Shahbaz Merchant

University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School

“Driven to know as much about the world as possible and enjoy all intellectual richness on offer.”

Hometown: Mumbai, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am reasonably certain I don’t hear as well as the average person my age because of having attended too many heavy metal concerts. If I ever ask you to repeat yourself, this is probably why.

Undergraduate School and Major: Mumbai University, Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Markets)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Nuvama Wealth Management, Equity Research Analyst

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Oxford Saïd’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The broader university experience was a critical aspect of my decision, and the importance of this has been validated many times over since I arrived here. To be in the midst of incredible minds from a range of fields, beyond just at the business school, was a core appeal. In my job as an equity research analyst, the more you know about a diverse range of topics, the better poised you are to make sound investment decisions. I’ve had countless conversations with students from other departments, where I walked away with a whole new set of knowledge, fresh perspectives, and inspiration.

What course, club, or activity has been your favorite part of the Oxford Saïd MBA experience? The Asset Management Masterclass (AMM) was incredibly exciting. It was directly relevant to my career goals, and Nicholas Melhuish, Director of the AMM, is a brilliant instructor with a massive wealth of experience working for AMCs as a former practitioner. We also had a nice little stock pitching competition to cap it all off, with feedback from a panel of industry experts.

What is the most “Oxford” thing you have done so far as a full-time MBA student? A few spring to mind. Walking the streets of Oxford wearing the traditional academic dress and making my way to the Sheldonian for matriculation in one case, and for examinations in another, was a uniquely “Oxford” experience. Besides this, I’ve attended talks at the Oxford Union, made some incredible friends over a formal dinner, and enjoyed watching choirs perform at Worcester and Christ Church College.

Oxford is known as a place where worlds collide, be it in the classroom or the dining hall. What has been the most interesting interaction you’ve had so far as an Oxford MBA student? I was part of the Rewley Lecture and Dinner early in Michaelmas Term. The lecture was delivered at the Sheldonian, on the subject of AI, and the dinner followed right after at The Divinity School. The Divinity School is an intricately designed room, built in the 1400s, that was once used for delivering lectures on Theology. For the dinner, the room was furnished with round tables and adorned with exquisite blue lighting. A choir performed a little pre-meal hymn. As if the setting wasn’t good enough, I was flanked on one side by John Quelch and by Sir Howard Stringer on the other. I spent roughly the first half of the dinner conversing with Mr. Quelch about the potential of emerging economies, nuances of various healthcare systems, and his time as a student at Oxford. I spent the latter half interacting with Mr. Stringer about managing people, gaining pivotal career opportunities, and Hollywood. I’ve had plenty of interesting interactions at Oxford, but this was hands down the most memorable.

Describe the biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At my job in Nuvama, I was part of a team covering the banking and financial services sector (ex-insurance) in India. About a year into my role, a decision was made to hand over coverage of the insurance sector to our team. I viewed this as an interesting opportunity and took initiative to gain an understanding of life insurance companies in India and the approach for valuing them.  I eventually found myself leading coverage of the sector, and took charge of all relevant interactions with the equity sales team and with clients. Being able to take lead on a sector so early on in my career as an analyst was a key accomplishment. It not only served as testimony to the trust my seniors placed in me, but I also gained further conviction in my own abilities, learned tremendously from the experience, and discovered my preference for being a generalist and looking at sectors hitherto untouched by me.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: I have made meaningful progress on building a relevant network and seeking out guidance that has helped me further narrow down my post-MBA goal. Being proactive on this front has certainly helped, and the School’s resources and career support were useful in facilitating my progress.

What has been the biggest epiphany you’ve gained about yourself or the world since you started your MBA program? I have had several conversations with professors and senior practitioners since starting my MBA program. Through these conversations, I gained a close glimpse into the manner in which they view subject matters where they are experts. The quality of thought displayed by some of these individuals is quite enlightening. Their detailed observations of the nuances in a particular field – coupled with their ability to look at the big picture while maintaining cognizance of subtle causal links that can be manipulated to generate significant results – has given me perspective on the depth with which one can view things and insights for enhancing my own quality of thought. In terms of epiphany about myself, whereas I came into the program with a fairly clear post-MBA goal, I have since discovered preferences that have allowed me to gain even greater clarity on exactly the kind of role I want.

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