This module examines the number of SeniorAlumni in various roles as well the number of alumni who have reached top-leadership positions in each of the roles. Senior Alumni who have reached top-leadership positions across roles have been plotted in this chart vis-à-vis the total number of Senior Alumni in each role in order to identify the roles where a larger percentage of alumni have reached top-leadership positions.
Headlines
• Around 50 per cent of Senior Alumni in research and education are in top-leadership roles
• Services has the highest absolute number of alumni in top-leadership roles
Among roles, engineering has the highest percentage of Senior Alumni. This illustrates that, contrary to popular perception, a larger number of alumni continue to pursue technical careers.
A large number of alumni have done exceedingly well as entrepreneurs and are now in top-leadership positions not only in their own companies but also as industry leaders. An eminent alumnus, who along with other co-founders created a leading technology service provider company, is viewed as a leader in industry circles.
In social roles, even though there is not a very high number of Senior Alumni, there are a substantial number
Services has the highest number of alumni
(3)in
Top-Leadership roles – Discussion
This module analyses the belief that services is becoming a more common role as compared to engineering among the later batches.
The chart on the left depicts this trend by showing the percentage of top-leaders in the roles of engineering and services across batches.
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• A large percentage of alumni are top-leaders in less conventional fields such as education and retail
The chart on the left depicts this trend by showing the percentage of top-leaders in the roles of engineering and services across batches. The shift in percentage of top-leaders in services as compared to engineering can be attributed to the emergence of the financial and IT services sectors as attractive domains towards which a high number of alumni have gravitated in recent years.
Alumni have reached top-leadership positions in industries that have traditionally not been associated with engineers, such as education, agriculture, media and entertainment, etc. This fact highlights the aspect of overall grooming and confidence—to venture into new areas—that an IIT education imparts.
For instance, an eminent alumnus has received critical acclaim and numerous awards in the field of media and entertainment.
The detailed module on career paths pursued by alumni can be found in the ‘Career’ section of the study.
In later batches, Services has a higher percentage of
Top-Leaders as compared to those in Engineering
This module scrutinises whether a correlation exists between attainment of top-leadership roles and the education levels of alumni. The above charts indicate the percentage of top-leaders with and without degrees after IIT; these graphs are not indicative of degrees after graduation, but of those after passing out from IIT.
Headline
• A significant majority (67 per cent) of all alumni chose to pursue further education after IIT
A large percentage of alumni are inclined towards further education and a significant number of those who have chosen to go abroad in that pursuit believe that IIT provided them with a strong foundation, one which enabled them to excel in the universities they attended post-IIT. Also deduced from this module was that IIT faculty members play a major role in encouraging students to pursue further studies, in India or abroad.
A famous alumnus on passing out of IIT had the option of a job offer from a very reputed Indian company, a management degree at IIM, Ahmedabad, or an MBA at Harvard Business School, with financial aid. He chose the last option despite being under pressure to support a family; he excelled at Harvard Business School as well, which could, in part, be attributable to the quality and rigour of education received at IIT.
Almost equal percentage of alumni made it to
Top-Leadership positions irrespective of further
education post-IIT
63 per cent of the alumni in Top-Leadership roles are in India; almost half of these have returned from abroad
The module examines the perception that successful IIT alumni leave India and that brain-drain continues unabated.
The module, therefore, analysed the current geographies of alumni in top-leadership roles, batch-wise, to bring out the absolute and changing geographic preferences of alumni.
Headline
• Almost 50 per cent of alumni in top-leadership roles in India are returnees (with further education and/or work experience from abroad)
Alumni top-leaders from abroad are choosing to come back to India due to various reasons, personal and professional, and taking up leadership positions in the country. An eminent alumnus who spent 35 years in the US in several world-class technology and consulting firms returned to India to oversee the India business of a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company.
Another alumnus who pursued a masters degree from Harvard University and chose to come back to India co-founded NASSCOM in 1988, was the co-founder of the Delhi chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) and the co-founder of the Indian Angel Network. A successful first generation entrepreneur spent almost four years in Germany as a design engineer before choosing to come back to India to fulfil his vision to bring world-class products to the country.
Such alumni who have gained expertise abroad and chosen to return to India have been key contributors to the brain-drain reversal trend that has been witnessed.
54 per cent of the Top-Leaders perceive they have made the highest impact through innovation
This module establishes that a significant percentage of IIT alumni have been able to reach top-leadership positions in their respective organisations. In order to gain further insight and understand the parameters impacted the most by alumni in top-leadership roles, alumni were asked about the extent of impact that they had on each of the above five parameters.
Headlines
• Alumni in top-leadership positions perceive that they have created the highest impact through innovations
• 73 per cent of the impact on innovation is on non-product innovations
One eminent alumna is a firm believer in innovation and is of the strong opinion that this is one of the factors that has contributed to her success, whether in an operational or a technology role.
Also, alumni in top-leadership roles have had a significant impact on the revenues of their organisations.
A parameter on which very few alumni in top-leadership roles are perceived to have an impact is on the human capital of their organisations. This is consistent with people management skills being perceived as one of the lowest-rated traits among IITians. (See section on Perceptional Analysis)
Around 13 per cent of alumni in Industry Top-
Leadership roles have annual “revenue responsibility”
of over USD 100 million
Revenue was the second-most important parameter where alumni in top-leadership roles have had an impact. In order to understand the extent of revenue impact in tangible terms, the module examines the revenue responsibility of alumni in top-leadership positions and the level of impact they have created on the revenue.
The above graphs have been plotted with responses to a question regarding revenues that top-leaders are responsible for. It has been assumed that the top-leader in a company would be significantly responsible for the revenue of his company (or business/division).
Headline
• Almost two in 10 alumni in top-leadership roles are responsible for annual revenues greater than USD 100 million
On the basis of another analysis of the largest 500 companies in India, it was found that around 54 per cent of these companies have one or more IIT alumni in top-leadership positions (CXO level, board members, etc). The combined revenue of these companies accounted for 90 per cent of the revenue of these 500 companies. Also, it has been witnessed that a higher percentage of companies with high profits have alumni in top-leadership positions.
67 per cent of the companies led
(1)by IIT Alumni have outperformed their peers
A further analysis of revenue and revenue growth in companies that have alumni in top-leadership positions was conducted and compared with industry standards in order to draw conclusions about the calibre of alumni in these positions..The analysis included questions on the growth of revenue of alumni-run business units or companies in comparison to their respective industry averages. Alumni also responded on the number of new clients added and their success in delivering highly satisfactory results from the perspective of personal contributions.
Headlines
• 67 per cent of companies that have alumni in positions such as board of directors, CXO and business heads have revenue growth that is higher than their industry peers
• Alumni in industry top-leadership roles deliver high levels of customer addition as well as customer satisfaction
The high impact that can be observed on revenue growth rates of companies with alumni in top-leadership positions is consistent with the perception that alumni have a high economic impact. (See section on Perceptional Analysis)
54 per cent of the largest 500 Indian companies
(1)with a combined revenue of USD 399 billion have IIT Alumni on their board
Over the years, it has been perceived that most IIT alumni leave India in search of better opportunities abroad. To test this hypothesis, the largest 500 companies in India were analysed. The executive committees and top-leadership of these companies were profiled to ascertain the presence of alumni in these companies. Alumni in the roles of board members, CEOs and CXOs were considered for this analysis. To gauge the impact of alumni on these companies, the analysis also assessed the revenues and profitability of these companies.
Headline
• Cumulative revenue of 54 per cent of total companies (which have IIT alumni on their board) accounts for almost 90 per cent of the cumulative revenue of the top 500 companies
The alumni in these top 500 companies are not only responsible for the revenues and profitability of these companies, but have also been instrumental in transforming these companies in multiple ways.
One eminent alumnus in his role as chairman of a large Indian corporation has been responsible for driving initiatives to strengthen the traditional businesses of the company, as well as creating new drivers of growth for the company by entering into new businesses. Also, when he assumed office as chairman, the organisation’s reputation had been at a low, but his vision and leadership helped take the company to the position of one of India’s most admired corporations.
43 per cent of Industry Top-Leaders have turned-around businesses
One of the leadership qualities to be studied involves ascertaining the approximate number of alumni who have been instrumental in turning around one or more companies. In order to analyse the involvement of alumni in turnaround of businesses, industrial leaders were asked whether they had been responsible for any turnaround and, if yes, then how many.
Headline
• Almost two-thirds of industry top-leaders have turned around multiple companies
Alumni are looked upon as having strong analytical and problem-solving skills (as can be also observed in the Perceptions section, where IITians perceive problem-solving as the most highly-rated skill). This characteristic has enabled them to turn around numerous companies over the years.
One eminent alumnus, who is now chairman and managing director of the consulting company he co-founded, began his career in 1965 with a reputed Indian group of industries. As CEO of one of the group’s companies, he facilitated a turnaround of the company that had been unprofitable for four years.
He made it profitable in his very first year and ultimately it reached a position of leadership in each of its product lines.
Another alumnus, as the head of a public sector telecom corporation, revolutionised the concept of
More than one-third of the Industry Top-Leaders are at leading positions in industry bodies
(1)Many alumni who have been in top-leadership positions in industry have also been a part of industry bodies such as NASSCOM, TiE, etc. It is, therefore, important to evaluate the contribution of alumni to industry. Alumni were asked about whether they are or have been part of industry bodies and, if yes, at what level and what was impact created by them through these bodies.
Headlines
• Overall, 10,000 to 13,000 alumni have been in leadership positions in industry bodies
• 2,000 to 3,000 of alumni in leadership positions in industry bodies have been active at the global level
An eminent alumnus, who currently holds the position of president of a reputed industry body, feels that IIT offers a holistic educational experience, with a number of opportunities to build leadership skills at the educational level itself. He believes that this aspect of an IIT education has helped him all along his career.
In addition to being active leaders and decision makers in industry bodies such as CII, FICCI, etc., alumni have also been founders of industry bodies. This is in line with the perception that innovation and execution are some of the top skills that alumni possess. (See section on Perceptional Analysis)
An alumnus, who has been a serial entrepreneur and has been associated with multiple industry bodies such as NASSCOM, which he co-founded and was its Chairman Emeritus, has also co-founded the Indian Angel Network.
27 per cent of R&E Alumni in Top-Leadership positions in professional bodies have global level of responsibility
A common perception is that IITs, which are technology institutions, have not contributed to the fields of research and education due to alumni venturing to diverse fields and industries. This module, therefore, aims at analysing top-leaders in the fields of research and education to evaluate the contribution of alumni in these roles as well.
In the areas of research and education, all the heads of departments, centres, research labs or academic/
research organisations are considered to be top-leaders. The module evaluates the impact that alumni have had as top-leaders in the research and education sector.
Headlines
• 24 per cent of alumni in top-leadership roles are in research and education
• Among the top-leaders in research and education, almost one-half are in India
Many alumni have reached senior positions in research and education, and have contributed immensely, especially in India. In addition to their roles as leaders in research and academic organisations, alumni also serve in leadership positions in various professional bodies.
Alumni in research and education have also had international exposure and returned to India. Across roles, the highest percentage of returnees have been witnessed in the research and education roles, i.e.,
83 per cent of the Top-Leaders in Research are in tier-I research bodies and 61 per cent of the Top Education Leaders are in the top 20 departments
24 per cent of alumni, i.e., around 12,000 to 13,000 alumni, currently in research and education have indicated that they are in top-leadership positions. The quality of institutions where alumni in research and education worked was also ascertained. The top-leadership positions held by alumni across research and academic organisations, when viewed in consonance with the level/reputation/quality of the institutions themselves, appropriately indicates the success that alumni have achieved in this field. These graphs are plotted solely on the basis of the perception of respondents about the ranking or reputation of their academic or research departments.
Headlines
• Among top-leaders in the field of education, 58 per cent have been affiliated to departments globally ranked among the top 20
• Among top-leaders in the field of research, 79 per cent have been affiliated with best-in-class research bodies
There are many notable IITians in the field of education in top ranking departments globally, such as the computer science and engineering department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at Harvard Business School, Stern School of Business, New York, and Stanford University, California.
There are also alumni in reputed research laboratories and who have joined these institutes after extensive experience in education.
76 per cent of the Top-Leaders in Research and Education are in Technology domains
Apart from contributing to technology roles, alumni have also excelled in non-technology roles. To assess the penetration of alumni in non-technology domains and to understand the overall reputation of alumni in the research and education domain, alumni were asked to indicate the area of their research or academic work and the level of awards received for the work.
Headline
• One in four of top-leaders in research and education have received best-in-class or international awards
These facts illustrate that alumni in large numbers do stay on in technical fields aligned to the education received at IIT and reach top levels in the same. Alumni have stayed on in technology research areas and contributed to India’s growing presence on the world map. One eminent alumnus was project director for Chandrayaan-1, India’s first unmanned lunar spacecraft.
However, there are also several top-leaders in research and education who have made a mark in non- technology domains as well. For example, eminent alumni have reached positions such as economic counsellor and director of research at the International Monetary Fund, professor of finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University, etc.
64 per cent of the Top-Leaders in the Social domain are based in India
In addition to industry top-leaders, this module aims at analysing top-leaders in the social domain. Top- leadership in social roles is composed of multiple roles from various backgrounds. In the area of social work, founders of social bodies and other alumni at the top level of social bodies are considered to be top-leaders. In government roles, alumni placed at the joint secretary-level and above in government organisations are considered to be top-leaders, whereas in politics, all senior members and heads of political parties are considered top-leaders. To understand the presence of alumni in social roles, the module examined the geographic spread of these leaders and the role-wise distribution.
Headlines
• 10 per cent of the total top-leaders fall in the realm of social transformation
• A majority of top-leaders in social roles are based out of India
• Apart from working in social bodies, a good faction of alumni are also present in international and national bodies
These leaders are concentrated within India, but many of them have made a mark abroad as well. One eminent alumnus is the president of the Third World Centre for Water Management, Mexico, and an international consultant on water resources development and environmental management.
Social top-leaders are equally spread across national, international, government and non-governmental bodies.
