Rohit Kapoor is an Engineer by qualification. His dream was to join the Defence services, and this brought him to the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in 1998. On completion of officer training, he was adjudged the “Best Cadet of the Technical Graduate Course.” He was commissioned into an elite Engineer Regiment. During his stint in the Indian Army he held many prestigious appointments including that of an “Officer Instructor” to impart training of Combat Engineering. His career however was cut short when a severe sports related injury forced him to quit his services after having been there for more than eight years. Kapoor joined the ISB in the year 2008 and after the successful completion of his course, is currently working with McKinsey & Co.

The ISB Experience

Kapoor attributes the success of his “leap of faith” of leaving a secure government job and jumping into the corporate cauldron to the skills that he imbibed at the ISB and the invaluable lessons that he learnt through formal course structure and the informal “out of the class” peer learning. Learning at the ISB was a fulfilling experience for him. He says, “For me, if there is any institution that brings to life the cliché- Battle field to the Boardroom – it is the ISB.” Reminiscing about the year spent at the alma mater he says, “The ISB provides the opportunity to fulfill one’s dreams- be it pursing academic excellence, whetting or forming one’s business plan, participating in limitless B-Plan competitions, taking up student appointments, leading initiatives, or forming networks – it is a complete package, the onus lies in knowing what one wants.”

The “Never say Die” Spirit

The academic year for the class of 2009 began with a lot of promises, but with the worsening economic situations, the chances of this year living up to its expectations, deteriorated. “Everything seemed to be conspiring against us, even the Mumbai attacks happened on the eve of the largest student run initiative - ILS (ISB Leadership Summit) thereby forcing as many as 12 imminent speakers coming from Mumbai for the summit to cancel their trip, including the keynote speaker. We dug in deep and in a hectic and tense 48 hrs we put together the speaker panel again. This was the largest and most well attended ILS in the short history of the ISB. This was in a small way our fitting reply to these terror acts which want us to alter our way of life,” he recollects.

This resilience was again amply exhibited by the class which weathered the worst job market in decades with a lot of maturity and poise. The class embraced a new placement policy to reduce job offer losses, taking it a step further; the students contributed their own money to create a corpus to hire professional placement agencies to augment the placement effort. Further, despite the situation as it were, the class planned, executed and financed the construction of the “Class of 2009 Amphitheatre.”

The GSB

Kapoor was the GSB president for the class of 2009. A class bound by unity and a never dying spirit, the class of 2009 took several initiatives to leave their mark in the haloed portals of the ISB. The class was an immensely diverse one and leading them was an unforgettable experience for Kapoor. The GSB experience for him was a truly fulfilling one, which helped him grow. He sums up, “The success of the class lay in its solidarity and I was indeed fortunate and proud to be the elected President of such a wonderful class as the Class of 2009.”