PROGRAMME

MBA Programme

Dear Applicant,
Each year INSEAD selects a limited number of talented young professionals who have demonstrated high potential to succeed in an
international business career.

Selection is based on a combination of an individual's academic performance, leadership potential, personal characteristics and international
motivation, as well as willingness to learn and contribute to the exchange of ideas at INSEAD. The purpose of the admissions procedure is to
identify evidence of these qualities and to select classes with an overall balance of academic competence, diversity of background, work
experience, personal characteristics and a strong commitment to international business.

For further information about the INSEAD MBA Programme and the admissions process, please consult our website
[Link]

Thank you for considering the INSEAD MBA Programme. We look forward to receiving your application.

The MBA Admissions Team

Programme information
Please select one option below to indicate your home campus preference. Home campus is the campus where you are formally registered for
the entire duration of the MBA Programme (from Period 1 to Period 5). Unless and until you are successful in obtaining a Campus Exchange,
as validated by the MBA Office through a bidding process, you remain registered to your home campus and must attend classes offered at the
home campus.

If you choose the value “Both campuses”, this choice means that you have no strong preference as to which of the INSEAD MBA campuses
you are registered for. If you do have a preferred home campus, please ensure you state your choice below. INSEAD will endeavour to
accommodate your preferences.

Please note that home campus choice does not influence final admissions decisions, as it is not taken into account when your file is presented
to the Admissions Committee.

Once we have allocated you a home campus upon admission, it is very difficult to change.
When choosing your home campus preference below, we would like to suggest that you consider the following:
Consider your personal situation, which could influence this choice
Take into account where you plan to work after your MBA and on which campus you will want to be for the recruitment period

Should you wish to have more information on how the campus exchange works, please check [Link]
programmes/mba/academics#campus-exchange
Campus * Fontainebleau

Are you a candidate for the dual-degree programme between the INSEAD MBA and SAIS MA international relations?

Dual Degree No

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 1

 PERSONAL DATA

Identity
Family name * Singh

First name(s) Karanjit Preferred first Karan

* name *
Please use a capital letter to start your name and
then lowercase.

Form of Mr Gender * Male

address *
Date of birth * 20/10/1990 Tow n of birth Moga

Country of India Marital status Single

birth *
Nationality 1 * Indian Nationality 2

Nationality 3

Address
Address type Street (part1) Street (part2) Tow n Postal code Country State
Mailing B-202, Lovely Home Apts, plot-5, Sec-5, Dw arka New Delhi 110075 India Delhi (UT)

Permanent B-202, Lovely Home Apts, plot-5, Sec-5, Dw arka New Delhi 110075 India Delhi (UT)

Phones
Phone type Country extension Number Preferred
Mobile 91 9811577408 yes

Home

Business

Permanent

Emails
The e-mail address you initially provided to register has automatically been transferred to this page and cannot be changed as you will need it in the future
for login purposes. Please enter any additional e-mail addresses that you have. Please note that all admissions communications will be sent to all
declared e-mail addresses. If you do not wish to be contacted on your professional e-mail address, please do not enter it here.

Email type Email Email Preferred

Personal [Link]@[Link] yes

Business

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 2

 EXAM RESULTS

All applicants are required to take the GMAT test and have the scores directly reported to INSEAD (code DL3-S8-89 for GMAT). Please report the percentile
for both the quantitative and verbal sections of the GMAT as well as the IR score and the total GMAT score. Please list all the GMAT scores you have
obtained.
NB: In countries where the GMAT test is not offered, we will accept a GRE test instead. Similarly, a GRE test is acceptable for prospective students looking to
follow the Dual Degree path. The ETS code for the GRE is 0970. In cases where applicants have taken both the GRE and the GMAT, they must report both
scores as part of the application.

GMAT results
Total Verbal % Quantitative % Integrated reasoning score Date test taken
770 99 86 8 30/07/2017

GRE results
Verbal % Quantitative % Date test taken

English test
Test type Score (if applicable) Date test taken
TOEFL

TOEIC

PTE

For TOEFL, please arrange to have ETS send your test scores directly to INSEAD, code 0970. For PTE Academic, the relevant code for INSEAD is: 22W-R2-00.
If you have a university degree (a minimum of one full-time academic year with a diploma received from that host university) where all courses were taught
exclusively in English (an exchange programme does not qualify), please send written proof that the language of instruction was English.
Please attach copies of all GMAT/GRE and English test score reports in the Supporting Documents section.

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 3

 ACADEMIC DEGREES

Academic Degrees
If your academic institution is not available in the drop down list, please select “other university”.
Your transcripts should indicate both diploma and grades achieved from each college or university that you have attended. We accept transcripts in English
or French. All others must be accompanied by a certified English translation.
For us to start processing your application, the transcripts may be either uploaded in the section “Supporting Document” available in the menu on the left
(scanned copies) or sent to INSEAD via post by the applicant or by the academic institution directly.
Should you be admitted to the MBA Programme, you will be asked to send your original transcripts and degree to the Admissions Office by
post.

Country Institution Level Degree received Start date End Date Major Field Full/Part
time

India Delhi Postgraduate Master of Business 09/07/2012 07/04/2014 Management Full Time
University Admin.

India Delhi Graduate Bachelor in Engineering 08/08/2008 01/06/2012 Electronics and Full Time
University Communication

Academic Distinction
Distinction Grantor Date
Dean's Honor Roll, MBA University of Delhi

Merit Scholar for all four years of graduate studies University of Delhi

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 4

 CURRENT WORK
EXPERIENCE
Company
Country * India Company * Godrej Properties Limited

Street * UM House, Plot-35, Sector-44 Postal code * 122002

Tow n * Gurgaon Sector of Real Estate

activity *
Number of 1000
employees
locally *
Company 17330000000 Revenue Indian Rupee
revenue Currency
Current Position
Job title * Senior Manager, Business Job function * Business Dev./Corporate Plan.
Development

Date of 01/12/2016 Expected 17/12/2018

appointment leaving date *
in current role
*

Gross annual 2158119 NB: until the start of the programme or earlier if you plan to leave before.
salary Salary Indian Rupee
(excluding Currency *
any bonuses)
*

Bonus 236000 Bonus Indian Rupee

compensation Currency
Number of Total staff
staff directly under your
reporting to responsibility
you
Contact
May w e Email
contact your
employer?
Title Full name

Country code Phone

Sponsorship
Employer Do you intend
support to apply for
scholarships?
Programme Additional
payment source of
funding

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 5

 PROFESSIONAL
BACKGROUND
Previous Full time positions
Please make sure you specify ALL the full-time positions you have held in your career (even within the same company) not repeating current or most
recent one.

Starting Leaving Gross annual salary (excluding

Country Company date date Job title City any bonuses) Currency

India Godrej Properties Senior Manager Indian

01/04/2016 30/11/2016 New Delhi 1980777 Rupee
Limited Strategy

Godrej Properties Manager, Indian

India 01/04/2015 31/03/2016 New Delhi 1524013
Limited Strategy Rupee

Godrej Properties Manager Mumbai and Indian

India 02/06/2014 31/03/2015 1364000
Limited Designate New Delhi Rupee

India Reliance Industries Indian

08/04/2013 31/05/2013 Summer Intern Mumbai 600000 Rupee
Ltd

Other Information
Total duration in months of full time positions held
NB: from your first full time position until the start of the programme.

Number of 55
months *
Please briefly explain any time gaps (2 months or more) since leaving high school that are unaccounted for in your application (30 words maximum).

Explanation

Part time work

Country Company Starting date Leaving date Job title City Gross annual salary Currency

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 6

 JOB DESCRIPTION

Briefly summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of w ork, major responsibilities, and w here relevant, employees under
your supervision, size of budget, clients/products and results achieved. (short answ er) *
As Senior Manager, Business Development, I am responsible for driving the grow th of Godrej Properties’ North Zone through effective
deployment of capital. My role entails evaluating and executing transactions – primarily joint ventures- that tie up land parcels for my firm. My
day to day w ork involves building financial models, conducting analysis, formulating business plans, making sales pitches to potential JV
Partners, negotiating the terms of transactions and conducting due-diligence. I engage w ith both internal and external stakeholders as w ell
as senior management aligning them to create w in-w in situations. My recent w ork includes a recommendation on 5 year grow th strategy to
increase the return on capital employed by over 300 percent and thereby spur the Zone’s grow th.

W orking under a matrix structure w ith no direct reportees, I have mentored 5 incoming graduate students on eclectic projects in the past
couple of years. Of these five, 4 students have been recruited by the firm. In addition, I have led cross functional teams on projects of
strategic importance to the firm such as creating a benchmark handover experience for our projects w herein I led a group of 10 members,
most of w ho w ere senior to me.

In less than one and a half years into my current role and having evaluated over 20 transactions under a variety of capital structures and JV
arrangements, I have achieved a flurry of good performances w hich have not only been acknow ledged by Management but also helped the
business in North Zone. Some of my notable results include independently executing 4 term-sheets w ith combined top line of over USD 1
billion and signing 2 JV transactions (w ithin a year v/s just 1 signed by the entire team in the previous year) w ith potential revenues of over
USD 400 million. I also led the restructuring a defunct 2 year old JV transaction w orth over USD 160 million and steered it to successful launch,
an achievement for w hich I w as bestow ed w ith 2 Bright Spot aw ards (aw arded to ~10 employees out of 220 in the Zone) in a single quarter.
Furthermore, I devised market entry strategy for tw o key micro-markets and executed term sheets in each and in total closed 50% of my
entire department’s term-sheets in the previous fiscal.

W hat w ould be your next step in terms of position if you w ere to remain in the same company? (short answ er) *
I shall progress to the position of Deputy General Manager, Business Development, North Zone w herein I w ill be responsible for leading a 2-3
member team and managing the annual deployment capital of USD 100 million, w hich is double of w hat my entire team deployed in the
previous fiscal.

Alternately, in line w ith my career aspiration to gain breadth of exposure, I can move further dow n the business value chain to the Sales and
Marketing function, lead a sales team and be responsible for generating sales of USD 350 million annually.

Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. Describe your career path w ith the rationale behind your choices.
(short answ er) *
Back in college, I had an aspiration of managing an enterprise and post completing my Bachelors, I joined an MBA program to pursue this end.

Not w anting to restrict myself to any particular domain and instead aiming to gain a panoptic range of experience across different business
functions, I saw General Management as a concomitant fit for me and joined Godrej Group in June 2014 as part of its leadership program for
management graduates.

During the initial 6 months, I had 3 rotational stints at Godrej Properties w here had the opportunity to w ork on diverse projects such as
creating a price-benchmarking model, analyzing car-park efficiency etc. w ith different functional teams. In these short stints, my penchant for
problem solving grew further and post completion of the induction, I internally interview ed for a strategy role w here my w ork involved project
level P/L management, project feasibility and optimisation, short term and long term business planning, and critical problem solving. In doing
so, I became the first member of the Strategy vertical w ith no prior w ork experience.

During my time in Strategy, as I elevated from Manager Designate to Manager to Senior Manager, I engaged w ith almost all business
functions on a regular basis and through collaboration, w as able to bring about superior results such as record profit booking in Godrej
Summit (one of our North Zone projects) and reduction in customer outstanding payments from 18% to 3%. I then, after completing 2 years in
Strategy, decided to move up the business value chain into my current role in Business Development, a function I had limited exposure to, in
order to positively impact the most critical aspect of Godrej's business. In Business Development, I’m tasked w ith deploying capital in
transactions that encourage the grow th of the firm.

Discuss your short and long term career aspirations w ith an MBA from INSEAD. (short answ er) *
Having w orked in Strategy and Business Development roles w here I establish strategic partnerships at Godrej Properties and seeing the
impact of my w ork on the organization, I am now inspired to create a bigger impact on an international scale, across organizations and
industries. Hence, my immediate career aspiration is to take up a strategy consulting position at a leading consulting firm such as McKinsey or
BCG and help clients tackle strategic business problems.

My long term career aspiration is to rise to a leadership position w here I head a practice at a global consulting firm and am not only
recognized as a thought leader on turnaround strategy but also responsible for driving the firm’s revenues and grow th.

My current role entails a lack of international mobility and a second MBA from a leading international institute w ill both impart a global mindset
and help plug the gaps in my education and experience, allow ing me to hone my strategy and leadership skills and putting me in good stead
to achieve my career aspirations. Some topics that seem compelling to me are Blue Ocean Strategy, Valuation and Leadership in today’s
technology driven context. Moreover, w ith most consulting firms preferring to recruit from Business Schools an MBA now from an international
business school is the next essential step for me to move tow ards/to realizing my goals.

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 7

 JOB DESCRIPTION

If you are currently not w orking or if you plan to leave your current employer more than 2 months before the programme starts, please explain
your activities and occupations betw een leaving your job and the start of the programme. (optional)

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 8

 INTERNATIONAL
EXPOSURE
International exposure
Please list your most significant examples of international exposure that you have experienced, living, studying, working or travelling outside your own
country.

Activity From To Country

Travelling 28/07/2016 14/08/2016 Australia

Visiting family 14/02/2018 03/03/2018 Canada

Travelling 22/12/2016 27/12/2016 Sri Lanka

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 9

 LANGUAGES

Language Declaration
Prior to completing the table below please refer to INSEAD’s Language Policy: here
Please declare and self-assess the languages you speak in the table below by using INSEAD’s scale as follows:
Native Native language

Fluent Ability to communicate very fluently and precisely in complex situations CEFR C1 & C2

Business Ability to interact with a degree of fluency and communicate on a wide range of subjects including in a professional context CEFR B2

Practical Ability to understand and communicate on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. CEFR B1

Basic Ability to communicate in a simple and direct exchange of information on routine matters CEFR A2

Beginner Limited knowledge of a language CEFR A1 Language

Language Self assessed level Means of assessment Used at w ork

English Fluent Univ Degree taught in English Yes

Hindi Native Native language No

Punjabi Practical Other - no proof

We ask you to specify your native language. You can declare ONE native language only, and a second native language if you have one. No proof is required
to certify a native language, however proof will be required to certify your second native language. Therefore, please be aware that it will not be
possible to change your native language once you have declared it in your application.

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 10

 ACTIVITIES AND
INTERESTS
Activities
Please list significant extracurricular activities in which you are/have been involved, starting with your most recent activities (i.e. sports, politics,
performing arts, associations, club memberships, hobbies, community activities, etc.)
You will be able to describe these activities in the third essay.

Activity From To Position / Level

Church 13/04/1998 01/05/2018 Advanced

Volunteering, Humanitarian 01/09/2011 10/12/2017 Coach/Trainer

Spirituality 09/07/2012 01/05/2018 Intermediate

Distinction
List any distinctions, honours and awards achieved through your extracurricular activities.

Distinction Grantor Date

Certificate of Outstanding Service Rotract Club, NSIT 30/04/2012

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 11

 SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION
Supplementary Information
Has a member of your family attended INSEAD ? If yes, can you please specify his/her name, the relationship to you, the programme attended and when.

Details

Please give details of any disabilities which might necessitate special arrangements.

Disabilities

Military Service
Status From To

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 12

 LETTERS OF
RECOMMENDATION
Letters of recommendation
Last Phone (code and
First name Job Title Email
Name number)
General Manager, Strategy & Business
Sandeep Patw a patw [Link]@[Link] +919899554658
Development

Gurmukh
Bajw a Deputy General Manager, Business Development [Link] a@[Link] +919004072011
Singh

Update the list and send my recommendation requests.

We encourage you to send the recommendation letter template to your chosen referees as early as possible to allow them enough time to
complete the form. Please note that your referees will be able to submit their recommendations online at any time, even before you submit
your application. Nevertheless, we strongly encourage you to submit your application a few days before the deadline, to ensure a smooth
completion of your application material.
Your chosen referees do not have to fill in the form in one go; they can save and come back to it later. However, once submitted, the form can
no longer be edited. After submitting their recommendations, they will receive a confirmation receipt via e-mail.
You will be able to see that your referees have successfully submitted their form on your dashboard
[Link]

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 13

 MOTIVATION ESSAYS

Give a candid description of yourself (w ho are you as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and
w eaknesses and the main factors w hich have influenced your personal development, giving examples w hen necessary (approximately 500
w ords). *
I see myself as a happy go lucky, social, adaptable, compassionate person, w ho believes in perseverance and pursuing excellence.

My experiences of living in 4 different cities across India and traveling internationally since childhood, have made me highly adaptive to and
appreciate of different cultures and environments. Ow ing to my Sikh ethnicity, I have grow n on the tenets of compassion, humour, being
positive, and w orking hard.

I hold excellence at the meridian of my priorities and don't settle for mediocrity. To illustrate, I have been amongst the top 3 rank holders
throughout school, on the merit list for four consecutive years in my bachelors and on the dean’s list in my masters. Such a virtue has also
made me highly competitive, not just w ith others but w ith myself, and enabled me to constantly raise my standard in the process. Bringing
these values to w ork, I have also inspired my peers and team members to raise their ow n standards. My team’s nomination as the best team
at the prestigious Godrej Aw ards (group level) is a testimony to the same.

Since an early age, I have had the knack of solving problems and finding answ ers to the most ardent of questions. This trait, coupled w ith the
analytical rigour of my engineering and masters, has not just helped me become w ell-reasoned and logical but also put structure to my
thought process. It has also made me more methodical in other w alks of life – for instance I’m at the forefront of planning agendas and
prioritizing deliverables in advance of each business meeting. There still remains a sense of innate childlike curiosity w hich further propels me
to analyse everything around me and to live by the virtues of logic and rhetoric. How ever, the fallacy is that occasionally I tend to over-think
situations around me and it is something I am consciously trying to curtail.

My proneness to sudden emotional grief has almost vanished over the years as life has molded me into a stronger person. The factors that
have shaped my calmness and composure are tw ofold – first, I have w itnessed a tragedy happen to my brother, w ho I consider my mentor,
rendering him bed-ridden for over 5 years and second, I meditate regularly, purposefully allow ing my mind to reach a state of calmness.

My 4 years at Godrej in various leadership roles at a young age have also greatly influenced my development. In a culture w hich values
leading on all fronts – self, business and others – I have led others by example. I learnt to collaborate w ith diverse groups to deliver the
seemingly impossible – achieving record profit numbers in one of our projects is a case-in-point. I thoroughly understand that by harnessing
the pow er of relationships a lot more can be achieved than just follow ing hierarchical structures and such inter-personal netw orking is an
aspect that I look to better.

I now look forw ard to INSEAD as the next catalyst to my grow th and an enabler in creating a lasting global impact.

Describe the achievement of w hich you are most proud and explain w hy. In addition, describe a situation w here you failed. How did these
experiences impact your relationships w ith others? Comment on w hat you learned (approximately 400 w ords). *
In late 2016, w hen I joined Godrej Properties’ Business Development team, I noticed a joint venture transaction that w as stalled for almost
tw o years. I investigated the matter and realized that both parties had their ow n sets of concerns regarding the structure of the transaction.
Hence, I reached out to every stakeholder, understood their concerns and expectations from the JV and painstakingly structured a series of
commercial terms. From facing massive resistance, I slow ly addressed the concerns, convinced and aligned each stakeholder and through 6
months of perseverance plus multiple iterations, created a mutually beneficial structure w hose benefits far outw eighed the risks. I thus
sprang the defunct JV back to life, giving Godrej a much needed entry into a new market and potential revenues of USD 200 million.

I am very proud of this achievement because I overcame a lot of ambiguity in a situation w hich tested my patience, persistence and creative
problem-solving skills. From the experience I learnt both to view problems from the perspective of others and to create w in-w in situations.
The success of the exercise culminated in an equally successful launch and enabled me to forge a strong relationship w ith the JV partner w hile
also earning me senior management’s faith to tackle larger, strategic and more ambiguous projects.

In early 2015, having taken charge of a USD 170 million residential real-estate project, I continued to follow existing company practices of
deferring the termination of contracts of non-paying customers to the subsequent quarter in order to protect the quarterly profits. In a
meeting w ith our CEO, the team and I w ere given feedback that w e w ere not addressing the core issue and merely postponing it and w ere
advised to take a more long term view . I realized that I had failed to proactively question this practice and to incorporate the highest levels of
transparency and corporate governance w hich w ould inspire investor confidence.

My biggest learning from this episode is that to reap prolonged future success, it is sometimes necessary to take immediate pain. Hence, I
took the difficult decision to recognize the terminations immediately, set in place new standards of corporate governance and led an action-
plan to address the issue of outstanding customer payments. These steps not only created greater transparency in processes but also
accentuated management’s faith in me as a leader w illing to learn from setbacks.

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 14

 MOTIVATION ESSAYS

Describe all types of extra-professional activities in w hich you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports,
music, arts, politics, etc). How are you enriched by these activities? (approximately 300 w ords) *
I started volunteering at a Gurudw ara (Sikh Temple) back in 1998 and and have been engaging in volunteer w ork at local temples ever since.
Be it preparation of meals for the unprivileged, serving drinking w ater or w ashing utensils, such service helps keep me grounded at all times
and imbues an intrinsic level of contentment that few other activities can match.

I have also been contributing tow ards the upliftment of the stricken or unprivileged and conducted a computer skill training for over 20 young
residents at a local drug de-addiction center. Teaching has taught me patience w hile w orking w ith those experiencing such setbacks has
helped me build a new perspective in life.

Over the past five years, I have regularly partaken in my brother’s physio-therapy. After suffering an unfortunate accident, my brother has
been bed-ridden and dependent on the family for most of his elementary needs. Creating the right environment around him for his mental
w ell-being has meant that I have restricted my location to Delhi and physically, I support him in his w alking and other exercises as much as I
can. Having experienced this enervating journey, I now believe in making the best of every moment, as life is uncertain, and regard good
health and a positive mindset as the most vital facets of one’s life.

I also spend a considerable amount of time studying trends in technology and staying abreast w ith the latest happenings in the tech w orld-
primarily gadgets. W ith life-changing technology developments happening every moment, I believe this helps me become more efficient and
adapting to these trends gives me an edge in today’s technology enabled w orld.

Is there anything else that w as not covered in your application that you w ould like to share w ith the Admissions Committee? (approximately 300
w ords)

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 15

 SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTS
The supporting documents marked with an asterisk * must be received before or on the day of the application deadline.
The size of each of your attachments should not exceed 1 MB. If you have more documents to send, please divide your pages and upload two lighter
documents instead of a single big one.

Transcripts
Document 1 * [Link] Document 2 [Link]

Document 3 No file Selected Document 4 No file Selected

Results and Certificates

Document 1 [Link] Document 2 No file Selected

Additional Letters
Document 1 No file Selected Document 2 No file Selected

Other Documents
Document 1 No file Selected Document 2 No file Selected

Curriculum Vitae
Curriculum [Link]
Vitae *

Shortly after submitting this application form, you will receive a link to a video interview. This video component is required to start the
evaluation of your application. You will have 48 hours after the application deadline you are applying for to complete the video interview.
Once submitted, the video interviews will no longer be modifiable. Therefore please ensure that you carefully test your devices before
starting the exercise.
We are keen on getting to know you better and believe that through a video you can come to life, so be spontaneous, be creative and be
yourself!
We look forward to virtually meeting you!

MBA January 2019 Intake (Class of December 2019) page 16