Do financial institutions look exclusively for people with finance backgrounds?
We love people from HR background, from the technology background and from the marketing background. I have never before seen such a scale of opportunity, obviously with the risks of sharp corrections from time to time. Indian firms are beginning to get the scale, size, and growth rate that are the envy of any global company.

As an MBA yourself, what do you expect from a B-school graduate? What are the skills needed, particularly for the financial sector?
A Business School graduate has to be first clear about what he wants to do. Very often he is carried away by form over substance. I have noticed that the biggest opportunity lies in areas, which haven’t struck people. My strong recommendation is that a B- School graduate takes a more considered decision about his future, thinks about life in terms of stable time-spans. I have seen that successful people, including those in global institutions, are those who have a clear idea of where they want to go, and have built a career with institutions. Choose the right institution, choose your areas of interest and look at the future as a career not as a job. There is a risk of excessive short-termism. I believe that we are in a marathon not a sprint.