An Evening to Remember... Reminiscence '15

That celebratory time of the year had come again, when exhilaration and enthusiasm were at their peak amongst everyone in the campus at SIMSREE. Reminiscence – the mega annual reunion of all the batches that graduated over the years from this esteemed institute was here. One of the most important traditions of the institute, Reminiscence provides a platform for visiting alumni to relive their best moments at SIMSREE.

                                         

This year, Reminiscence was held on 12th September. The event started at six in the evening and went on till quarter to midnight. Although heavy rains greeted the evening, it did not deter the alumni from visiting their alma mater. Many esteemed alumni graced the evening with their presence. The red carpet at Reminiscence, came to life for the first time with continuous tweets on Twitter, the hashtag being #Reminiscence2015. The event began with an inauguration by the new director of the college, Dr. M. B. Bhide, Dr. M. A. Khan, Registrar, Mumbai University and former director of the institute and the Sydenham Institute of Management Alumni Association (SIMAA) board members present, Mr. Mahesh Balasubramanian, Mrs. Sneha Pathak and Mr. Aashish Pawaskar, followed by a short speech by Dr. M. D. Bhide, and Mr. M. A. Khan. The batch of 2015 was welcomed into the SIMSREE alumni family. 

The evening moved onto more celebrations including a variety of activities such as photo booth and karaoke. The alumni had a crazy good time posing for the cameras with props and receiving instant prints at the photo booth. The karaoke room was filled with the delightful voices of alumni singing karaoke of old time songs.  Not to forget, the one minute games which were such a hit amongst the alumni. Many of the alumni got nostalgic revisiting the college after several years and appreciated the changes as well as the things that have remained the same. The innovative events and arrangements at the event were the talking point among many groups of alumni.

 Conversations flowed, old memories were reminisced and new ones were made. The recent graduates were excited to visit the college as alumni and the older ones were glad to see how their college had improved over the years. It goes without saying that delightful dinner, pleasant music and entertaining snaps completed the wonderful event. It was indeed an evening to remember. We thank all the alumni that made it to the event and look forward to seeing many more at Reminiscence 2016.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Ashish Bhasin

"Devotion to duty determines your destiny"- An hour long exciting interaction with Mr. Ashish Bhasin-Alumnus of 1988 batch- kicked off with this inspirational quote, on the eve of 27th July 2015. The Alumni Committee was delighted to have Mr. Bhasin as a guest speaker during the induction of batch 2015-17.

A veteran in the advertising industry, sir started by walking students through his career journey. 

Having worked in the world of advertising, sir briefed students about the evolution of advertising in India and how rural consumer is important and how content makers are trying to stay relevant with the evolving needs of consumer. Sir also talked about the objectives and history of Sydenham Institute of Management Alumni Association-SIMAA organization since it's inception at length.

Mr. Bhasin, himself a voracious reader, urged students to cultivate habit of reading various subjects and continuously keeping oneself updated with latest happenings around. Sir highlighted that many aspirants walk into to industry without being well read and regret the consequences. 

Sir applauded youth on their zeal to win and also advised to do the right thing irrespective of the situation because it would pay in the long run. The lecture concluded with Q&A session where students were eager to understand Sir's views on recent trends like digital marketing, consumer buying behavior. Sir responded with plethora of industry examples.

It was indeed a very heart warming and inspiring lecture for the students of the new batch.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Malcom Athaide

At SIMSREE, continuing the tradition of guest lectures by eminent industry personalities, Mr. Malcolm Athaide addressed the first year students on Wednesday, 29th July. Mr. Athaide is the President & Chief Risk Officer: Business Banking, Retail Banking, Agriculture and Inclusive & Social Banking at Yes Bank and also an alumnus of 1995 batch. It was a great opportunity for students to interact with such an illustrious alumni.

Mr. Athaide started the lecture by explaining the importance of family and parents in life. He advised students to never neglect their parents and always do everything for them. He gave an amazing analogy wherein he compared students with an organization of which their family are the shareholders and quoted, “Don’t disappoint your shareholders, they have invested in you so make their investment worth it“.

Mr. Athaide then went about explaining various fields in which the students can and should focus to broaden their scope of learning and getting better job opportunities in the coming future. Some of the areas Mr. Athaide talked about were: analyst, process control and systems, operational risk and market risk, operations research, etc.

Mr. Athaide gave a brief overview about all these fields so as to give the students a more clear idea about what opportunities can these fields of management offer. Sir also explained how students can channelize themselves towards building interest and excelling in these so that it suits their capabilities.

After explaining all these points, Mr. Athaide patiently answered all the questions students had across domain in management and all the students were thoroughly satisfied with the answers.

At the end, Mr. Athaide told the batch an excellent short story through which he conveyed the message that one can make or break his/her life and so one must work hard to achieve what’s best.

On behalf of the Alumni Committee, we would like to thank Mr. Athaide for taking time out of his busy schedule and enlightening the batch.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Ramesh Mitragotri

"Sow a thought and you reap an act. Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny."

With this inspirational quote, Mr. Ramesh Mitragotri – An alumnus of 1986 batch- kick started the day with a fresh perspective.

Mr. Ramesh Mitragotri graced students with his presence at the SIMSREE campus, on the 25th of July at 9:30 am to deliver a guest lecture to the junior batch.

Mr. Mitragotri is the CHRO at Aditya Birla - Chemical division and has previously worked in Aditya Birla Retail.

Mr. Mitragotri emphasized on the importance of one's character, values and morals over their knowledge and skills. Sir explained to the batch how the companies hire aspirants with good character and then train the personnel in the skills required. Sir spoke about the important traits of a leader and what attributes play an important role in making a good leader.

Mr. Mitragotri also advised batch to not only work on knowledge and skill development but also on developing one's character, beliefs and values. Sir explained the importance of character building with an example of an iceberg. Only 10 % of the iceberg is visible while 90% of the iceberg is under the sea and not visible easily. Similarly only 10% of our attributes are visible easily which include our behavior, knowledge etc. but the 90% which includes our temperament , our attitude, our values and our character is not easily visible but these are the attributes of a good leader and are sought after by every organization.

With this motivational lecture, the students were animated to start another exciting day in their induction week.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Sachin Khandelwal

On 20th of August, 2015, Mr. Sachin Khandelwal, an alumnus of the 1992 batch, was welcomed by the Alumni Committee back on campus for a guest lecture to address the junior batch. Mr. Sachin Khandelwal has over two decades of experience in the finance and banking industries and is currently the CEO and MD of Magma Housing Finance and Chief Sales Officer at Magma Fincorp.

Mr. Khandelwal started the lecture by stating the value of a management education. Sir then opened the floor to questions and students came up with a variety of questions ranging from general ones related to the syllabus and specializations to specific questions about the finance industry. Mr. Khandelwal answered all of the students’ questions with ease and poise.

Mr. Khandelwal spoke about the causes of financial crises and the importance of sticking to the basics. Sir then emphasized the value of inter-personal relationships. Sir also mentioned the changing world order and the importance of regulations. Sir spoke about the need to understand every discipline of management since every job requires an interplay of various management disciplines. Sir then underscored the need to know oneself well and encouraged each student to align current opportunities with their dreams. Sir urged students to innovate and watch out for competing products from related industries.

Mr. Khandelwal explained to students the need to work hard and look for projects that are related to their field of interest to gain experience and start practicing. Sir stressed on the significance of following one’s passion with conviction. Sir mentioned the importance of managing people and time and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

The batch enjoyed the lecture and was encouraged by Mr. Khandelwal to introspect regularly and follow their passion. We thank Mr. Khandelwal for visiting the campus and sharing his valuable insights with the batch.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Sanjay Behl

On 23^rd July 2015, as part of the induction program for the incoming batch of 2015-2017, the SIMSREE Alumni Committee was proud to host the Guest Lecture by Mr. Sanjay Behl, one of the most illustrious Alumni of the 1993 batch. Having more than 20 years of experience in the field of Sales and Marketing with prestigious companies like HUL, Nokia and Reliance Communications, Mr Behl is now the CEO of Raymond Ltd.

Mr Behl enlightened the students by sharing thoughts on his own corporate life in the field of marketing. He started the session by speaking about the beginning of his career, as an Area Sales Manager in HUL. Being strongly associated with dish-washing soaps and detergents, he spoke about the difficulties faced by the brand in reaching out to the masses, especially in rural India, where other alternatives such as ash were widely being used as cleaning agents. The students were fascinated to know about how advertisements and branding played a very crucial role in overcoming these limitations.

The batch learnt plenty from this enlightening and interactive session. We look forward to several such interactions with Mr Behl in the future.

He further spoke about the different experiences associated with the various brands and products he worked with in HUL, as a Brand Manager and then as a Marketing Manager. He explained to the students of how a strong inclination towards technology helped him take the important decision of switching from an FMCG company to work with Nokia and thereafter with Reliance Communications. The corporate experiences that he shared left the students intrigued. Thereafter, moving onto Raymond Ltd. where he currently serves as the CEO, Mr Behl gave insights of how technology plays a key role in the global textile major and passionately spoke about the aspirations of the company, especially in Indian and European markets.

Towards the end of the session, Mr Behl emphasized on the importance of constant innovation and change for any brand to sustain. He spoke about how disruptive technology creates a revolution and how it is important for the company as well as individuals to connect the dots to survive and progress in the competitive world today. He advised the students that the key to success is to stay passionate, take keen interest and understand core business concepts. The session concluded with a round of queries, which Mr Behl answered enthusiastically, much to the delight of the students.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Vivek Bhatnagar

On the 4^th of September, the Alumni Committee welcomed Mr. Vivek Bhatnagar, an alumnus of the 1994 batch, for a guest lecture to address the junior batch. Mr. Vivek Bhatnagar has more than two decades of experience in sales and marketing and is currently the General Manager at Johnson & Johnson Vision care.

The topic of discussion for the session was ‘Sales Channel’. Sir explained the concept of ‘Sales channel’ by giving an analogy that sales channel is like a fluid flowing through pipes and that, size of the pipe, velocity of the fluid and other aspects should be balanced so as to make the flow smooth. Likewise, balancing of types of Sales channel is a must. Sir defined Sales channel as a conduit that helps bring product or service to a place where the customer may buy from. Types of sales channel such as traditional retail, wholesale, e-commerce, door to door, B2B and B2C, modern trade were discussed. This discussion was followed by an explanation on various features of all the types of Sales Channels and their role in describing product features, helping trials, experiencing the product, providing assortment, providing complimentary products, defraying cost pre/ during/ post purchase support.

This discussion was then followed by an interesting task given by Sir. The batch was divided into two groups; both the groups were asked to decide the best sales channel for the product assigned to them which were, 300gram dove soap and new body deodorant, respectively. The groups came up with satisfactory strategies and Sir added value to their solutions by giving inputs.

By sharing his real life experiences Sir explained that products that are well established can be sold through all channels and also discussed various methods of selecting the right channel for a product. The session concluded with Sir explaining the importance of balance of sales channel, strategies to place product and planning to avoid channel conflicts.

Students raised doubts pertaining to various methodologies used for channeling products in to the market which were answered by Sir by giving practical examples. The batch thoroughly enjoyed the session. We thank Mr. Bhatnagar for visiting the campus and sharing his valuable insights.

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