No global offers, but highest domestic pay up 35% in IIM-A's PGPX placement

Attracts domestic maximum earning potential (MEP) of Rs 81 lakh as against Rs 60 lakh last year

While it may not have bagged any international job offers this year, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad's one year MBA programme for executives has seen a 35 per cent jump in the highest domestic package.

Known as the full-time Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) at IIM Ahmedabad, the final placement process for the programme saw the highest domestic maximum earning potential (MEP) being offered at Rs 81 lakh, as against Rs 60 lakh last year, according to the B-school's audited placement report. 

MEP is the sum of total guaranteed cash component, maximum possible-linked variable pay and all other components of salary that are a part of the offer which can include long term compensation such as PF, gratuity and other perks as well.

As against the highest domestic MEP of Rs 81 lakh, the average domestic MEP for IIM-A's PGPX placements stood at Rs 33.3 lakh. This was up by nearly 10 per cent from last year when it attracted an average domestic MEP of Rs 30.35 lakh. However, unlike last year when the programme attracted highest international MEP of $109,666, this year there were no international offers amid the pandemic.

IIM Ahmedabad follows the Indian Placement Reporting Standards (IPRS) wherein the process is audited by an external agency. Completed in July this year, the B-school released its placement report now audited by an external agency.

Sector-wise, Information Technology (IT) firms formed the largest sector in terms of job offers with 42 accepted offers in the final placement process of PGPX. Following IT firms were online services, consulting and BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) sectors, with 14, 13 and 11 accepted offers, respectively. In all, 130 firms participated in the campus placement process in 2020, offering a spectrum of over 300 different roles to PGPX graduates. 

Marquee recruiters that rolled out offers to PGPX students included AB InBev, Accenture, Amazon, Bank of America, Bharti Airtel, Citi, Deloitte, EY, Genpact, Honeywell, ICICI Bank, L&T Infotech, Microsoft,  Mastercard, PwC, Schindler, Shell, Udaan and Zensar among others, of which Genpact made the largest number of offers. 

Graduating students of PGPX accepted a total of 120 offers from firms cutting across sectors such as Consulting, BFSI, Conglomerates, FMCG, E-Commerce, Technology, IT and ITES, Energy, Logistics, Pharma, and Manufacturing. 

The participants of the fourteenth batch of PGPX came from varied backgrounds with rich experience ranging from 4 to 16 years. Recruiters visited campus to select candidates for their mid-senior and senior level management positions. Students were offered positions such as Co-CEO, Chief Product Executive, Vice President, Director, Associate Vice-President, National Head, General Manager, Senior Advisor to CEO, Young Leadership Programs, Principal Consultant, Senior Manager, Product Manager, Client Partner and Offering Manager.

Commenting on the placements, Amit Karna, Chairperson of the Placement Committee at IIM-A, said this year the campus saw over 20 new recruiters from across sectors who were able to hire the best talent for their organisational needs. 

On the other hand, Adarsh Sharma, PGPX Recruitment Secretary, stated that the program has seen an increased interest from e-commerce, healthcare & life sciences and fintech companies well complimented by the traditional recruiters from IT, consulting, pharma and conglomerates. 

"The experienced and diverse cohort of the programme assures a greater alignment between the organizational needs and the candidate’s aspirations. We have strengthened our relationship with our long-associated recruiters and have partnered with many new organisations this year," Sharma added.

Meanwhile, IIM Ahmedabad also saw three students this year take up entrepreneurship to pursue their ideas under the guidance and mentorship of Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE.CO). These students will be given a placement holiday of two years.