SP Jain School of Global Management’s Executive MBA (EMBA) students from Dubai and the Middle East got an exciting opportunity to meet SP Jain’s EMBA alumni from different cohorts and gain expert insights on entrepreneurship and small businesses. The event was organised online on February 27, 2021, by the SP Jain alumni team and the EMBA team.
SP Jain School of Global Management’s Executive MBA (EMBA) students from Dubai and the Middle East got an exciting opportunity to meet SP Jain’s EMBA alumni from different cohorts and gain expert insights on entrepreneurship and small businesses. The event was organised online on February 27, 2021, by the SP Jain alumni team and the EMBA team.
The interaction was led by Suresh Lalwani (Senior business banker/Business mentor; EMBA Batch 1), Dr Ankur Dana (CEO, DANA Group of Companies; EMBA Batch 11) and Zuzer Kapasi (Managing Director, SFS Enterprise LLC; Co-Founder/Partner, Kapasi Equipments LLC; EMBA Batch 16). They shared their experiences, successes, failures and how the SP Jain EMBA had helped them build an entrepreneurial mindset and start their ventures. The session concluded with a live Q&A moderated by Parmita Debnath (Head – Academic Services and Professional Development – EMBA, SP Jain).
Students and alumni share their experience:
“The feeling of returning to college was great, and I enjoyed interacting with the EMBA students. Entrepreneurship is a practical and hands-on subject. The session gave an opportunity to learn from real-life business stories and each other’s experience, which was fantastic. It was impressive to see the enthusiasm of students and the quality of their questions. Given their diverse backgrounds and experience, I am sure many of them will become successful entrepreneurs after completing their EMBA program. I wish them luck for all their entrepreneurial ventures.”
- Suresh Lalwani
(Senior business banker/Business mentor; EMBA Batch 1)
“Extremely grateful to our seniors for sharing their experiences and advice. We understood how they applied their learnings from the EMBA program in their respective professions. Look forward to many such platforms where we can connect with our alumni and students from other batches.”
- Anish Babu
(EMBA Middle East Batch 1)
“It was a very informative session. I could draw parallels to many topics discussed. It helped us in thinking differently and gave us a different perspective.”
- Ms Chandni Vasan
(EMBA Batch 46)
“I thank the alumni for their time and valuable insights. Each one of them is an industry leader and, yet, so humble. They shared their journey with us and highlighted their successes and failures. I look forward to more opportunities to connect with our prestigious alumni.”
- Prateek Bapat
(EMBA Batch 46)
Team SP Jain looks forward to organising many more such insightful discussions in the future!
SURESH LALWANI
(Senior business banker/Business mentor; EMBA Batch 1)
Suresh Lalwani has led the Business Banking Division of Commercial Bank of Dubai and RAKBANK with a focus on providing financial advisory, lending and depositary products and services to SMEs in the UAE.
He has been working with business owners in the UAE for more than 19 years in different foreign and local banks, including HSBC and Citibank. His expertise is in building and executing a strategy in the area of Business Banking. He believes in a collaborative world of banks and tech companies. Some of the successfully launched digital initiatives under his leadership have been in the areas of Transaction Banking, Lending, Supply Chain Finance and onboarding.
DR ANKUR DANA
(CEO, DANA Group of Companies; EMBA Batch 11)
Dr Ankur Dana is the CEO of DANA Group of Companies. His involvement in strategic planning has been critical for the long strides of success DANA Group has taken in recent years.
Before entering the steel business, he had completed his bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery from India and practised medicine for a year. Later, he earned his Executive MBA degree from Dubai.
He received the Yuva Ratna Award in 2018 and has been recognised and honoured as the Next Generation Leader by Forbes Middle East Magazine in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
ZUZER KAPASI
(Managing Director, SFS Enterprise LLC; Co-Founder/Partner, Kapasi Equipments LLC; EMBA Batch 16)
Zuzer Kapasi is the Managing Director of SFS Enterprise LLC. It was a failed startup when he had joined in 2008. Turning the company around with steady growth during the recession, with zero business experience as a fresh college graduate, is one of his achievements that set the tone for him in the world of entrepreneurship.
He believes in business strategies being more customer-centric instead of product- or service-centric and credits this approach to business growth. He learnt to hustle during his college days when he studied the Bachelor of Management Studies in Mumbai. He later polished his business acumen by studying the Executive MBA from SP Jain’s Dubai campus.