Nihitha Alicherry

IIM Ahmedabad

“Never been one to take a traditional path or make the obvious choice.”

Hometown: Kochi, India

Fun fact about yourself: I’ve moved cities almost every 3 years (since I was 5), and this has led to a heightened curiosity for food, travel and new cultures. Along the way, I’ve picked up small souvenirs and countless memories and pushed myself to travel to a new place every few months. Moving cities and houses was taxing at the beginning, but I now look at it as a completely new experience; a new world I get to explore from scratch.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Manipal University, BA Journalism and Communication Studies

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? 82°E (a global celebrity-owned skincare and beauty startup)

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? NA

Where will you be working after graduation? I am one of three entrepreneurs selected for the prestigious IIMAvericks Fellowship programme, awarded by IIMA Ventures, the investment arm of IIM Ahmedabad. This programme offers mentorship, financial support, and access to a network of industry leaders, all of which will be instrumental in helping me launch my own startup.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Placement Cell Head – GMLC (General Management and Leadership Club)
• IIMAvericks Fellowship 2026-28 Recipient
• IIM Ahmedabad Entry Scholarship Recipient

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? At a career level, I am most proud of being awarded the Mavericks Fellowship by IIMA Ventures to build my own startup. For me, this was more than a recognition; it was a validation of my entrepreneurial intent and the clarity of thought I brought to translating classroom learning into a real business. It strengthened my confidence in navigating ambiguity and committing to the long game of building something meaningful.

At a personal level, participating in a drama competition stands out as an achievement. I performed as the lead female protagonist for an inter-IIM fest and secured third place. For the first time in my life, I delivered an entire performance in Hindi, which is not my native language. Stepping onto that stage required a very different kind of courage because I had never acted before. It pushed me outside my comfort zone, helped me find my voice in an unfamiliar setting, and remains one of the most fun experiences of my time at business school.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I started my career as a PR executive at the age of 21 and quickly switched gears to consumer goods startups a year later. Moving from marketing to category management and then finally to Founder’s Office roles, my career path has been anything but ordinary. My biggest professional accomplishment has been scaling one early-stage startup from inception to Rs.100+ crores in net revenue within 5 years and growing another one’s product portfolio from 7 to 30+ SKUs in less than 2 years.

I was able to accelerate my career trajectory by taking calculated risks and going headfirst into any and every opportunity I got. This led to my last promotion, making me the youngest AVP at my last organisation. I was only 28 at that time, and this was an early promotion that caught me completely off guard.

Why did you choose this business school? IIM Ahmedabad was my first choice for an MBA due to its renowned academic rigour. Coming from an arts degree background, everything I’ve learned about building a business has been on the job. Over the years, I’ve realised that while practical experience is great, it is essential for a business leader to have a strong grasp on business fundamentals. Hence, IIM Ahmedabad was the natural choice to help me bridge this gap; it gave me a platform to understand the theory behind building successful businesses and pushed me intellectually to look at things differently and come out of my comfort zone. The case study pedagogy further adds to this experience, as it helps me immediately correlate textbook theories to real-world problems.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favourite professor was Prof. Vishy. He was not only my microeconomics professor but also a mentor and a steady source of support throughout the year. I still remember the informal session he took at 9 p.m. at the end of our very first week, when most of us were overwhelmed and quietly questioning whether we belonged here. He addressed imposter syndrome head-on and reassured us that while the journey would be demanding, it was far from impossible. His line, “Help will be given to those who seek,” stayed with me and shaped how I approached the year.

His courses in microeconomics and game theory were rigorous, but they fundamentally changed how I think about markets and incentives. The concepts we discussed helped me spot structural gaps in pricing and competition, which directly shaped my startup idea and eventually led to my Mavericks Fellowship.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favourite course was Strategic Marketing, an elective in Term 4. The course was built around a live simulation of a competitive business environment, where our group had to make strategic decisions while competing against other teams. What made it particularly meaningful was how it brought together everything we had studied across earlier terms, from core marketing principles and consumer behaviour to operations and strategy. It felt like the first time the silos truly disappeared and the learning came together in a coherent manner.

The course was intense and demanded daily analysis, debate, and recalibration of our strategy. Coming in with prior experience as a category manager, I assumed it would feel familiar. Instead, it stretched me significantly. The professors pushed us beyond functional thinking and forced us to make trade-offs with incomplete information, much like a CEO would. It was rigorous, humbling, and deeply rewarding.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? One of the most meaningful MBA traditions for me was Manthan, an event in February where the incoming and outgoing batches come together on campus for three days of structured knowledge transfer and shared experiences. It was my very first event at IIM Ahmedabad, and in many ways, my initiation into the culture of the program. Between cultural events, sports, case discussions, and functioning on barely one or two hours of sleep, it offered a raw and honest glimpse of what life at IIMA would truly demand and reward. It set the tone for the intensity, camaraderie, and ownership that define the year.

Equally meaningful has been the dorm culture. This year, we made a conscious effort to build new traditions, celebrating festivals together, hosting impromptu cooking sessions, and organising spontaneous game nights amidst academic chaos. Those everyday moments created a strong sense of belonging and community. I hope future batches carry these traditions forward and make them even richer in their own way.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? If I were to approach the year again, I would worry far less about grades in the beginning. The academic rigour at IIMA is intense and very real, and it is nearly impossible to excel at everything simultaneously. It takes time to find your rhythm and define what success looks like for you. In hindsight, while the early months felt overwhelming and uncertain, things eventually settled into place once priorities became clearer.

In the rush to keep up and say yes to every opportunity, I also overlooked some of the campus experiences that make the MBA holistic. I did not make enough use of facilities like the sports complex, which could have offered both balance and perspective. I now realise that creating space for physical and mental well-being is not a distraction from the journey but an essential part of it.

What is the biggest myth about your school? One of the biggest myths about the school is that the academic rigour will consume every waking hour and leave no room for anything else. While the coursework is undeniably demanding and the standards are uncompromising, you still retain agency over how you design your year. The program forces you to become intentional about your time, but it does not dictate how you must spend every minute.

If sleep is a priority, you will find a way to protect your seven or eight hours. If networking or co-curricular involvement matters more, there are more than enough opportunities to immerse yourself. The year is also a rare space to experiment. I have seen batchmates pick up entirely new skills and even learn sports like tennis and swimming alongside academics. The environment stretches you, sometimes to your limits, but in doing so it builds resilience and clarity. It may test you, but it also equips you to emerge stronger and more self-aware.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? Ahmedabad loves its festivals!

During Navratri (a 9-day Hindu festival) and Diwali, the city was completely alive. For that one month, it barely seemed to sleep. There was a different event almost every day, on campus and beyond, and I genuinely found myself running out of clothes to wear.

What stood out even more was how inclusive the celebrations felt. People across ages, religions, and backgrounds came together with equal enthusiasm. The streets and the campus were filled with music, food, colour, and a kind of collective energy that is hard to describe. We danced late into the night, showed up to classes the next morning, and probably gained a few kilos from the endless sweets. It was chaotic, joyful, and unforgettable.

What movie or television show (e.g. The Big Short, The Founder, Mad Men, House of Lies) best reflects the realities of business and what did you learn from it? The movie that best reflects the realities of business for me is The Founder. What makes it compelling is that it strips away the glamour often associated with entrepreneurship and focuses instead on structure, leverage, and control. Ray Kroc did not invent the product; he recognised the scalability of a system. The film underscores that enduring success is rarely about the idea alone. It is about operational discipline, ownership of key assets, and designing a model that compounds over time.

The turning point, when the business shifts toward owning the real estate beneath each franchise, was particularly instructive. It illustrates how understanding the underlying economics of a model can completely transform value creation. At the same time, the film does not shy away from the ethical tensions that accompany ambition and scale. It is a reminder that business rewards clarity and execution, but it also demands reflection on the kind of legacy one wants to build.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? One of the most thoughtful ways the school has integrated AI into the program is by treating it as a tool to be mastered rather than feared. Its use is not penalised outright; instead, we are encouraged to engage with it responsibly and critically. The institution recognises that AI literacy is now a core managerial capability and actively pushes us to upskill rather than avoid it.

We have dedicated electives such as Gen AI in Marketing (GAIM) and Professional Leadership in the Age of Intelligence (PLAI), where industry practitioners teach us how AI is being deployed in real business contexts. Beyond formal coursework, the campus regularly hosts workshops, speaker sessions, and events focused on AI and how to leverage it in strategy, operations, and leadership.

AI is also woven into classroom discussions across subjects. We routinely debate how it is reshaping industries, whether it is displacing certain roles, and how managers should respond. The biggest insight for me has been that AI does not replace judgement; it amplifies it. The real advantage lies not in access to the tool, but in asking better questions, applying structured thinking, and combining human intuition with technological capability.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? One classmate I deeply admire is Aastha Gupta. Her journey stands out not just because there are few women with such broad industry impact to look up to, but because of the courage and clarity she brings to every challenge she takes on. She has had a long and distinguished career as a creative director and brand strategist, leading high-profile campaigns and content for some of India’s biggest entertainment events. From there, she made the bold decision to pursue an MBA. That pivot alone speaks to her willingness to step outside comfort and expand her impact.

What inspires me most is the way she handles her weaker areas with relentless focus. Rather than shy away from discomfort, she tackles gaps head-on, consistently pushing herself to grow. Her clarity of thought, ambition, and level-headedness have raised the bar for everyone around her, and she does all of it with a kindness that makes people want to improve alongside her. Her blend of deep creative expertise with strategic and business acumen is rare, and seeing how she brings both to the classroom and beyond has pushed me to think bigger and more holistically about my own growth.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? The first item on my professional bucket list is to build one of India’s fastest and leanest unicorns, designed natively for the AI era. I want to create a company that is not just high-growth but structurally intelligent, where technology meaningfully enhances decision-making, efficiency, and scale. For me, the aspiration is not valuation alone, but building a model that proves Indian startups can be globally competitive while remaining disciplined, focused, and future-ready.

The second is centred on impact. Giving back has been a consistent thread in my life, from volunteering during school and college to leading and participating in CSR initiatives at work. Over time, I would like to establish a foundation or meaningfully support one that works closely with marginalised communities. Professional success, to me, feels incomplete without creating tangible, sustained change beyond the balance sheet.

What made Nihitha such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“If there’s one word that captures Nihitha Alicherry, it is remarkable—not in a loud way, but in the quiet, steady way that leaves a lasting mark.

With her foundation in media, communication, and brand storytelling, Nihitha brought a refreshing narrative to the classroom. She joined the one-year MBA-PGPX at IIMA not merely to earn a degree, but to expand her impact—from shaping stories to shaping strategy. And she pursued that shift with clear intent.

In a cohort filled with sharp analytical minds, Nihitha added a deeply human perspective. While discussions often centered on models and metrics, she gently steered them back to people. She reminded the class that behind every strategy is a story, behind every brand is trust, and behind every number is a human being.

Beyond academics, Nihitha brought authenticity. Having worked closely with founders and growing brands, she understands risk, ambiguity, and the courage required to build from the ground up. Her insights were grounded in lived experience, not just theory. Her ability to simplify complex ideas has naturally lead her towards building her own venture after MBA.

Nihitha represents the kind of leader business schools aspire to nurture—strategic yet human, articulate yet grounded, ambitious yet empathetic. For the depth she brought, the clarity she offered, and the positive imprint she left on those around her, Nihitha truly embodies the Brightest and Best of the MBA Class of 2026 at IIMA.”

Prof Viswanath Pingali
Chairperson, Placements
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA)

 

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