As I moved up the hierarchy, from an Operations Trainee to a General Manager, I recognized the need for an MBA. I was managing a group of 4 hotels in London where I was enjoying the challenge of taking all the decisions and facing the repercussions. However, I knew that I had to settle in India. Also, after 8 years of working in the hospitality industry I wanted to work in a more broad based industry.
I started my career in hotels in 2000 after passing out of Hotel School from IHM Delhi. The first few years of my career, I worked in Food and Beverages (restaurants) and was a part of opening teams for hotels like Grand Hyatt Delhi, Leela Bangalore, Hyatt Regency Mumbai and Radisson Noida. In between I worked in UAE for a year. In 2006, I was offered an opportunity to rebrand and launch a group of hotels in London. By 2008, I had worked in a leadership role for the past 6 years, been part of the opening team for 6 hotels and 7 restaurants and managed teams in UK, UAE and India. I had also started a coffee machine franchisee in UK and though it did not work out as well as I had planned, I gained tremendously from the experience.
However, I was restless and wanted more from my career. My biggest challenge was my education since Hotel Management was a 3 year Diploma. Luckily for me, in 2005, IGNOU offered an abridged graduation for desperate souls (IHM diploma holders) like me and I travelled thrice from London to Delhi to write my exams. Till now, no one in my family has spent so much in earning a graduate degree. To cut it short, I wrote my GMAT, applied to IIMA and was fortunate to be offered an admission.
One of the things I value the most from my 6 months in PGPX is the opportunity to learn from my batch mates, something which the management books call ‘benchmarking’. Small and simple things like their approach to a problem, presentation skills; the way they manage the pressure and yet come prepared for every class has been a very humbling experience for me. IIMA’s case based approach has helped us to understand frameworks and concepts as well as to learn about different companies and industries. PGPX is helping me to gain a broader perspective in business and helping me to understand Finance, Strategy and Marketing, the way it would not have been possible without taking a year off.
As part of my course, I have been working on research notes in the service sectors like ‘Cost Strategies of Mid-Priced/Economy Hotels’, ‘Restaurants: How Operations Management Can Reduce Costs and Improve Customer Experience’, ‘Strategic Initiatives by MNC Banks’. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to cover real estate, real estate and logistics.
I enjoy the problem solving side of business and hope to work in Management Consulting or Supply Chain Management after PGPX. The industries I am targeting are Retail, Real Estate, Banking and Hospitality. I feel my customer orientation, people management experience, understanding of services and the PGPX will prepare me for that role.
- Mohit Mathur
