IIM Bangalore Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2023

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) has recently revealed the list of distinguished alumni who will be receiving the institute’s Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2023. Established in 2007, the Distinguished Alumni Awards honor IIMB graduates who have demonstrated exceptional merit and excellence in their respective fields, including industry, management, entrepreneurship, research, academia, or social service. Recipients will receive a citation and their names will be engraved on the institute’s Wall of Fame. The awards ceremony will take place during the PGP inauguration.

The three deserving alumni who have been selected to receive the Distinguished Alumni Awards this year are Ashok Reddy, PGP 1995; Abhijit Roy, PGP 1991, and Samina Bano, PGP 2010. IIMB Director, Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, along with the Deans and other faculty members, congratulated the awardees for their exceptional achievements and contributions to their respective fields.

Ashok Reddy (PGP 1995)

Ashok Reddy is the Promoter, Managing Director, and CEO of TeamLease Services Limited. He completed his course at IIMB and started his career in Investment Banking. In 1998, he co-founded India Life which provided outsourced services of payroll and pension administration to corporate enterprises, pioneering the concept of outsourcing in India. Hewitt Associates acquired India Life in 2002, after which he co-founded his second and current venture, TeamLease Services Limited.

TeamLease started as a self-funded venture and later received venture capital funding before going public in 2016. Ashok Reddy’s focus on prudence, building sustainable relationships with clients, and operational excellence has helped TeamLease survive and flourish through the hi-growth and recession cycles of the economy.

TeamLease is a company with a cause – ‘Putting India to Work’ – reflecting Ashok Reddy’s patriotism and philosophy. The company started with four employees in Bangalore and has grown to deploy over 3 lakh associates and serve 3500+ clients across 60 industries in 28 Indian states. TeamLease has touched the lives of more than 20 lakh employees over the past two decades. The company has established a strong brand recall and successfully incubated new business lines for broad-based growth in the future.

TeamLease is one of India’s leading providers of Human Resource services, covering the 3Es – Employment, Employability, and Ease of Doing Business. The company was founded with an entrepreneurial philosophy that a business should be fun, profitable, and good for India, which Ashok Reddy has managed to achieve with TeamLease.

Ashok believes that following your heart and working hard, even in the face of failure, can help build resilience and character. He enjoys art, travel with his family, and reading.

Ashok feels honored and humbled to receive an award from his alma mater, IIM Bangalore, acknowledging the strong grounding and soft skills his education provided. He is proud to be an alumnus of IIMB.

Abhijit Roy (PGP 1991)

Abhijit Roy, PGP 1991, is the Managing Director & CEO of Berger Paints India Limited. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Jadavpur University and an MBA from IIM Bangalore. Abhijit started his career with Asian Paints (I) Ltd. and joined Berger in 1996 as Product Manager. He worked his way up to become Managing Director and CEO in 2012.

Under Abhijit’s leadership, Berger Paints India Limited has experienced exponential growth in sales and market cap. The company has received numerous accolades, including being ranked 15th in the global rankings of the top manufacturers of paints, coatings, adhesive and sealants. Berger Paints also won the Best Managed Companies Award in Deloitte’s Global Marquee Programme and the SKOCH-BSE Order of Merit in the Innovation category at the 48th SKOCH-BSE Summit.

Abhijit focuses on identifying and nurturing talent to help Berger achieve newer heights.

Abhijit Roy is the MD & CEO of Berger Paints India Limited. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Jadavpur University and completed his MBA from IIM Bangalore. Abhijit started his career with Asian Paints and joined Berger in 1996. He worked his way up to become the MD and CEO in 2012. Under his leadership, Berger Paints achieved great success, receiving several accolades. Abhijit is the Chairman of the Education & Skill Development Sub-Committee of CII – Eastern Region, past Chairman of CII, Eastern Region, and past President of IPA. He is an avid reader, loves music and traveling. Abhijit believes that receiving the DAA from IIMB is a chance to relive memories from the IIMB campus and is delighted and grateful to receive this award.

Samina Bano (PGP 2010)

Samina Bano, PGP 2010, is the Founder and CEO of RightWalk Foundation, focusing on addressing inequality through public policy intervention in education, livelihood, and health. She completed her B Tech in Computer Science from COEP in 2005 and her MBA from IIM Bangalore in 2010. Samina worked with international corporations such as Deloitte, P&G, and Texas Instruments before returning to India in 2013 to work on providing educational opportunities to underprivileged children through the Right to Education (RTE) Act’s Section 12(1)(c) in private schools.

Samina Bano, PGP 2010, is the CEO of RightWalk Foundation, where she focuses on public policy intervention in education, livelihood, and health. She has received various awards, including the ‘APJ Abdul Kalam Award for Innovation in Governance’ (KIGA) in 2016 and the ‘Women Transforming India’ award by NITI Aayog and the UN in 2022. Samina played a significant role in implementing RTE 12.1.(c) in Uttar Pradesh, enabling 5,30,000 underprivileged children to gain admission across 20,000 schools in 75 districts of UP. She led the development of a fully integrated, end-to-end online system for RTE that won the ‘National e-Gov Award’ in 2022.

Samina Bano, PGP 2010, is the Founder and CEO of RightWalk Foundation, where she focuses on addressing inequality through public policy intervention in education, livelihood, and health. Her contributions have been recognized with awards such as the APJ Abdul Kalam Award for Innovation in Governance and the Women Transforming India award. Samina played a significant role in implementing the RTE 12.1.(c) provision for underprivileged children in private schools in UP, resulting in 5,30,000 children gaining admission under RTE and unlocking Rs. 800 crores of public funds. Additionally, Samina facilitated the establishment of structured governance processes to enable the Apprenticeship Policy in UP, resulting in 70,000 youth gaining employment as apprentices.

Samina values the Distinguished Alumnus Award (DAA) greatly because it represents the transformative power of education and determination. She states, “The IIM Bangalore platform was crucial in shaping my journey towards social inclusion. It not only opened doors but also equipped me with the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to create an impact in the lives of others. My time at IIMB serves as a reminder that with perseverance and the right opportunities, we can all strive to make meaningful changes in the world.”