Darshan Dhruv
Darshan graduated with his MSc in International Management in 2009. In just two years, his dedication and hard work with a global marketing company has seen him make rapid progress up the career ladder – and he’s still climbing.
Before coming to UWE, Darshan had a degree in Business Administration and some solid work experience. But it wasn't until he came to UWE that he gained the knowledge of management and exposure to the international market that gave him the confidence to reach new heights in his marketing career
Connecting a career with the classroom
"As a postgraduate student, I had a lot of interaction with staff within the Business School. This helped in every step I took in my career as they are highly experienced and always willing to help. Many of my classmates also had a lot of work experience which helped me to look at my studies from a different perspective, so graduating from UWE gave me a lot of confidence to enter the professional world."
Climbing the management ladder
Darshan's new-found confidence clearly paid off, and he secured a place on the Management Scheme at Appco Group - the UK's largest direct marketing company, with 1200 offices in 26 countries worldwide.
In just 18 short months, he made remarkable progress through the company, going on to secure his current role of Assistant Owner of the company's Bristol branch. "It's an exciting job which sees me supporting the Managing Director in key strategic decisions and business planning, as well as establishing and maintaining strong client relationships with leading brands like AXA, Tesco, and Sky."
Darshan is rightly proud of how far he's come: "reaching this level so quickly - where most people take six or seven years - is my biggest professional achievement to date".
So what's his secret? It's a simple one; "I believe in what I do and always do things with sincerity and 100% dedication".
Room for improvement
Never one to rest on his laurels, Darshan is already working on the plans to achieve his life-long dream of opening his own chain of hotels back home in India. "Investors have been positive and there has already been a lot of interest, so things could start happening as soon as 2013."
But - as with his career so far - he's not happy taking the traditional route; "It's something I've always dreamed of doing and my way of putting my stamp on the world, so the hotels will be anything but ordinary. They have to be very different and special - like nothing India has ever seen before."
Page last updated 1 November 2011