Ten years in one company is by no means a short stint. But for Vikas Prashad, the experience at ICICI Bank only gets better over time. This IIPM alumni, who has been instrumental in expanding ICICI’s business potential in India as well as abroad, has a lot to tell you about, how the bank gave him some wonderful opportunities and helped shape his career.
Coming from a middle-class family with high hopes and aspirations, his career journey has had some interesting twists and turns. Vikas was born and brought up in Delhi and choose IIPM to pursue his MBA. He passed out from IIPM in 1998 with a specialisation in finance & marketing. It gave him a stepping stone to enter the banking sector. Herein, he strengthened his basics, which still assist him on the professional front. He fondly remembers the day, when he was selected by Citigroup as a part of the campus placement at IIPM. At Citigroup, he started the work as a management trainee in the collections team. This period was the toughest in terms of job profile, as he had to recover money credited by the bank to the customers. For this, he had to travel at odd hours, be it six in the morning or even 11 in the night to catch hold of customers and he wasn’t that satisfied. One day, his father’s friend gave him a life changing advice, when he told him, “Whatever job you undertake, you will have to work very hard, and you must not get disillusioned.”
Following this mantra, he moved on with renewed determination and quickly got transferred as customer service officer and promoted further as customer service manager at the Citigroup. He was promoted much ahead of the others, because he always believed in giving more than 100% to the job undertaken. For want of better career prospects, Vikas then moved to ICICI Bank. At ICICI Bank, he was part of a team that was set up for an important product launch – that of the Business Multiplier Current Account. It is now called Roaming Current Account. Since it was a product for the masses, a lot of research was involved. He had to go around in the markets to get customer feedback. For his efforts and achievements, he was soon designated as the Regional Product Manager. He demonstrated his knowledge and skills here and leveraged his experience further into the sales domain and his next promotion took him to the level of Regional Sales Manager. Vikas contributed excellent numbers to the business and was well recognised for the value additions he made. He stood out in terms of his capabilities as compared to his colleagues and this was why the bank gave him the opportunity to explore the other part of the world in Bahrain, where he continues to work from.
He follows a democratic style of leadership and completely admires Vivek Kanwar, his former boss, who later joined Aditya Birla Money as MD. Vikas says that Vivek is a great human being and his ingenuity and affection is something that his team loves him for. Vikas makes it a point to listen to the views expressed by his employees, but the final decision is always taken by him.
The expertise he developed and his contributions to ICICI’s business objectives paved the way for a new designation, Head of Retail and Private Banking. In this position, he is accountable for assets, loan products, retailing, et al. The expectations of customers change, when it comes to global markets and the bank has to exceed customer expectations. Being at such a senior position, Vikas even handles a few customer grievances. He has a set of three principles that he follows to the hilt: One, never bring a problem to your boss without a solution; two, you are paid to think and not complain; and three, never appear to be stressed in front of your boss, customer and employees.
On the personal front Vikas is a fun loving and a completely family person. He married his childhood friend Ruchi, who also studied with him at IIPM. She worked with GE SBI cards in Gurgaon before they moved to Bahrain. At present, she is a home maker and takes care of the family and their two children Riya and Aryan. Vikas likes socialising on weekends, often hosts dinner for friends and goes out with the family for movies and shopping. He also likes going out for holidays with family once a year.
After spending more than 10 years at ICICI Bank, Vikas has also learned the benefits of being stable and also advises young aspirants that one should never take a decision in a hurry. He sums up with another of his cherished mantras, “Career planning is an oxymoron. The most exciting opportunities tend to be unplanned.”
