Hi Gil,
Thanks for taking out time and reading my profile It’s a relatively longer one
Current Age - 28 yrs old
Nationality : Indian Male( fortunately/unfortunately neither into IT nor an Engineer)
Educational Background: Qualified Chartered Accountant( ACA/CPA)- First attempt - , ICWAI ( CIMA) - First attempt and CMA( USA). Both schooling ( 10th and 12th) and graduation( B.Com) from Indias' top 10 Schools.
Work Experience
I have 7 years of experience (+ 3 years Article ship with Price Waterhouse) in Investment banking, Private Equity, Valuations and M&A having worked with Deutsche Bank, HSBC, GE Capital - Private Equity and Shell India. Have around 3 years of international experience out of those 7 yrs. All these intl exp are for valuations, due diligence and market study/competitor analysis. Infact I have worked in more than 24 countries around the world in those 3 years ( Whole of Europe, IND, USA, UK, AUZ, NZ, ME)
Have significant leadership and people management experience in both current and in the past profiles. Currently working as an M&A and strategy lead reporting to the CFO of an major Oil Drilling company in Muscat, Oman. Looking out for potential Acquisitions targets ~$300 Mio to $ 500 Mio. in the oil field services Industry across continents. Hence extensive travel to places, oil fields (interior of Arabs nations, rigs and hoists). As of now independently working on the IPO of the company and would be going public in next 1 year. This would be the first IPO coming out of an Oil Services company in this part of the world. Designing the Preliminary IPO process, our company positioning the market, Prelim Valuation incl that of competitors (EV, EBITDA Multiples..) and listing considerations..
Achievements:
-Received university top score of 100% in Quants- Statistics..
-Was selected amongst 50 Employees out of 100,000 to undergo the prestigious GE Finance Leadership Program. - An International rotational program of 2 years with 6 months on each project, Worked on FX/Treasury, M&A, Corporate finance and Internal controls.
- Undergone the leadership program of Shell Oil& Gas Company. Sponsored by Shell Hague at their headquarters- full time 2 months program.
- I am also a certified assessor by CII ( confederation of Indian industries) and a certified treasury manager by catalyst consulting group
- Couple of M&A deals of > $ 500 Mio in oil&gas sphere ( Australia and Europe )
- Very good bid/tender contract experience in oil field drilling services ( projects> $50 M) in ME, NZ and Aus.
Extra curricular:
-Stated a group called "Mavericks" consisting of all F1 fans. I, along with couple of friends, started it and i am still an active member of it.( started it in 2000)
-Helped our office staff understand the importance of recycling paper and effective usage of paper. Hired a vendor subsequently and ordered the diaries and calendars of the following year using the recycled paper of our office.
-Part of 'Citizen Journalist' program of BBC during the General Elections in '09.Travelledn to interior district of Andhra Pradesh, India to understand the real problems of people, captured their views/sentiments through pictures and videos and shared the data with BBC, London.
- A member of our society committee which helps in the day-to-day management of things the locality
-Founded and operated a small coffee shop/canteen (with around 10 employees) during the college days and subsequently sold it to a larger chain of canteen. Started with an Initial Investment of Rs 8000( USD 200) and sold it at Rs 1,60,000( USD 4000) and used my share of money to fund my further education.
Community service
-worked with an NGO in India during the Tsunami in India in 2004. Visited Nagapatanam and was there for a month and helped rebuild the houses and village.
- Been an active member of Teach India Campaign for last 2-3 years.
-Stated a group in our locality to help people understand the effective and efficient usage of water and helped in putting thru a rain water harvesting plant in the locality. Was a huge responsibility to coordinate with the bureaucrats and convince them for approvals
-worked with an NGO which works for people who have problems related to Eye.
- Currently working with an international NGO for the education and rehabilitation of poor Arab children- Interiors of Oman.
GMAT in Dec 2008 - 610. Will be writing again in next 2-3 months. Expect a score of minimum 680.. My goal post MBA is to work for a BB IBD-M&A group in London/HK/SGP.( SGP - preferably). I would surely try for PE/VC as well but I know it’s very difficult to get into one with prior esp. PE/VC from a B School. But the first preference would be BB - M&A in Singapore.
I have in past 5 years done a lot of research n US/Europe B schools. I know with my low GMAT I’m probably not in any sight of any Top school (610 though makes in 80% range of some of the good schools). A lot of consultants/ex-students told me I can get into some schools like IESE, Simon, and ESADE with this score. But then, I don’t want to do an MBA just because I need one to move up in career and do it from some university. I want to do it from a good and reputed institute (not that above ones aren’t), where learning is a focus. and diversity is well regarded. I want to learn and contribute to the environment. My preference is to do a 12- 18 Months Full time MBA.
Please let me know your opinion on my profile and suggest some schools or alternatives. Planning to apply to Insead Jan 2013, LBS and IMD (R2 2012). Insead has in past stated that they are fine with 70% cut off in each section of GMAT, not sure if that’s what they stick to in reality..
On the basis of the information above, and under the assumptions of strong essays and recommendations, reasonable B.Com. GPA (not with distinction) and a GMAT score of 680, our experience shows that you will be a competitive candidate at IMD and LBS and competitive-to-stretch at INSEAD. You may also want to consider Cornell's 12-month program (competitive), Kellogg's 12-month program (stretch), and the Cambridge and Oxford programs (competitive to strong in both, closer to competitive).
According to our experience, your admission chances are likely to be a bit higher if:
- You have an arrangement with the Muscat company (your current employer) of being appointed to a senior position there after graduation.
- You connect your career plan more closely with the oil & gas business (i.e. with your prior, significant and relatively unique experience).
Do you think my chances would improve significantly at schools like LBS/Insead/IMD if I improve my GMAT by 60 -70 points?
Yes.How much of my international experience of working in 24 -28 countries coupled with my leadership experience would be of interest to INSEAD and how much will they appreciate it while deciding my candidature,.
It will be of significant importance. Your experience (and demonstrated leadership and "go-getter" skills) are relatively unique and, in my opinion, impressive, especially considering your age. Thanks a lot Gil for helping me .
Sudhir
You're welcome. Good luck Sudhir!
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