From Army to Management Consulting, Ketan left a 60kUSD Scholarship for IIM A

Ketan came to us at a fairly inflection point in his life. He was stepping out of his Army service commission and looking to restart his career in the corporate world. The biggest question mark, at least on the surface, was his age. He was already over 35 and trying to explore opportunities both in India and outside.

But with Army applicants, age is only one part of the equation. The real challenge is helping them see and then articulate how what they have done in the armed forces actually translates into corporate roles. Leadership, decision-making under pressure, ownership, operating in ambiguity, these are incredibly strong skills. But unless you put in the work to connect these to business outcomes and roles, they don’t automatically land the way they should. That’s where a lot of ideation goes in.

Ketan took this process very seriously. He built a very structured outreach plan with my advice and started connecting with alumni across the American schools he was targeting. This meant thoughtful messages, consistent follow-ups, and actually building conversations rather than just ticking off networking. It is definitely not easy for older international candidates, and even more so for veterans transitioning out of the armed forces, to be seen as safe recruits by MBA programs. But Ketan was able to push through that.

On top of that, he put in a lot of effort on interviews. We did multiple IIM Ahmedabad mock interviews, really pushing him on clarity of thought, structure, and how he was presenting his journey. And when the time came, he did exactly what he needed to do and performed strongly. In the end, he had multiple strong outcomes. An admit from IIM Ahmedabad, ISB, and a $60,000 scholarship from Olin Business School with multiple other interview invites.

Eventually, the decision became more personal. He and his partner were also starting a family, and he came back to us to discuss whether the US option made sense. My view was that he would likely stand out much more at IIM Ahmedabad and be better positioned for opportunities in the domestic market. He eventually chose that path.

Today, Ketan is working as a Strategy Consultant at Accenture Strategy.

Ketan didn’t try to force-fit his profile into something it wasn’t. He took the time to understand his own story, put in the work to position it well, and executed consistently. And that’s what made the difference.