While five students from the third batch of PGPX are yet to be placed, four launched entrepreneurial ventures

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) this year managed to place 93% of the third batch of the Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX), by the end of March, 2009. The batch with a strength of 77 students graduated on March 28, 2009. The Class of 2009 attracted a diverse pool of recruiters of all sizes and in multiple sectors, thus alleviating the effects of the wide-spread hiring restrictions across the industry.

Of the 77 students, three did not seek placement services and four launched own entrepreneurial ventures in a variety of fields such as clean energy, manufacturing, and services. The five students, who are yet to be placed (as on May 31, 2009), have niche skills and the placement cell is looking for well-targeted positions for them.

This year’s recruiter list spanned a variety of conglomerates, large MNC’s, small and medium enterprises (SME’s) and start-ups which included several first-time recruiters at IIMA. Some of the first-time recruiters included Alcatel Lucent, Amazon, Eli Lilly, eInfochips, Emergent Ventures, Hero Honda, Marg Infrastructure, NMCE, Siemens Information Systems, Sundaram BNP and VBHDC. IBM made the largest number of offers. Students also joined reputed firms in senior roles such as GM, VP, AVP, and Functional Heads. Several growing SME’s benefited this year by picking up PGPX graduates for executive roles of CEO, COO, Head of IT and VP positions in sales, operations and strategy. The average domestic annual salary for the Class of 2009 was Rs 20.16 lakhs. Two students were placed internationally as well, at an average salary of USD 122,000.

The IIMA PGPX is a one-year, full-time, residential MBA programme designed for high-potential professionals with substantial work experience. Launched in 2006-07, this program admits individuals from diverse industries across the world. It has a general management focus, with special emphasis on managing across borders and cultures. The customised segments of the program ensure that participants are well equipped with skills to add value to their organisations in middle and senior leadership positions.