IIM-A placements: Participation of PE/VC, asset management firms up by 80%

In all, 153 firms participated with 182 different roles for the 2020 batch, with McKinsey & Co and BCG leading the pack with 27 and 23 offers, including PPOs

At its conclusion, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad's final placement process has seen a rise of 80 per cent in number of recruiters participating from the private equity (PE), venture capital (VC) and asset management (AM) cohort this year over 2019.

Part of the first cluster which included other cohorts like investment banking and markets, management consulting and advisory consulting, the PE/VC/AM cohort had earlier seen a 200 per cent rise in 2019 over 2018, according to a consolidated but unaudited placement report by IIM Ahmedabad. Unlike many other B-schools, IIM Ahmedabad follows a cluster system of final placements process where sectors are invited in cohorts at regular intervals.

In all, 153 firms participate with 182 different roles for the 2020 batch with McKinsey & Co and BCG leading the pack with 27 and 23 offers including pre-placement offers (PPOs).

The final placement process was conducted in two stages, with the first being the laterals process where firms interviewed students with prior work experience and offered them mid-level managerial positions. Around 44 firms hired from diverse sectors such as technology, banking, consulting, general management and analytics. In the second stage of the final placement process, firms were grouped into cohorts based on the profile offered, and groups of cohorts were invited to campus across different clusters.

There were 38 new recruiters this year, including Blackstone Group, Colgate, DaytoDay Health, Diageo, FIITJEE, HCL Technologies and Strategy& (Middle East). Roles were also opened across geographies including Australia, Malaysia and Middle East.

While the B-school was apprehensive of the placement results amidst the current economic scenario, Chairperson of the Placement Committee at IIM Ahmedabad, Amit Karna stated that the outcome was not only more positive than expected but also better than previous years. "The double-digit growth in 'dream applications' made by our students led to 40 per cent of the batch exercising an option to sit for interviews after having an offer from one cluster. This clearly demonstrates the maturity and effectiveness of our unique placement process that follows a cluster-cohort system," Karna added.

Following McKinsey and BCG, Mastercard extended 11 offers in the niche consulting cohort. Among the investment banks, Avendus was the largest recruiter, making 10 offers, closely followed by JP Morgan with eight offers.

In the consumer goods and consumer services domain, AB InBev extended the most offers at eight, followed by Airtel with seven offers. With six offers, CK Birla was the largest recruiter in the general management cohort while in the IT consulting cohort, Tata Consultancy Services was the largest recruiter with 12 offers.

In the Laterals process, FinIQ made the highest number of offers including PPOs at 11, followed by Amazon with 10 offers, and Microsoft and RPG Group with seven offers each.

As in previous years, IIM Ahmedabad students were provided the flexibility of making 'dream' applications to firms of their choice in a subsequent cluster even with an offer in hand. There were 160 dream applications this year, thereby giving students the flexibility and choice to build careers in sectors of their preference.

This year, two students opted out of the placement process to work on their own venture, under the IIMAvericks Fellowship which includes mentorship from the institute's incubator CIIE.CO and financial support for a period of two years.

With the premier B-school following the Indian Placement Reporting Standards (IPRS), IIM Ahmedabad will later release a detailed audited report.