CAT's 100 percentilers chase big dreams in corporate careers, startups

Posted On: 24/09/2014 Updated On:

Topping the CAT (Common Admission Test) is no small feat - after all, the race for the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) is run by some of India's best and brightest. Which is why every one of the thousands of MBA aspirants that sit for the exam each year, dreams of making it to the 100 percentilers' club - the honour reserved for the top scorers alone.

But after coming up trumps in an examination as competitive as this, where do these 100 percentilers go As CAT registrations for 2014 get set to enter the eighth week, ET tracks down a bunch of the toppers from CAT 2011, to find out where they are and what they are doing.

Of the nine students who bagged a 100 percentile in CAT 2011, ET managed to zero in on five: Vishal Kedia, Sri Ram Prasad Pemmasani, Shashank Prabhu, Ajinkya Deshmukh and Rajesh Balasubramanian. Three of them have opted for corporate careers; Deshmukh is heading a vertical at an education startup while Balasubramanian trains students to crack CAT.

First, the outliers Ajinkya Deshmukh, deputy general manager at Ace Creative Learning, who completed his MBA from IIM Bangalore this year after his CAT coup, took a call to not join a high-paying MNC and work in the field of education instead. In a quasi-entrepreneurial role, he has full responsibility for the social business division at the Bangalore-based startup which offers training and guidance to students for various entrance examinations.

This division aims at promoting quality education among deserving children from underprivileged backgrounds.

"Having had prior experience in a multinational firm before joining an MBA, I always felt the need to work at a place which offers me plenty of scope for shouldering responsibility and decision-making. I think once that was clear, joining a startup was the obvious choice," says the IIT Madras grad.

Then there's Shashank Prabhu, who despite a top score, decided to continue in Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), where he was pursuing an MBA at the time. "I had a bent towards sales and marketing, the opportunities for which are similar across all the top campuses. Also, the fact that it would have taken an extra year and a few lakhs more made me stick to FMS, instead of appearing at any of the interviews/GDs at the IIMs," says Prabhu, who's also a doctor by qualification.

At present, he is working with ITC handling sales and distribution for their personal care products portfolio and looking forward to getting into more of a strategy-based role in the next few years.

For both Prabhu and Deshmukh, the 100 percentile was primarily about the confidence boost it provided; whether it was in facing interviewers or in pursuing a career of their choice. For Vishal Kedia, a senior associate with the Boston Consulting Group, on the other hand, the biggest takeaway from CAT was expectations management.

"People start expecting a lot from you post a thing like this. You have to learn to manage expectations and prioritise," says Kedia, a chartered accountant. After his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad this year, he's recently joined BCG, handling his first case in the industrial goods sector.

Kedia's batchmate at IIM-A, Sri Ram Prasad Pemmasani, was another CAT 2011 topper. The 23-year-old signed up for an MBA after completing his electrical engineering from IIT Ropar. He was a student placement committee coordinator at IIM-A and has now landed a job at Nestle in the sales and marketing division.

Pemmasani prefers to play things down. "I think it definitely becomes a talking point" - he says of his 100 percentile - "but after that, it's the rest of the profile that matters. All other things remaining constant though, a topper would get a slight edge," he says.

Agrees Rajesh Balasubramanian, an IIT Madras and IIT Bangalore graduate, and director of 2IIM, an IIM alumni initiative that prepares CAT aspirants. He has secured a 100 percentile, not just in CAT 2011, but in CAT 2012 as well.

Balasubramanian creates all the content for the Chennai-based company that has around 300 students a year, and has recently launched an online version of CAT coaching.

"Getting a 100 percentile does earn you bragging rights, but it's more a conversation point than anything else. Most of these students go on to do pretty well in academics but it's not a huge advantage or anything when it comes to placements. You can't call it a game changer," says Balasubramanian.

More News

Andhra Pradesh Engineering Common Entrance Test (AP ECET) 2026

Andhra Pradesh Engineering Common Entrance Test (AP ECET) 2026 The Andhra Pradesh Engineering Common Entrance Test (AP ECET) 2026 is an important exam for students aiming for lateral entry into the second year of B.E., B.Tech, and B.Pharmacy in Andh...

Posted On: 06/05/2026

AP POLYCET Result 2026

AP POLYCET Result 2026 | Andhra Pradesh 2026 Result | Andhra Pradesh Polytechnic Common Entrance Test 2026 Result The State Board of Technical Education and Training (SBTET), Andhra Pradesh, conducts the Polytechnic Common Entrance Test (AP POLYCET...

Posted On: 04/05/2026

TG EAPCET 2026 Notification | Exam Date, Apply Online, Eligibility, Syllabus & Results

TG EAPCET 2026 Notification | Exam Date, Apply Online, Eligibility, Syllabus & Results The Telangana State Engineering, Agriculture, and Pharmacy Common Entrance Test (TG EAPCET) 2026 stands as one of the most significant entranc...

Posted On: 26/04/2026

AP ECET 2026 Notification Exam Date, Apply Online, Eligibility, Syllabus & Results

Posted On: 26/04/2026

Uttarakhand Board Results 2026 Class 10 & 12 | UK Board Result Date, UBSE Results

UTTARA KHAND CLASS 10th AND CLASS 12th RESULT 2026 The Uttarakhand Board of School Education (UBSE) is currently finalizing the evaluation process for the High School (Class 10) Examination 2026. Following the con...

Posted On: 26/04/2026

AP EAPCET 2026 Notification, Exam Date, Application Form & Eligibility Details

AP EAPCET 2026 Andhra Pradesh Engineering, Agriculture & Pharmacy Common Entrance Test AP EAPCET 2026 Schedule Announced; Registration Underway, Exams Begin May 12 The Andhra Pradesh Engineering, Agriculture and Pharmacy Common Entrance...

Posted On: 26/04/2026

Andhra Pradesh SSC Board Results 2026

Andhra Pradesh SSC Board Results 2026 The Board of Secondary Education, Andhra Pradesh (BSEAP) is in the final stages of evaluating answer scripts for the SSC (Class 10) examinations held in 2026. With the exams concluded in March, the resul...

Posted On: 26/04/2026

Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) 1st & 2nd Year Result

Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) 1st & 2nd Year Result The Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) will release the JAC Intermediate 2026 results in late April 2026 for the Science, Commerce, and Arts streams, following the evaluation of answer...

Posted On: 26/04/2026

NMIMS Unveils Disability Inclusion Policy with Mirae Asset Foundation Support

NMIMS Unveils Disability Inclusion Policy with Mirae Asset Foundation Support Mumbai, April 2026: SVKM’s NMIMS, with support from the Mirae Asset Foundation, announced the release of its policy guidance note, “Enabling Equity for...

Posted On: 24/04/2026

NEWS JAC CLASS 12 RESULTS 2026

NEWS JAC CLASS 12 RESULTS 2026 The JAC Class 12 (Intermediate) Results 2026 for Science, Commerce, and Arts are currently in the final stages of processing. Following the completion of the theory examinations on February 23, 2026, the Jharkh...

Posted On: 24/04/2026

View all

Admission Open

ICFAI University (IFHE)

Hyderabad, Telangana

BBA, BCA, L.L.B, LLM, B.Arch, B.Sc, BA, MA, Ph.D, EMBA, BA LLB (Hons.), BBA LLB (Hons.), Ph.D in Law, Ph.D, PG Diploma, Ph.D (Economics), B.E / B.Tech

Apply Brochure