Mumbai is home to an estimated 5,000+ IIMA alumni across programs spanning decades: a vibrant community with stories to share, friendships to rekindle, and fresh connections to spark opportunities. The Mumbai Chapter finds myriad ways to bring this community together, turning shared interests into lively conversations and memorable gatherings.
Over the past two years, the mix has ranged from philosophy and private equity to a rooftop carnival, a documentary screening, and a roomful of professionals sporting 70s collars and singing along to Pancham.
It starts, as always, with Synchrony and a formula that holds: put incoming students, summer interns, and working alumni in one room and let conversation and advice flow. Synchrony 2026 drew 206 participants with conversations around surviving the academic rigour, cracking summer internships, finding your feet in Mumbai, as well as career pivots post 35!
There was planned and unplanned talent taking the stage, and the inevitable war cry – “IIMA ka tempo high hai!”
The Knowledge Series
The Mumbai chapter has brought together IIMA faculty and distinguished alumni for a vibrant mix of curated classroom sessions, giving alumni in Mumbai renewed learning, fresh perspectives, and plenty of food for thought.
Prof. Sunil Maheshwari brought ‘Management Lessons from the Bhagavad Gita’ to the WeSchool and Vidyalankar Institute auditoriums, drawing a collective 350 plus learners (alumni and their plus ones) aged 18 to 80—possibly the widest age range any management session in the city managed all year. His theme: Krishna and Arjuna as the original pairing of strategic vision with flawless execution, alongside role-model leadership, decision-making under uncertainty, and leading from the heart rather than the org chart.
Prof. Asha Kaul followed the epics into introspective territory with ‘Leadership Lessons from the Mahabharata’- exploring strategic agility, ethics, negotiation, conflict resolution, and crisis management from a narrative where almost every character makes at least one monumental call.
Prof. Saral Mukherjee enthralled audiences with two masterclasses in operational and strategic excellence. At the SP Jain campus, he dissected the ‘Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav’- a month-long festival with 12.1 million visitors, 80,000 volunteers, and zero budget overruns, built on the mechanics of a gift economy and modular organization that quietly ruined attendees’ tolerance for poorly run corporate offsites.
More recently, over 150 alumni gathered as Prof. Mukherjee led a deep dive into CEAT’s remarkable turnaround from a struggling firm in 2008 to a global award-winner and a share price surging 130x. The discussion explored how bold leadership, long-term capability building, and genuine employee ownership transform fragile “insect” companies into thriving, learning organizations.
In a surprise finale, Vice Chairman Anant Goenka and his leadership team joined the stage for a candid Q&A, sharing how mentorship and empowering people without quid pro quo fueled this extraordinary transformation.
Prof. Ramesh Bhat, former Director of IIMA, teamed up with PGP alumnus Kapil Modi (Carlyle) for a masterclass on Private equity and the startup ecosystem. Senior executives, founders, and investors worked through investment mechanics, venture valuation, deal structuring, portfolio risk, and India’s shifting regulatory landscape—offering frameworks founders could put to work the following Monday.
Deepak Jayaraman of Play to Potential fame, also a PGP alumnus, explored leadership philosophy, guiding executives on navigating critical career transitions, unlocking intrinsic strengths, and designing meaningful work.
The audience Q&A, curated by Chapter Secretary K. Sridhar, ignited candid discussions on pivots and professional identity beyond corporate titles, keeping the dialogue sharp, vulnerable, and grounded.
Rounding out the series: a ChatGPT for Middle Managers workshop, a very insightful and takeaways filled annual Union Budget panel hosted by Vivek Joshi (alum), CXO career sessions with leadership coach Luis Moniz (PGP 1978), and Happiness: Winning Through Mindfulness, for those who suspected there was more to life than deal flow.
On a different note, the chapter gathered at the P.D. Hinduja Hospital auditorium for a screening of Prof. Rajesh Chandwani’s National Award-winning documentary God, Vultures and Human, which chronicles the critical work of Organ Transplant Coordinators. Representatives from the MOHAN Foundation and medical experts joined the panel discussion afterwards, sparking a dialogue on organ donation that ran well past its scheduled close—the hallmark of an engaging evening.
Rooftops, Running Shoes, and R.D. Burman
The 8th Annual Family Get-Together took over the Hotel Orchid rooftop with 325-plus alumni, parents, spouses, and children, featuring magic shows, carnival games, photo booths, and live entertainment.
The chapter also partnered with the National Association for the Blind, whose visually impaired professionals offered foot and hand reflexology sessions – a thoughtful touch that many attendees highlighted as the evening’s best feature.
The Mumbai Chapter Marathon put runners aged 6 to 65 onto 2 km, 4 km, and 8 km routes, after which everyone recovered their calorie deficit over chai, samosas, and jalebis.
At 1522 Bar in Andheri East, 70-odd alumni turned up in vintage 70s attire for Retro Night, a tribute to R.D. Burman featuring karaoke and musical trivia hosted by Manish Pajan (PGP 1998). Reports on the vocal fidelity remain diplomatically mixed.
Looking Ahead
The Executive Committee coordinators – Omkar Biradar, Sridhar Keppurengan, Pratik Singhi, Nawdeep Puranik, and Prasad Patil – are already mapping out the upcoming calendar. Whether running, learning, or giving back, the core conviction remains unchanged: within the IIMAAA family, we don’t just network – we grow together.
