Current Role: Managing Director, AMTD. Founded in 1988, Aradhana Machine Tools & Dies (AMTD) is one of the leading manufacturing companies working with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) enterprises (Ordnance Factory Board). We have developed more than 1000 types of critical castings/machine components for the defence sector, including Import Substitutes. In the last couple of years, we have been replicating our success in the private sector as well.

What and where did you study before your Mountbatten internship? BSc Economics, Indian School of Business and Finance (New Delhi, India) (University of London International Programme)

What made you apply for the Mountbatten program? One of the college alums who had graduated 3 years prior to me joining, had visited the college and she spoke greatly about the Mountbatten Program and the impact it had had on her career and how it was still positively impacting her career.

 Describe your sponsor company and your role within it.

I joined UBS AG as a business analyst in the Client Level Asset Servicing team which was a part of the wider Global Reconciliation Team. Initially I was responsible for basic reports but after 1 month of joining I started getting involved in other tasks which involved dealing with senior stakeholders including members of the Board and then interacting with other teams from UBS.

What was the highlight/most memorable moment of your working experience during this year? I think the most memorable part, and something I think about even today, is when I was asked to take over the Vault Count.  They usually wouldn’t let NA or NO officers do that but the team had seen me work hard and prove myself to them, so they would give me more crucial and sensitive tasks to-do. Even though there were other permanent team members around but, they showed faith and rewarded me by giving more critical tasks and that is an experience I still cherish.

What was the social highlight/most memorable moment during this year? The trip to Dorset at the beginning of the program was a fun interactive team building trip. We were all able to get to know each other much better which made the next 11 months a lot easier. I am still friends with a few people who I met at that time and that was only possible because the ice was broken within the first month courtesy the Dorset trip.

Please share a little wisdom/philosophy that you acquired during your internship. The program/internship has a lot to teach. If you put in the effort, you will be rewarded. The experience grooms you and creates a base or platform on which you can actually build your professional career. The basic nuances of how you should conduct yourself in a corporate set up gets drilled into you, but other skills are only taught if you work hard and show intent and show that you really appreciate the opportunity and want to be there. It’s easy to just sail away and achieve your KPI’s and nothing more, but if you put a little more effort and try to make the best of what’s around, learn more, interact more, it sets you up for the future and sets you apart from others.

Upon reflection, what do you consider has been the biggest impact of your Mountbatten year? To reiterate, it created a platform for me to build on. I went into the internship with an open book approach ,so I absorbed everything that came my way and that set me up for my later roles. Something as basic as communication with stakeholders and how you need to circumvent certain problems were taught/ explained so well that it became second nature and I managed to use those later in my career as well.

What happened after completing the year – what did you do next? As soon as the program ended I returned to India and ended up joining Cars24 within 7 days. My experience was a key factor in them hiring me after my first interview. The company is now a unicorn startup in 4 countries and close to a decacorn status.

Where are you now in your working life and what do you do? After nearly 8 years in the corporate sector I came back to my hometown where I have now taken over my family business. We are defence manufacturers and make assemblies and sub-assemblies for the Indian Ordnance Factories.

Do you have any future plans that you would like to realise & what are they (career & social)? In the near future I will be entering the real estate space as a developer and hotelier.

What would people be surprised to learn about you? I think people would be surprised to know that I am an avid wildlife enthusiast. I regularly go for jungle safaris to track and trace tigers, leopards, elephants and other wild animals. Sometimes that ends up happening near my house but it is a great way to get close to nature.