IIM Calcutta's PGPEX Programme Draws Meaty Consulting Offers

Levis, PWC and Accenture were among the companies that made 60 offers, including overseas assignments at $ 200,000 a year, to the first batch of IIM Calcutta's PGPEX Programme that wound down its placement process in December 2007.

The placement process drew 48 companies, including first-timers A.D. Little, Wal-Mart and Levis, for the 39 graduating students who had gone into the one-year full-time programme with 9 years of work experience on an average. Six students accepted international offers that averaged $ 121,000, while domestic assignments, fetching as high as INR 43 Lakhs, averaged INR 20 Lakhs.

The offers were in kilter with the work experience and IIM Calcutta's academic credentials, as companies offered roles at the vice-president and general manager levels to graduating students. Consulting companies, traditionally offering even premier B-school graduates roles at junior levels, slotted the graduating batch at middle- to higher-management positions. Consulting offers made up about a third of the total offers, while technology accounted for a little more than half the offers.

"It is gratifying to note that top companies from a variety of sectors participated in the placement process for our first batch of students from the PGPEX Programme," said Prof. Leena Chatterjee, Convener, PGPEX Placements. "Students from the first batch were excited not only by the roles and assignments on offer but also by the opportunities to move into new sectors as a consequence of completing the one year post graduate programme in management for executives."

Of the 48 companies that participated in the placement programme, 24 percent were consultancy companies. Top consulting companies such as McKinsey and Co., AT Kearney, A.D. Little, Accenture Consulting, TSMG, PWC Global and ECS, interviewed students for senior positions in their organizations.

Industry verticals represented in the placement process also included market leaders in banking, telecom, steel, oil & gas, retail, consumer goods and technology. Consumer goods companies that participated in the placement process include Levis, HUL, ITC, Pepsico and Wal Mart.

Diversified conglomerates or manufacturing participants include Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, DLF and Arcelor Mittal. Technology representatives were TCS, iNautix, HP, NIIT, Syntel Inc, Tech Mahindra, Google, and Microsoft.

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