Shitiz (PFM 11-13) is working with MSCI as an Industry Analyst in ESG Research at New York. Before moving to the U.S. for education (Yale School of the Environment), Shitiz has worked in varying roles and geographies in India. Most of his work has been with the public sector either directly or as part of projects through engagement with non-profits or consultancies. In prior roles, his work was focused on the social and development sector with projects covering rural infrastructure, rural enterprises, public health and e-governance.
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?
A. It’s been quite a journey. I have had the opportunity to work in different parts of the country, particularly some wonderful places where it is otherwise rare to get good opportunities to live and work. I was able to work to try on different roles and different sectors. It has been a very non-linear journey with career transition with different and unique learnings at each stage of the career.
I started my career with Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Mission (SERP), where we worked with small scale farmers on chemical free farming. This was perhaps the most acute learning experience with me getting a firsthand experience of working with people/ farmers/communities. This was a challenging job, but on the plus side, we had a large group of IIFM batchmates and seniors at SERP at that time. This was also the first time I got to work with people from World Bank and FAO.
After a year, I joined the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship. The best part of the role was that I was lucky enough to choose and work in Ladakh and Kashmir. Unlike the earlier role, this was a completely self-driven role where I had the independence to work on my own projects along with other existing development schemes. Some of the projects that I worked here were related to rural tourism, e-governance, rural infrastructure, health, women led enterprises and water. It was also a humbling experience to work and live with last mile indigenous communities of Ladakh and learn from them.
After two and half wonderful years in Ladakh, I felt the need to move towards research and analytics heavy roles. I had a great time working with communities but felt my strengths were more suited to analytical and research-based roles. I also wanted to pivot into the environment field. So, after spending some time in research and strategy roles in a non-profit in Lucknow and a brief spell at KPMG, I moved to the U.S. for education.
Last summer, I completed a graduate program (Environment Management) from Yale. After the completion of the course, I started working at MSCI as an Industry Analyst in ESG research. In this role, I cover a few industries (Forest, Packaging, Paper) and work in developing ESG and thematic reports.
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. Joining the Rural Development Fellowship was a key milestone. During the fellowship, my colleagues were a wonderful group of people coming from diverse background. It gave me new perspectives and played a key role in where I am now.
All through my roles, working with communities always brought new learnings and made me humbler. However, over time, I also realized my strengths lay in other roles and hence I moved on taking a new challenge.
Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A. I am able to define a lot of my work in my current role which is a great feeling. The work is very analytical which suits my interest area very well. I get to work with a very diverse group of team members which brings a lot of insight and real-life lessons too. And the icing on the cake is the view from my desk as visible in the pic ?
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. Without any reservations, I will say IIFM has played a key role in my journey. The skillset one gains at IIFM is unique which is the right mix of analytics, strategy and management along with sector specific skills.
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. Once you graduate, keep an open mind and be flexible. The curriculum you take at IIFM is quite detailed and diverse. Plus, the sectors and roles where your expertise is needed are quite diverse themselves. Don’t worry about experimenting with roles, especially during the start of your career. This will help you find your niche and strengths. I myself have had may changes and moves, which may sometime expose you to risks but did help me find my niche and how I want to shape it going ahead.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. The two winter field trips will always have the best memories. For our first trip, we took a trip to the Southern states and to North India for the other one.
b. The sports events were another highlight of the stay, especially football in the monsoons.
PFM 11-13 Football Squad
c. The monsoon season is also quite memorable with some great bike trips to forts near Bhopal.
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. The faculties at IIFM are the driving force behind the institute. It was a privilege to learn and take classes under Dr. Bhaskar Sinha, Dr. C.P. Kala, Prof A.K. Dharni, Dr. Jayashree Dubey, Prof. Madguni, and Dr. C.S. Rathore. Even after many years, the faculties were very helpful in providing references and letters of references for my applications.
The IIFM alumni network has always been a huge asset. Make sure you leverage the widespread presence of the alums. I am sure you will find someone working in any sector that you are interested in.
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. Try to find mentors (it can be IIFM alums, seniors at work etc.). The development/ environment sector is not very structured and advice from people who have been there with experience would be very helpful. Invest in networking and talk to people -I remember a long talk with Rishi Sir(PFM 2007) a couple of years back which was very helpful and cleared a lot of doubts. I also had a talk with Atish about education in the U.S. and his experiences, which again were very helpful.
Enjoy the two years at IIFM and make some lifelong friends .
The IIFM curriculum is great but also invest in skills which are in great demand now- within or outside the sector like data science.
Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add
A. Exploring the New York museums and food scene is what I have been trying to engage in these days. Hiking and travelling have always been hobbies for long.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors
A. Books/Authors – From Heaven Lake, The Dawn of Everything, Amitav Ghosh, Haruki Murakami,
Movies/Tv- Top Boy
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. Always ready to help if I am the right person. Even if not, happy to connect with others. Feel free to reach out anytime. If anyone if looking to go for further education, also feel free to connect.
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. The start of the new program (Sustainability Management) is great. I had a brief look at the curriculum for the new program and its looks fantastic, very relevant and covers a lot of topics and skills which I get to use in day-to-day work.
The initiatives like the Sunday profile series by IIFMIGHT team, alumni meets especially the 4th Saturday monthly meet which has been happening in NCR since last year, guest lectures etc. also shows the initiative taken by the current and last few batch students to bridge the industry- school gap which, at least I felt missing during my time. Utilize this momentum and try to get as much practical experience as possible.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. Shivanshu Sharma (PFM 11-13)
Narendra Mohan (PFM 11-13)
Shakti Singh (PFM 11-13)