Road to successful global careers: 'Double MBA' is becoming the next big tag

KOLKATA: When he joins McKinsey & Co, US as strategic consulting associate later this year, Moid Mohammed will be armed with an MBA from Columbia Business School. Nothing unusual about that, except that this is his second MBA, which he opted for five years after completing his first one from IIM Lucknow. One MBA is good. But two are even better. That's the feeling among a growing band of professionals like Moid, rooting for their second MBA from topline international institutes, despite having one from a reputed B-school in India. Moid joined IIM Lucknow immediately after completing his undergraduate programme in engineering. Five years down the line, after stints in management consulting at Pricewaterhouse Coopers and corporate strategy at Dubai Holding, he began his second MBA with the goal of moving into strategy consulting, an opportunity he says he would have found difficult to break into otherwise. "At IIM, I had no 'real world' experience to apply my learnings to. With work experience, I understood that there were many areas I needed to develop further. The second MBA gave me the opportunity to focus on some of these disciplines and make me a stronger business leader," says Moid. "At Columbia, I also got to study with a diverse class which advanced my international awareness and understanding." "You don't just pursue a second MBA to accelerate your career but also to catch up with education and new trends. It's especially good for people on track for leadership positions. However, one needs to be selective about the institute one chooses for the second MBA," says Yashwant Mahadik, VP, HR, Indian subcontinent at Philips. Networking opportunities are another reason for pursuing a second MBA, as Krishna Kumar, president, Philips Healthcare, testifies. He has one from IIM Ahmedabad followed by another from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management. "I also got to do some wonderful work on technology and biotech, whereas I was from an investment banking background. That year, I focused only on strategy, technology and biotech with a group of 90 students from diverse international backgrounds," says Kumar.