CEO Insights India

The uniqueness that compels ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad to stand apart from other podiums of Management education in the country is its Case-based learning curriculum. Walking the extra mile to enrich students’ learning experience with real life cases, the very foundation of ICFAI business school is designed to help bridge the prevailing industry-academia gap and ensure proper alignment of theory as well as practice. Acknowledged for its wide alumni base which comprises students positioned across some of the most prolific global organizatioQns, ICFAI takes pride in nurturing talents who can excel and thrive by overcoming the present-day challenges. As an alumnus of ICFAI Business School, Anuj Kumar Ranjan (Managing Director - Malaysia, The Ascent Group) gladly avers that the institution has molded him into a competent professional who has the zeal to address any specific challenges head-on. Currently positioned as the Managing Director for Malaysia at The Ascent Group, Anuj Kumar is pragmatically engaged in leveraging his expertise and learnings across the operations of his organization to navigate it to a greater summit.

Anuj Kumar engages in an exclusive interaction with CEO Insights.

What drives you as an industry leader?
Challenges motivate me to work harder and more prolifically. Almost every day, I get to interact with new clients and try to understand their expectations from us. As I plan my

day around it, I get to learn more things as an individual and as an industry leader, that benefit me intrinsically. Overcoming new challenges intrigues me by 20217 making my life less boring, and that’s what compels me to look forward to the future.

Could you talk about the learnings and experiences that you acquired from ICFAI Business School and how you apply them in your current role?
ICFAI Business School standsout amongst other business schools in India owing to its highly industry-specific curriculum. As an alumnus of ICFAI Business School, I owe my success to my tenure there. Apart from conducting interaction programs with industry stalwarts that enhance students’ insights to excel in the real world, the education curriculum imparted at the institution enables students to prepare for real-life situations. The proper amalgamation of these learnings along with my garnered industry expertise empowers me to perform conveniently in my current role as the Managing Director of the Malaysia division at The Ascent Group.

How would you define The Ascent Group as an organization and its position in the market?
Ascent is an Independent Global Fund Administrator dedicated to providing customized solutions to a wide range of asset managers, capital markets, family offices, and investors’ private clients. Ascent is a Singapore based company and has significantly extended its global footprints including India. In India our offices are located at Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, and Gift City. Our fund services product offering specializes in Hedge Funds, Unit

Trust Funds, Fund of Funds, Singapore Variable Capital Company (VCC), Limited Partnership Funds, Private Equity, Managed Accounts, AIF and Venture Capital Funds. Services that Ascent provides include, but are not limited to FATCA reporting, CRS reporting, US tax reporting, Middle office, Directorship, Corporate Secretarial, Corporate Accounting and Audit, and FX Solutions.

Going forward, what are the goals that you wish to invest in and how do you plan to take them further?
I aim to take The Ascent Group to a newer dimension and help it ascend greater heights in the industry where we can sustain and thrive. At the same time, we want to train our resources and spend our time looking for more market requirements to develop the IT side of our organization because software and automation are the key factors that have been driving the overall growth of many global conglomerates. We want to enhance our global footprint, but at the same time, we want to give it back to society, and we are currently exploring innovative ways to work more diligently for society. So, these are some of the immediate goals that we have envisaged for The Ascent Group, and we are gearing-up for them in every possible way.

Anuj Kumar Rajan, Managing Director - Malaysia, The Ascent Group
After completing his MBA from ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad, Anuj commenced his professional journey in the Fund Accounting Industry with Spectrum Global Fund Administration. Throughout his illustrative career, Anuj has been associated with top-notch conglomerates of fund accounting arena such as Deutsche Bank and Apex Fund Services (Mauritius) before taking the position of MD - Malaysia at The Ascent Group