A Summer at the Heart of Adani
Student reflection by Shubham Dixit (Hindi target, C’27 W’27)
India’s growth story has always astonished me. How could a nation so young come to be one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world? Being the only one of the three conglomerates still run by a first-generation entrepreneur, the Adani Group has shocked the entire world with its massive feats in developing infrastructure across all sectors for a rapidly expanding India. I just knew I had to get in on this, so after months of incessantly glancing at my phone for responses to cold emails, I had resolved that the Adani Group was where I wanted to take the next step in my career.
Adani Corporate House in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
At Adani, while my ID card simply read “Summer Analyst,” I couldn’t have imagined an experience more immersive, stimulating, and fulfilling than this one. Upon arriving, I was placed in the Managing Director of Adani Green Energy’s office, where I was prescribed my task for the next two months: write a case study outlining the company’s financial metrics, risk assessments, strategic synergies, and alignment with governmental regulations over time. I began by conducting my due diligence online, and after I had successfully acquired a rudimentary understanding of Adani Green Energy’s business model and the intricate network of synergies that it had with other companies within the Group, my supervisors gave me free rein over how I wanted to process it.
I spent a couple of weeks going from department to department interviewing top management personnel about every nook and cranny of the business. By the end of this interview period, I felt like I had attained a strong understanding of what goes into the renewable energy business, from concepts as foreign (at least for me) as engineering to more familiar fields such as business development. Upon completion of this stage, my supervisors accompanied me on a visit to two of Adani’s most significant sights: Mundra Port, which is India’s largest port, and Khavda, the location where the world’s largest single-location hybrid renewable energy park is being constructed. This was indeed the cherry on top, as I was able to physically observe the scale at which Adani was operating and understand how all of the departments I was interacting with in the weeks prior played a significant role in successfully implementing and executing Adani’s vision.
One of the few images of Khavda that I was authorized to share (unfortunately, no pictures from Mundra Port were approved)
While I could ramble on, I strongly believe that two of the most important learnings I derived from my experience at Adani were not even remotely specific to these:
- You can never conduct enough research. While researching, continue to ask yourself questions until you find yourself falling down an infinite rabbit hole of inquiries (stay curious). Do not stop until you formulate your own conclusions and can flawlessly defend your stances. This means being capable of taking raw data out of isolation and providing meaningful context to those statistics.
- True business education stems from interpersonal relationships. I am grateful to my supervisors for allowing me to interview practically all of the business functions, as it facilitated a comprehensive understanding of what makes Adani a strong business. Immersion is key, and I can attest to the fact that the Huntsman Program does a beautiful job of fostering that practice.
My building, known as Commercial Tower 1
Ultimately, the Adani Group certainly provided me with the opportunity to explore an industry that I had no prior exposure to, and in hindsight, I could not be more grateful. Aside from all the learning that took place and the countless late nights that I spent at the office, I was able to meet amazing people and discover a couple of things about myself that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Without the Huntsman Program, I never would have envisioned the chance to immerse myself in a dynamic industry like renewable energy or work at a conglomerate as influential as the Adani Group. The program’s unique combination of language study and international business classes enabled me to engage with this opportunity in a truly meaningful way, expanding my perspective on global business and equipping me with the tools and mindset to seize it. My Hindi studies proved invaluable as I navigated cultural nuances and connected with colleagues at the Managing Director’s office, where I presented a case study on Adani Green Energy’s financial and strategic positioning. This experience gave me an unparalleled understanding of what makes an enterprise thrive. The structured learning, coupled with meaningful interpersonal exchanges, reaffirmed my belief in the transformative power of real-world experience.
