Employers want business acumen, adaptability, beyond AI fluency

Pune: Business acumen, adaptability, communication skills, knowledge of business processes and applicability of knowledge were the key things employers were looking for in new graduates, along with technical knowledge and use of AI tools, industry leaders said at The Times of India’s Leaders on Campus initiative on Saturday.The initiative aims to bring industry and academia together on a platform for exchange of ideas. This edition of the Leaders on Campus was held in association with Pune Institute of Business Management at its Mulshi campus on the topic, ‘Blueprinting tomorrow’s intelligent enterprise: Accelerating business transformation with SAP, AI and Autonomous Systems’.The panel featured Rahul Sinha, senior executive vice-president and head of Data, AI & Automation Services at AXA Global Business Services, Sandeep Poddar, chief architect at Kimberly-Clark Pune Capability Hub, Anand Rajagopalan, partner and SAP Solutions leader for Deloitte Asia Pacific and South Asia, Amit Waghmare, CIO, Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL), and Chinmoy Roy, senior IT resource, BCCL.The panellists agreed that while AI had lowered barriers to technical expertise, professionals would stand out through their ability to ask the right questions, interpret outputs and apply insights to solve business problems.Poddar stressed that alongside academic learning, graduates must develop business acumen, connect disparate ideas and understand real-world business challenges. “Curiosity, the ability to learn and unlearn, and strong interpersonal skills are equally important,” he said.The speakers also cautioned students against being boxed into specific sectors in an increasingly multidisciplinary world, especially when the technology itself was rapidly evolving. Rajagopalan urged students not to limit themselves to narrow specialisations, saying employers increasingly sought problem-solvers who could work across domains. “With technology democratising expertise, differentiation comes from applying core skills to business challenges and advising clients on solutions,” he said.Sinha underlined the continuing importance of domain expertise but said recruiters also looked beyond technical competence. “Strong professional networks, the ability to stay relevant amid changing technologies and business models, and resilience in overcoming failure are critical qualities,” he said.PIBM chairperson Raman Preet said the institute’s goal was not just to create management graduates but to develop professionals capable of driving business transformation. “We aim to nurture leaders who can make businesses more productive, profitable, competitive and intelligent,” he said.“The initiative provided our students with valuable industry perspectives on business transformation, emerging technologies and the future of leadership. We are committed to bridging academia and industry, empowering our students to become future-ready leaders and catalysts of business innovation,” Choden Goperma, head of corporate relations and industry engagements at PIBM, said.