Nitin Dalvi

I joined HPS in 1960 as a day-scholar. I lived directly across the road from the school, and it took me a 10 min walk to get there. In 1969 I became a boarder after my parents moved. Boarding school at HPS was one of the best 2+ years in my early life. Made lifelong friends and enjoyed the school routine, teachers, food etc. While there are many anecdotes to tell, one that sticks out is many of us joined the school band, not because we had any musical talent, but because band members got extra rations at teatime as the band master, Mr. Rajaiah, had convinced the powers-that-be that we needed them for extra lung strength!! Having ice-cold Cokes at the Weir Amphitheater during play intermission is another memory. Who knew I would end up working for them!! After finishing ISC in Dec 1971, went back to school in Jan 1972 for IIT classes. When the ISC results came, to my shock, I got a 1 in Hindi (my weakest subject!). I don’t know who was more shocked -me or Mr. Tiwari! (R.I.P)

Didn’t get into IIT, so went to Fergusson College in Pune. Anand Halbe & I were in the same college hostel. In 1975, upon graduation, applied to the IIM’s as well as schools abroad (primarily U.S.). Got into IIM, Calcutta. Had even purchased my train ticket to go there, when I got word of being accepted to the U. of Rhode Island (U.R.I). Coming to the U.S. was a dream. After doing my M.S. in Industrial Engineering, I decided I did not want to be an engineer, so applied to business schools. Was accepted into the MBA program at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. That was an intense 2 years, and I got a taste of what a top school with smart, highly motivated students & teachers was like. It was like an ice-cold HPS shower in winter (boarders will remember those!) after the relatively sedate pace of U.R.I.!!!

I had worked as a summer intern at The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) in Atlanta, Georgia between the 2 years of my MBA. To my complete shock, at the end of the internship, the Vice-President of my department said they would like me to come back as a full-time employee upon finishing! I joined in June 1980. Have spent 30+ years there in various positions. Got to visit well over 50 countries on various projects. Highlight of my professional life was being chosen to be part of a 5-member team sent from Atlanta to re-launch our business in India in 1992 as head of Marketing. It was a dream job with intense but rewarding work. Retired in 2015