- What do you consider to be the applicant's primary talents or strengths?

When I compare Rakesh to his colleagues, I find him to be quite mature and capable. I have been
consistently amazed at his great analytical skills. One incident was when we were facing some
problem in Gati project regarding 2G data speed. He then came up with a quick fix, prepared a
proper action plan and put all his efforts to increase cell throughput and subsequently the overall
data growth.
Another commendable attribute of Rakesh was his adaptability. He was given different kinds of
work like Data projects, Voice KPI, Site Planning, MRO and then 3G optimization and has
exceeded the expectations every time. His above par performance earned him best rating and he
was assigned higher responsibilities, much ahead of his batch mates.

- Discuss the applicant's weaknesses and the efforts, if any, the applicant has made to improve
in these areas.
Rakesh is an emotional person and get attached to the things quickly. He was shifted from 2G
team to 3G team. At 2G work, some of the live projects were based on his ideas which he was
handling from past two years so it became all the more difficult for him to leave them. This
though desirable in an ideal situation, resulted in him stretching way beyond normal work hours
daily to meet deadlines with quality work. I discussed the same and advised him to prioritize the
things in order to make a better work life balance.
I was extremely happy with the way he incorporated my feedback positively in his work attitude,
this has predominantly confirmed that he is a person who is ready to flourish and improve his
performance.
- Comment on the applicant's ability and willingness to work in a team environment.
Rakesh has strong interpersonal and team skills which help him work in a coordinated manner.
He has learned all the nuances which go into the making of a string and committed team and
knows now the ways and means to boost productivity and target achievement. While working on
various assignments he understands and evaluates the group members potential and skill sets
and then delegates the work to the team members. He takes responsibility in handling the critical
and difficult areas himself and thereby sets an example for the others to follow. Being the part of
various CFTs, he coordinated with other departments and vendors in an efficient manner for
timely completion of projects.
- Describe your observations concerning the applicant's leadership.
Rakesh has gone beyond our expectation and has emerged as a leader in the true sense. He is an
innovative person with a clear-cut approach to his assignments or tasks. His flexibility has
enabled him to work with cohesion wherein he functions well as a team leader and brings out his
best while working as a team member under a team leader. Any task given to him motivates him
to take the ownership of the project; he outperforms aiming to achieve accurate deliverance of
the same. An effective planner, he discusses the strategy with his peers and voices his opinion on
the in-depth issues which might erupt as an obstacle later on. His courage to encounter issues
before the start of the execution generates better and positive results.
He is always prolific for taking ownership and initiative, no matter how complex the task is. He
has shown exemplary potential in managing end-to-end project responsibilities .During the initial

days of his joining at Idea, he demonstrated his excellent leadership and analytical skills when he
played a pivotal role in increasing the throughput by 20% and his efforts doubled the data
volume from 2600GB/day to 5700GB/day which resulted in increasing the circle revenues by Rs
97 Million.
- How will a graduate business degree contribute to new employment, or the candidate's
managerial advancement in his/her current organization?
I believe that this is the right time for Rakesh to pursue an MBA from your esteemed University.
With a vast experience of working in technical as well as managerial role, it is time that he
should shift to a higher position in his chosen domain, for which an MBA seems apt. He will be
able to further refine his skills and abilities that will help him to achieve his career goals. An
thus, an MBA from Simon will add a mile stone to his career.
- Provide any further comments that you believe would aid the committee in the evaluation of
the applicant.
I am greatly impressed by Rakesh personality and feel that he has the right aptitude for a career
in management. As a good manager he is always confident and has a winning attitude. He is
extremely focused and never shies away from taking up a challenge. He displayed great drive
and maturity in the most challenging projects and tremendous learning capabilities and
innovative perspective. Many a times I have witnessed him managing the toughest situations. He
truly demonstrated his managerial and leadership skills when he came forward and took the
initiative to handle "the Minimum Rollout Obligation Activity Completion" project and led from
front. The way he coordinated with local O&M engineers, local municipality body, urban
ministry, zonal team and vendors and completed the project within the stipulated timeline is
highly commendable.
I vouch his decision to pursue an MBA at this juncture of his career. He has the right mix of
intellect and personality to face the rigors of the program. I strongly recommend his candidature
to your esteemed University and wish him the best.