1.
EXPRESS YOURSELF!
IE GLOBAL MBA APPLICATION
A PASSIONATELY CURIOUS MULTILINGUAL EX-PAT IN JAPAN
GOWTHAM GOPAKUMARAN NAIR

2.
Born & brought up
in the Southern
state of Kerala, in
the district of
Trivandrum.
ME
The beginning...
The people around me hugely influenced me.
I had only information about the outside world.
As Einstein said, “Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is
experience. You need the experience to gain knowledge.”
I was locally nurtured by all means. Born, brought up, schooling & University.
Spend 1/4th of average life span in the same place.
The circle of
influence

3.
My journey to Japan was in 2016.
A dream come true moment.
Working abroad, experiencing different cultures,
and meeting new people.
The first step out of the circle…
The first time...
 Staying away
from family
 International trip
 Job
EXCITED….

4.
In the land of the rising Sun…
Worked in different prefectures, and in different companies, experiencing
different cultures and meeting new people.
What changed?
 Curry to Sushi
 “Mr. Gowtham” to
“Gowtham san”
(”san” is Japanese
term for Mr.)
Family depended
boy to a self
manageable man
ME
The circle of influence
got bigger

5.
Seven years of professional life…
Exposure to global
& diverse
environment
Project
management skills
Cross functional
collaboration
experience
Effortless
communication in
English & Japanese
Experience in
automotive field
Collectively putting together the above skills that were achieved over years of work experience, I have developed the ability for:
 Fast learning
 Adaptation & adjustment to the work culture
 Efficient communication
 Growth mindset
Engineering
exposure
Retrofitting in marine
industry
Project Manager for a truck
OEM
Technical Project Manager
for Airbag ECU

6.
How I grew as an individual…
Cooking
skills
New
Friends New
activities

7.
Where am I heading to…
Knowledge &
skills upgrade
Through my current job and the
academic knowledge from this
MBA program
1 ~ 2 years
Business
understanding &
domain expertise
Through case studies, peer to
peer learning & experience from
current job
2 ~ 4 years
Management &
Entrepreneurship
Potential growth as leader within
the organizational ladder & an
entry into business, connecting
India & Japan
5 ~ 10+ years

8.
How I see my future circle of influence…
ME
International networking
Challenging roles
Business knowledge
through MBA
Ever growing technology
India – Japan business
opportunity

9.
Thank you!
I hope you now know…
Who was I?
Who am I now?
Who I wanted to be?