towards society's betterment.