Ankit Singh (PFM 11-13) is presently working as a Business Manager with Aron Global, posted in Ghana, West Africa. Aron Global, earlier known as Renewable Woods, is Singapore based global supply chain company and is now the largest teak trader in the world. In his current role at AG, Ankit got this very unique opportunity of setting up a business from scratch in wholly new geography for the company where he is responsible for managing the entire P&L of the country books.
Before AG, Ankit worked for 4 years with YES Bank’s Knowledge Advisory vertical and got detailed exposure of Government functioning at the state level. As part of his work, Ankit helped state governments of Punjab, Haryana, and H.P in various policy advocacies focused on strengthening investment promotions of the states. This helped the bank to strengthen its books within the entire Govt. ecosystem of Northern India.
At the start of his career post graduating in 2013, Ankit got two years of grass root level experience working with communities on different projects ranging from market linkages, JFM (Joint Forest Management) to Sustainable tourism development.
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Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?
A. It has been almost 8 years since I graduated from IIFM and the journey so far has been enriching and full of challenges. IIFM had given me, my first steps to reach where I am today, and it has been a really good experience. I got the opportunity to evolve myself by working at various locations, meeting new people, experiencing different cultures, and all that under great mentors.
After graduation in 2013, I started my career with Greenply Industries working in their raw material procurement division, but it was a short stint, and had to leave due to some external factors beyond my control. Then I opted for putting my hands into the development sector and later into environmental consultancy working with communities for two years. Sooner, I realized that this was not the profile I wanted for myself. As I was on my path of realizing my strengths and weaknesses, I kept exploring. I joined Yes Bank in 2015 and realized my strengths can be better utilized in business development, so I spent 4 years with the bank developing business of a wide range of banking products within Government entities.
In 2019, I got the opportunity of entering into the hardcore business experience with Aron Global.
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. The biggest milestone in my professional career has been, establishing a business in new geography and getting it to breakeven within two years with a turnover of $2.2 million in the last financial year.
The biggest learning, I would say was taking the daunting decision of leaving jobs at an early stage of my career which allowed me to explore other possible avenues and also taught me not to get too nervous about the changing profiles on my CV. Most of us fear change but with my journey, I feel every job and experience brought growth at so many varying levels in me, both professionally and personally. However, we may not realize the value initially until it became evident as we move forward.
There is no “ideal” path on how to go about finding the right fit role so just keep your eye on the end goal you want to achieve in your life and move ahead, taking few leaps of faith in the journey.
Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A. My current role was a new challenge and also the biggest opportunity of my career. When I got this opportunity I was enjoying my 4th year with Yes Bank, posted in my hometown (Chandigarh), living with my parents, bought my first car, and was just about to get married. So basically there was no reason to leave as everything seemed settled, but somewhere I knew, I must get out of this comfort zone and sooner I realize, it’s better. So, when the opportunity of working at Aron Global came knocking, I am grateful that I grabbed it with both hands.
In 2019, I got an opportunity to work overseas with Aron Global (AG), and a kind of lifetime opportunity one can have in a career wherein you would get a chance the run a company on your own.
For now, it has been exciting two years of managing a Ghana-based profit center, trading in timber products. My role requires me to focus on strategizing new procurement deals, managing procurement operations, Govt. networking, managing shipping and logistics, keeping an eye on the global market & currency fluctuations, legal & tax compliances, constant business model re-engineering, and managing ground teams & service providers. Basically, we play on numbers and I am responsible for the complete P&L of the country books which involves all aspects of trading business at both macro & micro-levels.
Also it is a wonderful experience to manage a team and mentor people which I had never experienced before in my career. So it was equally challenging and inspiring to motivate other to perform optimally under my leadership.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. IIFM has been my grooming ground in every way from academics to personality development. Trust me all other skills learnt at the institute are at one side and relationship management is at one side which cannot be learnt in books but only by practice. You can build long lasting businesses by having good relationships as people prefer trustworthiness over margins.
I will advise freshers to work on personality development along with getting good grades. In professional roles, knowledge is definitely required but to be effective you would need to possess attitude and aptitude towards the work.
Like an organization needs all key verticals to work in harmony, similarly, if you want to achieve success in career, you need to work on all key components required in a personality development. So focus on overall development and most importantly be approachable.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.
A. Everyone has their own stories to share about their journey post IIFM. Fortunately, my professional journey has been full of IIFMights who has been key drivers in my path so far. These are actually tough times going one, especially for freshers. The economy is slow and jobs are scarce. But I would say from my own experience that have trust and faith in this institution, you will survive, this time will pass by.
Through this write up I want to give advice to juniors that make connections, make friends with alumni or other industry experts, they will help you when you need them most, especially in these tough times when placements are tough. Here we are talking about a long journey as not just one placement can define your career.
I have myself experienced the fact that alumni of any institution are its real assets.
My initial two professional years post-IIFM were full of turbulence. Got a very handsome placement from campus (one of best during those days) but things turned rough soon after and had to switch. Then the same thing somehow happened, again and again, so by end of two years I was on to my fourth job.
None of the jobs was bad, all were good in their own ways but situations were out of my control. Those who know me, know everything, so that is not the thing I want to share here but the point I want to make is that at every step one or another IIFMight came to hold my hand and guide me well to move forward in life.
Deepak khare (PFM 1988), Arvind Garimella (PFM 2013), Aatish Khan & Sunpreet Kaur (PFM 2009), Lokesh Kumar (PFM 2005) and Rishi Prakash (PFM 2007) are few names who mentored me at the crucial junctures of my professional life and helped me in defining my path. As you can see there is nothing common or connecting between them except the ‘IIFM’ link which clicked for me and obviously helped me.
It happened because I rigorously followed up and continued staying connected with my alumni which helped me in longer run. Till today all of them and few more alumnus are my mentors as well as friends who keep guiding me.
So for new batches, just want to share that get a mentor for yourself. Remember no one has time for others, it’s you who have to pursue it politely and build it.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. Each and every day spent at IIFM was memorable. From first day to last, each day is fully engraved in my mind which I keep rewinding. Post Engineering, when I first landed at IIFM with my big bag, I was surprised that my immediate senior greeted me at reception and helped me in carrying my bag till hostel and also helped me on my first day by getting familiar with campus. Unlike Engineering days, seniors were more approachable and friendly, which was quite a surprise I had on my first day. Then I met my batchmates and immediately we went for field trip of ten days to Panchmadhi and nearby areas. That was the best time of interacting and bonding with new friends who later became my life time friends.
Playing football, field trips, climbing India Gate, drinking beer at bamboo forest, eat out at Shakshi dhaba & Hakims, samosa chaat of Madhuram, watching football in common room and roadies event of adventure club are few of my favourite memories, but the list is endless. It has been 8 years and the best part is that all the boys from our batch are still in close connection with each other where we interact on almost daily basis which never makes us feel away from IIFM days.
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni.. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A. Biggest influence on my career came from Alumni of IIFM, which I have already elaborated in detail.
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?
A. I would say, every single person I came across in IIFM, played some role in shaping my path. Be it my roommate, my best friends, our gang as well as seniors who turned out to be great friends too and then the faculties as well.
Q. As an alumni, what’s your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
A. IIFM is not a regular MBA institute, so those coming in should have clear expectations. Once at IIFM, there are plenty of resources at your disposal so find your interest and make the most of it. Inculcate all the good teaching you get both in and out of course/classrooms and be participative in general in IIFM ecosystem. Also remember to explore all nook and corners of the campus as it is like a small heaven.
Q. What is your typical day at the office?
A. My workdays are super hectic but equally enjoyable as I get to travel across the country on daily basis. My day usually starts 5:30 am as I get early to take my dog out for a walk and do some exercises. During the walk I check all my emails on phone and mark the ones which needs actions. Since I enjoy my job, so there are no Monday blues, I generally make my plans for least two weeks ahead. For easy explanation I can divide in two ways:
a) When I have to travel in my sturdy SUV for plantation inspections which means long drive to explore/inspect teak plantation. It requires me to wear my forest kit which means proper cloths and big boots to roam inside forest for hours crossing small valleys and rivers to finally meet owner and carry on the negotiations. On an average, I travel 4000 kms a month so you can understand how driving becomes one of the most crucial part of life!!
b) When I work from home which largely means logistics and supply chain management which keeps me occupied all day on various calls with the local team and channel partners as well as marketing and documentation teams of our company. I also need to be on top of accounts, shipment documentation and legal/taxation related issues. Apart from this, I engage with my local team on daily basis to mentor my entire ground team while they are performing their day to day activities.
Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add
A. I live in Ghana, Africa with my family. So one of the first valuable advise which i got post landing was to make social circle for the sake of my family to ensure they have an ecosystem while I travel around the whole country! Being an extrovert, am good in social connections, so each weekend we hang out with small Indian community we have here by going to beaches and clubs.
Also, I suggest everyone to add some kind of sports in their lifestyle to maintain fitness. Sports teaches you many aspect of leadership as well. I was lucky during by 4 years at Yes bank that I got opportunity to pursue sports on regular basis and I went on participating in various national mountain biking races and marathons. I also peddled my cycle from Manali to Leh up to top of Khardungla peak which has been my most memorable journey in life so far.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors?
A. I am only into self-help books. Mitch Albom’s Tuesday with Morrie was my first book and it’s still close to my heart for life lessons I got reading this masterpiece. To whomsoever I meet, I advise to read one book in particular which is “Power of subconscious mind” by Dr.Joseph Murphy, which helped me at numerous occasions to come over negativities and focus on positive things.
I am more into sports than cinema but on certain occasion like to watch any tv series/ movie with family over weekend, so no such favouritism.
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?
A. I am always available for interactions regarding career-related topics and also, life in general. Will always try my best to support the institute so feel free to connect anytime.
Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?
A. I haven’t visited IIFM for past 5 years so I am not much aware on what new upgrades has been done. Last I was there, it was wonderful to see the new upgraded classrooms which is a big boost in infrastructure.
Next big change I noticed was the formation of Alumni association and increased efforts in bringing complete community together. Kudos to new batches for this, it will help you in longer run.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. Among the alumni’s who haven’t been interviewed yet and I look forward to them are:
Abhinav Shekher and Himwan Gupta (Aron Global), Arvind Garimella (KPMG), Aatish Khan (Nature Dots), Mukul Kumar (Axis Bank), Alark Saxena, Shitiz Chaudhary (Yale University) and Satyendra Gupta (Bank of Maharashtra)