Creating Solutions: Get to know MBA alumnus Anupam Jalote

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Anupam Jalote (MBA '02) is the founding CEO of iCreate, the International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology. He earned dual Krannert degrees through a partnership with GISMA Business School in Hannover, Germany.

"The international nature of the class attracted me — in a globally connected world, I felt that this would really better equip me. And it did," he says. "It also made me proud to be associated with one of the leading Universities in the U.S., one with such a rich history of achievements."

His favorite memories of his time in the program were the numerous team projects. "There was such an intense bonding and breaking of stereotypes and cultural barriers due to the intense team work needed in each module," he says. "Almost two decades later, some of our original teams are intact and regularly in touch."

Jalote says one of the MBA program's greatest strengths was a focus on quality of work. "It forced me to be intellectually rigorous and gave me very strong fundamentals, especially in economics, finance and strategy," he says. "Working in international teams with some very bright minds instilled a quiet confidence in me — it gave me a sense of self-worth."

Prior to his current role at iCreate, Jalote served as director and CEO at GreenOil Energy Sciences, his own venture-funded research and innovation based social enterprise that produces renewable energy using locally available organic and farming waste.

"I’ve always been innovative and a strategic thinker," he says. "After heading sales, operations and profit centers, I found my dream job as the head of one of India’s best innovation and start-up ecosystems."

As the independent center of "Next Generation Entrepreneurship," iCreate blends creativity, innovation, engineering, and product design and leverages emerging technologies to evolve out-of-the-box applications. Its mission is to facilitate the entrepreneurial pursuits of youth that focus on innovative applications for wealth generation, employment creation and global competition.

"As an incubator, we support tech innovation based start-ups and help convert them to successful enterprises," Jalote says. "Our domains are products based on embedded systems and IoT, leading to data analytics, further leading on to machine learning and AI.

"Our areas of focus are very large, high impact projects that harness best in class innovation to create new solutions that have the potential to positively impact millions, from energy storage and sub components of EVs to water tech, health tech and fintech."

Jalote offers some sage advice to budding entrepreneurs and those who are early in their careers. "Focus very hard on the value you are adding to the situation you are in and develop the ability to clearly see the line connecting your work to consumer benefit or your organizational benefit," he says. "This will make you an indispensable member of the team."