Varun is a seasoned professional in corporate space for 16 years. After working for Banks for more than a decade as a Corporate Banker, he currently leads a Mid-size Company as its COO. His current company is a 93-year-old Distribution company for Tata Steel, Tata BlueScope, Tata International & Tata Agrico. It operates in Maharashtra, Goa, MP and exports.
Apart from being a sports aficionado, Varun loves music & is a coffeeholic and a foodie.
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/varun-agarwal-68292b20
FB: https://www.facebook.com/varun.agarwal.9066?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM so far?
A. It has been good learning experience. While initial 12 odd years were in fast paced Corporate Banking, last 4 years in Steel Industry has been relatively tranquil. I feel living in cities like Mumbai & Pune, work travel to multiple cities, meeting people having different culture, background & experience, has enriched me both personally & professionally.
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. Guess decisions to leave the comfort zone at various junctures for professional & personal growth, has been very helpful in shaping my career. For e.g. at start of my career, I was mostly at non-front ending roles in Banking, but I realized that in order to understand banking better, I need to be in customer facing role. It was tough, extremely high pressure & brutal. But it made me a better Banker, professional & widened my network. Similarly leaving Banking industry after a decade & joining steel industry, was an extremely tricky decision. But so far so good.
Q. What is the most satisfying part in your career?
A. Meeting & making friends with so many brilliant minds, has been the real satisfaction for me. They have given me immense learning, guidance & support. I try to keep in touch with as many as I possibly could.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. Yes. While there are multiple things we learnt from IIFM but for me it was the first time I met and stayed with people from various parts of the country and it was different. It made me understand backgrounds & culture, different from mine. It helped me to adapt later in my professional experience significantly. Also handling pressure/deadlines of assignments/presentations etc. latently made us tougher which is required in working life.
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. I was lucky enough to work under some inspiring leaders in my career. I noticed they all had one common trait. Apart from being professionally proficient, they were all great human beings. Their ability to connect with people & develop team spirit, was exemplary & probably the reason why they were where they were. I constantly try to imbibe the same.
Would suggest young professionals, to always have the confidence that they can compete with anyone, no matter college/background/nationality. Also never be wary of taking a leap because of fear of failure. You will be surprised with your own ability to adapt & perform, provided your intent is to work hard.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. Living hostel life for the first time with some wonderful batchmates, playing badminton all night, field visit in Himachal, OTs in Odisha & Karnataka, strolling in new market, 10 Number & MP Nagar, fun banter & endless chat with my roomie Ashish, all are lovely memories for life.
And then that placement day! Can’t forget when my batchmate called out my name in the list of selections for HDFC Bank :-).
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. While curriculum, facilities & faculty support impacted us positively to evolve from student to a Management Grad, but more than anything, for me other life aspects, such as hostel, late night assignments, facing barrage of questions (or flak) while presenting, OTs, Bhopal city, hostel parties etc., have been instrumental in changing me from what I was.
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?
A. Met & made friends with some of the amazing individuals & characters like Ashish Verma, Himanshu, Trayee, Chinmay, Satya, Deb, Varuna, PD, Ashutosh, Suraj, Rishi, Binay, Tarique, Sanjay & many more.
Amongst faculty, Biswas Sir, Madhu Mam, CVRS Sir, Poddar Sir were all we look up to & still do.
We were lucky to have so many inspiring seniors & juniors both. Too many to name.
Tiwari Ji, Arun & Chandu Bhaiya made us feel at home throughout our stay at IIFM.
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. Depending on the career path you want to pursue, read as much related news as you could (outside the curriculum). Take challenging OTs (SI and Project Work as named now) rather than just brand name or stipend. Participate in events, speak up, interact, explore Bhopal, travel. Your personality is going to make all the difference in the long term.
Q. What was your typical day at the work? And how does it look like while you are on a break?
A. If I am not travelling, a typical day starts with me taking stock of all the departments & making a list of tasks to complete during the day. I try interacting with as many team members in office and on field on a daily basis to get a first hand feel. And few customer calls to keep myself updated with the market.
When on break, I like to go on vacation with family.
Q. And how about weekends, hobbies, family and anything else you want to add?
A. The best part about holiday is to spend time with my daughter. That brightens me up. Daily Morning badminton is my dose of vitamin! Meeting friends on weekends, is also something I look forward to.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors?
A. Not much of a reader except news. Like to binge watch some good OTT content.
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? Your engagement with IIFM Placement or OT/SI?
A. Have attended various Alumni meets over the years. I also try to meet as many IIFMites as I could. As of now there is limited engagement w.r.t Placement/OT but would definitely try to work out something in near term. At the same time, I am always available on call/mail to assist in any manner I could.
Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there?
A. I recently visited the campus and was pleasantly surprised as to how most students now are razor focused towards their career. They are not just looking to get any job or summer training, but they aim to get a job of their liking & field of interest. They are willing to take risk & wait for the right opportunity. I feel this is a great change and it comes from confidence in their own abilities & skillset.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?