IIM Calcutta alumni pass on strategic marketing tips

Corporate heavyweights visited their alma mater, IIM Calcutta, to conduct a workshop on 'Strategic marketing' and pass on tips to students at the institute today.

Alumni attending included the managing directors of Sify, RPG Cellular services, Rotork Controls India, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India, besides the CEO of Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants and senior executives of Satyam Computers Limited, Netlink Technologies, ITC Hotels Limited and SRF Limited. They were all IIMC alumni from the Chennai Chapter and engaged students with their knowledge and experience.

IIMC would hold similar workshops in the future which will pack more punch, sources promised. Efforts to rope in alumni based in the US to conduct extensive courses related to marketing have been launched.

The workshop was structured in four sectors, two pertaining to the old economy and two to the new economy. The session on the telecom sector was conducted by R Ramaraj, MD & CEO of Sify and Vinay Agarwal, MD of RPG Cellular, with the focus being on "Operating at the edge of chaos".

The IT services module was conducted by Mohan Eddy, director and senior vice president of Satyamm Computers, PVR Murthy, CEO of Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants, and N Manohar, a marketing consultant with Protechsoft. The potential of the sector as a "tremendous growth opportunity for India" was explored.

The industrial sector was taken up by Ajay Jain, now business head of SRF, and Ashok Jayaram, MD of Rotok Controls. They dealt with old economy companies innovating and branding their way upwards.

The white goods sector module was conducted by J Krishnan, now president of Netlink Technologies, Ashok Anantram, vice-president (sales and marketing) of ITC Hotels, and Ravi Santhanam, MD and CEO of Mahindra Holidays & Resorts. The theme for the session was, "Share your market or get your market share".