Rahul Jayamurugan

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta

“Geologist-turned-strategist with global ESG experience and a passion for solving real-world sustainability challenges.”

Hometown: Salem, Tamil Nadu

Fun Fact About Yourself: No day passes without music. I always solve math problems with songs playing in the background. I’m also deeply into metagrobology, especially logic and mathematical puzzles.

Undergraduate School and Major: B.Sc. (Applied Geology) from Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Senior Sustainability Consultant at Wire Consultancy

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of IIM Calcutta’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I chose IIM Calcutta for its academic depth in Finance and Economics, which I saw as essential to building credibility and expertise in ESG initiatives. With ESG becoming central to financial decision-making and investing, I wanted a program that would ground me in economic thinking and value creation, beyond environmental compliance. IIM Calcutta’s strong faculty, quant-driven rigor, and institutional legacy made it the perfect platform for that.

What has been your favorite course or extracurricular activity at IIM Calcutta? What has been the most important lesson that you have learned from it? My favorite courses at IIM Calcutta have been in Finance and Economics. As a child, I always wondered how economies function and how government structures and the economy are intertwined. The Economics courses sparked a deeper understanding of these questions. The Finance courses gave me the tools to evaluate business value through numbers.

What has been the best part of studying business in Kolkata? Studying in Kolkata has allowed me to explore a part of India I hadn’t experienced before. The IIM Calcutta campus feels like a tropical rainforest, with serene lakes and abundant birdlife. And I have to admit that I’m slowly getting addicted to Bengali sweets.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: One of my most significant career accomplishments was supporting one of the world’s largest single-site exporters of urea in securing environmental clearance from Qatar’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change for a significant infrastructure expansion. I contributed to Environmental Impact Assessment studies that supported regulatory approvals under tight timelines and high scrutiny. The experience exposed me to international compliance frameworks, sharpened my stakeholder management skills, and deepened my ability to address ESG challenges in complex industrial settings.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: My biggest accomplishment as an MBA student has been rediscovering my confidence in public speaking. I once presented as a Child Scientist at the 19th National Children’s Science Congress in 2011, a national-level program conducted by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science and Technology. Since then, I had not done public speaking for over a decade, which made class presentations before 90 peers initially feel intimidating. However, the frequent requirements of class presentations helped me overcome my hesitation and regain my lost confidence.

What is your class’s favorite hangout away from school? Why do you gather there? I usually meet my batchmates at the badminton court, where we play, chat, and catch up on everything from classes to life. It has become a refreshing way to stay active and stay connected. Of course, this happens only if I get permission from my 18-month-old daughter first.

What do you hope to do after graduation? After graduation, I hope to work at the intersection of sustainability, strategy, and impact, leveraging my technical and international background along with my business education to help organizations drive meaningful ESG transformation. Whether in consulting, corporate strategy, or ESG-focused roles, I am excited by opportunities that allow me to solve complex cross-functional problems and contribute to long-term value creation.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT CALCUTTA MBAEX CLASS OF 2026

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