IIM-B grads handpicked for Ambani’s office

Just weeks before the final placement, an interesting advertisement floated at IIM Bangalore campus – 'Wanted an executive assistant for Reliance CEO Mukesh Ambani.' About 168 students belonging to various streams (finance, HR and marketing) from a batch of 380 applied for it.

Surbhi Garg

“Two candidates, Pranay Jain and Surbhi Garg, have finally made the cut,” Professor Shahnkarsen Basu, chairperson, career development services at IIM-B, told Shiksha.com.

“Reliance Industries Limited has been coming to IIM-B every year to make placement offers. This year too, they will make offers. However, these two candidates have specifically been hired for Mukesh Ambani’s office. Now whether their designation and role is that of an executive assistant or something else, I cannot comment,” said Professor Basu.

Pranay Jain

Twenty-two-year-old PGP students Pranay Jain and Surbhi Garg were also batchmates at BITS-Pilani. Speaking about recent rumours of Wipro chairman Azim Hashim Premji’s office contacting IIM-B for similar profiles, he said, “I have heard similar facts. But so far no one from Mr Premji’s office has contacted us.”

In the past, Reliance has hired students for similar mentoring from international B schools, but this is probably the first time that Ambani is keen on hiring someone from a management school, and take him through the steps.

The second day of final placements was wrapped up yesterday. “Both lateral and primary placements are going well. We hope to end it on a positive note,” said Professor Basu.