I am thrilled you are here!

Discover some interesting anecdotes about me

I am Debasish Biswas - but you can refer to me as Debasish, Deb, Biswas, DB ... or maybe Dave (for anyone who is looking for ease of pronunciation)!

I was born and brought up in a quintessential middle-class Bengali family of academicians, in the city of Kolkata located in West Bengal, India.

I was a thin, gawky, reticent, and reasonably fun-loving guy during my school days. Was really good in music, decently good in badminton & football, and regarding studies?

Please read on ... my school-level academic performance mystery unfolds later! 

I started my career with small-time jobs which included shop-to-shop sales of stationery items, office equipment, and yellow-page advertisements; worked as an office assistant in a small advertising firm; and brief stint as a project field officer with an international NGO working at the grass-root level.

Got my first major career break with an international bank around 3 decades ago, and thereafter my career move has been across various industry segments spanning banking, telecom, insurance, direct sales, print and electronic media, education, skilling, and management consulting services.

Music plays a major role in my life - trained in western classical violin during schooling, was awarded a gold medal in my very first year, and have completed Grade 6, certified by the Trinity College of Music, London - in parallel played the professional synthesizer - while being a decent vocalist for many decades (my all-time favorite is Kishore Kumar & KK).

Starting with a department role as a junior officer in 1992; moving into the branch and then regional roles between 1994-2005 as GM, AVP & Business Head; and thereafter into national and international leadership roles from 2006 onwards as VP South Asia, VP Global Institutional Alliances, Country Head, CEO, and Founder MD & CEO - have managed the launch, scale-up, and profitable business operations in a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural and multi-locational environment.

I am extremely passionate about grooming the youth on upskilling and sharpening their leadership skills ... and have mentored more than 60,000 students from high schools, colleges, and universities during the last 16 years ... from Ahmedabad to Allahabad, Bhopal to Bengaluru, Cochin to Cuttack, Delhi to Durgapur .... the list goes on! 

In 2019, after 26 continuous years in corporate roles, launched my entrepreneurial venture (a private limited company) focused on CXO Advisory, Management Consulting, and Leadership Training & Coaching. Thereafter in 2021, co-founded an LLP in the domain of leadership communication for students, faculties, and professionals.

My recurring dream is to create a positive impact on the lives of young professionals who wish to scale greater heights of success in their career, but needs guidance and support.

In a nutshell, my career graph between 1992 and 2022 has been an incredibly enriching, massively diverse, highly challenging, crazily exciting, fabulously contributing, and awesomely satisfactory and rewarding journey.

Regarding my academics, I was below average in my studies during my schooling days and somehow managed to score decent marks in the 12th board exams. Thereafter,  completed my Graduation in Commerce from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, and went on to do MBA in Marketing from IMT Ghaziabad and M.Phil. in Management. Also completed Certificate Programs from IIM-Calcutta and IIT-Delhi in Strategy, Sales, Distribution, and Corporate Finance, apart from Leadership Coach certification accredited by ICF USA, and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification, too.

For me, context is equally important as content, complimented with a few more C's like communication, clarity, creativity, common sense, and charisma! 

I have enjoyed extensive work exposure across metro cities as well as various states in India, and acquired international work exposure in the UK, UAE, Israel, Mauritius, Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

Presently, on a pro bono basis, I contribute my time during weekends & holidays as a Mentor, Advisor, and Governing Council Member in select enterprises, institutions, and non-profit bodies.

Management (present roles)

CEO, Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery

(project of GJEPC, sponsored by Ministry of Commerce & Industry)

Management (former roles)

Customer Relations Officer, Standard Chartered Bank

Manager - Sales & Service, HDFC Bank Limited

Regional Manager - East, Amway India

Asst. Vice President, Max New York Life Insurance (now Max Life)

Head of Alternate Channels, Tata Teleservices (now Tata Indicom)

Chief Manager - National Sales, ABP Media (newspaper & magazine)

Vice President & Head - South Asia, Macmillan Education Group

Vice President & Head - Global Institutional Alliances, Star TV Group

Country Head - India, Chartered Inst. of Management Accountants

CEO, APG Learning (owned by the Sakal Media Group)

CEO, Global Institute of Leadership Communication

Advisory & Consulting roles

Global Strategy Advisory, Lynked.World, Netherlands

Chancellor's Nominee and Governing Council Member, Seacom Skills University

Charter President, Rotary Club of Calcutta World

Governing Board Member, Bhavan's Institute of Management Science, Kolkata

Chief Advisor, Digital Marketing University (dot) com

Official Host, LinkedIn Local Kolkata

Former Chairman, Advisory Board, Lincoln University, Malaysia

Former Head of the Steering Committee, Financial & Professional Services, UK Trade & Investment, British Deputy High Commission

Former National Council Member, CII (Skill Development Committee)

Former Council Member, ASSOCHAM (Education & Skills Committee)

Former Vice President & Board Member (3 terms), YMCA Calcutta

Former Chairman, Sports Development Committee, YMCA Calcutta

Former Strategy Advisor, Indian Society for Training & Development

Former Industry Advisor, Board of Studies, Christ University, Bengaluru

Former Management Consultant, Senco Gold & Diamonds

Former Chief Mentor, Learning & Development Global, Pune & Kolkata

Former Strategy Consultant, M. P. Jewellers

Former Advisor to the Board, Project Management Institute, East

Former Management Consultant, Asian Hotels (Hyatt Regency chain)

Former Chief Advisor, Camellia K-12 Schools & Healthcare Services

Former Executive Secretary, Board Member, and Chairman, Youth Committee, Rotary Club of Calcutta

Former Head of Advisory Board, Nalanda Learning Pvt. Ltd.