AvantGarde

“The future’s in the air; I can feel it everywhere; Blowing with the wind of change”- The Scorpions

The winds of change have been swirling through the world. Be it the Jasmine Revolution spread across the Arab world, the explosive nature of wiki-leaks breaking down the walls of information or even the change of guard at Apple with Steve Jobs walking into the sunset; Change has been the eternal constant.

We at Avant Garde are also bringing in change, and how! With a fresh batch of energetic, driven and enthusiastic editors joining our fold, Team Avant Garde has rung in the new. We hope that they can carry on the mantle over time and keep the flag of AG flying high (See Team link). But this change is not only in people but also in content. Building on the immense groundswell of support, we are now aiming to spread our wings and expand our reach even further. We now have an Alumni Speak section which would focus on the numerous achievements, current work areas and industry trends that our alumni network is exposed to.

Carrying forward the theme of Change, we have some interesting articles which bring out the many manifestations of change we are experiencing around us.

• Starting out on a solemn note, we pay ode to our alumnus, Sreejit Gopalakrishnan (Batch 2003) who passed away recently in tragic circumstances, through a novel article. This collection of memories, which has been started off by Mandeep Singh (Batch 2003), Ramana Kumar (Batch 2003) and Prof. Rahul Varman will live and grow with time as everyone contributing through comments and bringing forth a perspective on Sreejit as a person, friend, comrade, mentor etc. would be included in the main article. This way, we hope that one part of Sreejit Sir carries on with this article.

• The financial precipice which we see looming ahead of us is covered by Awshesh Shrivastava (Batch of 2013) by bringing out the various facets of the US Debt crisis.
• The technological revolution of the ‘tablet-pc’ which has changed the way we do business (customer interaction), stay connected and lead our lives is covered by Abhishek Sahu (Batch of 2013) through a global perspective and an emphasis on emerging markets.
• The split-up of one of the most trusted brands in India Hero-Honda has swept in a change in the business outlook, strategy, branding and market positioning of Hero Motors Corp. The numerous implications to Hero Motors are handled by Ankit Garg (Batch 2013).
• Along with this, the sweeping change in attitude of the people towards corruption and a new way forward in the form of a Jan Lokpal Bill is discussed by Saurabh Awasthi (Batch of 2013) with a balanced view of the entire topic that has captured our imagination and galvanized a country.
• The final part of the 3 part series by Nabarun Sengupta (Batch of 2012) on Emerging Markets and the role of governments in playing a stabilizing role in its growth.
• We also have the Summer Internship Reports of Aayush Jain in the area of —– and Nabarun Sengupta in the area of ‘Strategic Process Improvements in Internal Operations‘ (Apollo Health Street). This would give an idea of the type of industry exposure and the projects that the current 2^nd year batch is working on.

We hope that everyone enjoys this issue and shares their feedback through comment posts as well as direct mails. Do subscribe to the feeds if you find our platform vibrant. Cheers!!

Team AG