Jerry Jose's three year career as a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs in India was brought to an abrupt halt in 2011 when he returned to Qatar to help stabilize a family business that was in disrepute. Jerry, of Indian nationality, led a team of 12 people within his role of Portfolio Control and Analysis, after landing a job with one of the worlds most highly regarded investment firms four years before even beginning his MBA program.
His career within Goldman Sachs Asset Management is an achievement in itself: a high-profiling job in an industry that is sought after by many business school graduates. But it was not as important as securing stability within his family's business. Prior to the onset of modern business entities, the operating structure of Indian business was almost exclusively that of a family enterprise. Now, India’s economy is forecast this year to grow at its slowest rate for a decade.
Family businesses are still held in high regard, and Jerry felt his presence across the Arabian Sea in Qatar, his home, was a necessity. “My family business in Qatar was going through a rough patch and my presence at home was a necessity,” he said. “I stayed in the business and helped it stabilize.” That he did: Jerry boosted operations within the company, Arabian Overseas Trading & Services, by 150%. He remained with the business for almost two years, as an Operations Manager, until December 2012.
When the family’s business was secure, Jerry was free to study in Europe, in a bid to understand the inner workings of businesses and "move up the ladder". But Jerry harboured thoughts of studying an MBA back when he was still a Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs. “During my tenure I realized that in order to be successful, you need to have a good understanding of the overall business and also how different divisions complement each other,” he explained. “I understood that this skill is crucial for taking on challenging roles within the firm and to rise up the ladder. This influenced me to opt for the MBA.”
Jerry’s Finance career ran adjacent to dealing with gold and silver contracts in the Indian Commodity market, to fufill his ambition to be a Freelance Commodity Trader. With a previous Bachelors in Commerce from Loyola College in Chennai, Jerry could have applied to most business schools in India. He believes the decline of the Indian economy could be reversed by the government's lifting of the caps on foreign investment limits for greater stimulation. “Its true that initially the small businesses and suppliers in India would be affected”, Jerry said.
“But in the long run, the relaxed rules on FDI in India would stimulate more growth in the Indian economy and also improve the weakening position of the Indian rupee. With the latest amendments, many of the hurdles have been removed and would encourage more foreign retailers to enter India.”
With such close connections to his family’s business in the Middle East, why study the MBA program at HEC Paris in France? Jerry highlights the extra-cirricular events at the HEC campus, featuring Harvard Business School, as a favorite memory. “The cultural and professional diversity at HEC was the first thing that attracted me to it. Our current class boasts of doctors, army officers, a world ranked tennis player and a professional Formula two driver among many more,” he said.
“I have had two highlights of the MBA so far. The first is the MBAT tournament (MBA Olympics) hosted by HEC MBA students for the past 22 years. Almost 1300 students from all over the world come to HEC for a 3-day sporting event. The event gives us an opportunity to hone our leadership skills and also acts as a major platform for networking with students of other schools.
“The second highlight of the MBA is the Military Boot Camp that happened in St Cyr. This is a 2-day event with the French army, where we perform a series of exercises and tasks meant to develop our leadership skills. Groups of ten students work as a team, take decisions and perform tasks to achieve a pre-defined goal. This is truly a once in a lifetime kind of experience and we will always remember it.”
Jerry’s interest in developing leadership skills is reflected in his ambition to lead the HEC Finance Club. He is currently the club’s President and hopes to learn more about Finance by exchanging high quality information and knowledge, and to network with Finance alumnus. Jerry says that it is his responsibility to “transform links" into job prospects for the members of the club” and that Finance members have “secured internships and job offers solely through the contacts that they made” at club events.
In April this year, Jerry took part in a trekking trip to Brazil, organised by the HEC Finance Club, to meet representatives from financial institutions, such as Gavea Investimentos and BNP Paribas. In the Fall, the club hopes to organise a table conference on the role of financial institutions in the international oil markets, in coordination with the HEC Energy Club. Jerry says that studying abroad has helped broaden his international business skills. “Businesses these days are very global and understanding different aspects of other cultures is key to achieve success,” he said.
“You need to build good relations with the diverse set of people that you meet for your business. The diversity of HEC and Europe in general has definitely helped me develop these skills.”
With graduation looming on horizon, and caps & gowns booked for April 2014, Jerry says that he would “love” to return to Goldman Sachs if given the opportunity. But his MBA at HEC Paris has prompted him to change career paths. “The MBA has opened up so many career opportunities, and I am currently interested in changing my career path to become a strategy consultant in the Automotive sector,” Jerry said.
“I have always been very passionate about cars and would love to work in that sector. To facilitate this transition, I have opted for the Strategy specialization at HEC and have also started to read a lot about the Automotive sector.”
Jerry will complete the last semester as an exchange student at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) In Sydney, to take advantage of more relaxed visa rules that, in Europe "make it an unfair playing ground for non-EU citizens".
From Goldman Sachs in India, to Operations Management in Qatar, to an automotive epiphany in Jouy-en-Josas, France, and onto Sydney : a diverse career path of someone with unrelenting ambition to succeed in the business world.
Leaving a firm like Goldman Sachs was a big call. But studying an MBA at HEC Paris has only made Jerry stronger.
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