Prof. Mayank Pareek Interview

The following article is derived from an interview with Professor Mayank Pareek from the SOM department, conducted by the Freshie Feature Panel 2023-2024. Here are some highlights from our conversation, where he shared his personal experiences in the corporate world, his transition to becoming a professor at IIT Bombay, and more.

 In Conversation with Prof. Mayank Pareek

Whenever someone thinks about how a professor at an IIT would be, they think of someone with extensive experience in academia, with numerous research projects under their belt to teach a complex STEM course. They won’t imagine a professor who was at the helm of a successful corporate career for two decades, imparting his experience of being the president of a top company to his students while teaching a course unrelated to engineering, that is, management.  

The management field is unexplored by the new students of IITB and brings a lot of curiosity and skepticism into students’ minds. We had the opportunity to interview Prof. Mayank Pareek, one of the minds who helped create the SOM101 course and the Professor of Practice at Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay.

Introduction and Background

Prof. Pareek has had an unparalleled career, both professionally and academically. After completing his B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT-BHU (then IT-BHU) and his MBA from IIM Bangalore, Prof. Mayank Pareek joined Maruti Suzuki India as a Regional Manager and quickly rose to the top of the corporate ladder, becoming the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) and later Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director (Marketing and Sales) of Maruti Suzuki India. After this successful endeavor, he joined Tata Motors as the President of the Passenger Vehicle Business Unit (PVBU), where his career grew to new heights. Under his leadership, Tata Motors’ market share rose from 1.8% to 16% and became the second largest player in the industry after Maruti Suzuki. He then joined the Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay, as a Professor of Practice.

Here are some of the excerpts from our interview with Prof. Mayank Pareek, spanning from his personal experiences in the corporate world to transitioning to become a professor at IIT Bombay and more

Q. What was the motivation for switching from a corporate role to teaching and academic management?

Prof. Pareek was at the top of the corporate ladder for two decades and had a reputable image in his field. Yet, he chose to transition to academia, significantly changing his career. He pinpoints his motivation for this step as an opportunity to try new things in his career. As he was involved in hiring a plethora of employees during his tenure, he identified a gap between the requirements of the industry and the knowledge and experience of job seekers in the management field. He felt as if the students were not ready to work in the industry as per the demands of the recruiters, and he wanted to give back his valuable experience to the students.  

Even though Prof. Mayank Pareek made occasional appearances in the form of lectures in premier institutes like Harvard University and IITs, he felt the need for a full-time commitment as a successful way to give back his experience to the students to make them great managers and problem solvers in their careers. He says, “Commitment brings the best out of you” and highlights that committing to any work makes it fruitful.

Prof. Pareek emphasized that management can’t be taught through conventional mediums, as management can be tedious at times due to the fancy jargon required to be learned while studying it. His teaching philosophy revolves around imparting his industry expertise in byte-sized pieces to students and engaging them through it. This teaching approach enhances students’ understanding, boosts lecture engagement, and encourages students to ask questions to make the classes interactive. In addition, he provides projects such as business case studies of companies that tremendously help students gain experience and a practical understanding of the industry.

Q. How was the change from being President at Tata Motors to being a professor at IIT Bombay?

Prof. Pareek derives personal satisfaction from his role as a professor at IIT Bombay, where he has had the opportunity to interact with and mentor the bright minds in his classes. He manages to continue these relationships with the students even after the classes. He has a great time taking classes, and the students consistently surpass his expectations with the questions and ideas raised during his classes, year after year.

Q. What is the role of Industry collaboration in enhancing the academic environment at IITB?

Prof. Pareek remarked that Industry and Academia are thoroughly codependent on each other and require assistance from their counterparts to enhance further. The industry transforms many new ideas into reality and provides valuable insights and feedback for academia to work on.  

He also expressed concern over the ‘brain drain’ that happens with the students as they prefer foreign opportunities over domestic ones which hurts the industry. He emphasised that for India to become a top nation, the industry relies on locally developed new technologies as they are cost-effective, foster economic growth, and have the top talent and ample opportunities to work on them.

This collaboration also helps the students as by working in academia, they gain valuable insights on how the industry works, and the industry also benefits from student participation. There are countless collaborations currently happening between the industry and IITB involving both professors and students.

Q. What are the differences between MBA and HASMED students and their interactions with the professors?

The management courses are provided through Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management at IIT Bombay. They are available to B.Tech. students as minor courses and as IDDDP in management. SJMSOM also has courses for MBA and Doctoral students and runs executive programs. Prof. Pareek observes that as the students pursuing an MBA are more experienced, their interactions with the professors are mature and focus more on academics. On the other hand, B.Tech. students are impressionable. The right interaction can change their lives correctly; the onus is on the instructor to mentor and interact with them.

Q. What was the vision behind the curriculum of SOM101?

As Prof. Mayank Pareek was one of the minds tasked with creating a management course for B. Tech undergraduates, he recalls the dilemma of choosing who to curate the course for, final-year or first-year students. The first-year students were chosen to impart an interest in management to them from the start. The vision behind the course was to make sure that the students know and have industry experience in management and to encourage them into the startup ecosystem. From working in the industry, he understood the problems faced by recruiters, and this course was designed to help the students be ready to fulfill the industry’s needs.

This article was written as part of Insight’s Freshie Feature program.