Alumni Profiles: Abhishek Gulati

Meet UCL MSc Management Alum, Abhishek Gulati. Abhishek talks about his career journey and encourages you to network.

Please share a brief introduction to your career path, from graduation to where you are now.  

 After graduating from UCL, I joined Tiffany&Co. in London as a Retail Operations specialist and worked across functions with the brand. From forecasting trends to curating events for the brand It was an exceptional learning curve with the brand. I joined Gucci in India thereafter, where I curated events for clients and supported the retail ecosystem. An opportunity came across to join a growing EdTech start-up in India, and I was really interested to explore the same, and this was a gift of consistent networking. It has been three years I have been working with Mindler, a leading EdTech venture based out of India and the Middle East. Here I Lead Strategic Initiatives and I have built their global education vertical. I also consult a lot of edtech start-ups on their growth strategy. I have also been teaching Luxury Branding to MBA students as a visiting faculty at a university in India.  

All my roles have been secured through consistent and deliberate networking.  

I am a firm believer in transferrable skills, so every experience gained is a value addition

Provide a brief summary of your core duties and describe what skills are important to your role?   

The most prominent skills important to my role are: 

Communication, networking, problem solving, data interpretation, analytical skills and project management.  

Summary of core duties: 

• Lead business & sales planning and operations to drive user acquisition and revenue growth  
• Develop, validate various growth, and acquisition funnels  
• Engage cross-functionally with product, design, and content team to help refine product based on customer feedback 
• Build growth & sales team and took responsibility of customer satisfaction and feedback loops 
• Build partnerships with various customers and stakeholders in education space. 

How did your time at UCL prepare you for the workplace?

UCL was lifechanging for me.

It allowed me to realise what my core strengths are and how do I use the to my advantage. Ibelieve each facet of my experience at UCL enabled me to develop and grow holistically. 

UCL Careers did help me to connect with certain professionals, and I did attend the events that the university hosted throughout the program. 

Were there any challenges in your job hunt?  

 Oh yes, job hunt was anything but easy. The visa sponsorship and finding the right roles was a major challenge.  

Top tips for current students: List up to 3 short quick tips that you would like to share with current students.

1. Please be intentional in your approach when you network. It should not be a half-hearted attempt. 

2. Be consistent, things might not go your way initially, but eventually they will work out in the best way for you. 

3. Start early when it comes to the job hunt, don/t wait for opportunities to know on your door.