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IIM Ahmedabad Gold Medalist to Microsoft Canada: Delhi boy Shubham Goyal’s inspiring journey of learning and leadership

A graduate from IIM Ahmedabad who was awarded a gold medal for scholastic performance, went on to build a career at Microsoft. Know his journey. 

Published on: Oct 7, 2026, 13:00:26 IST
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Success is rarely the result of a single achievement; it is often built over years of learning, adapting, and taking on new challenges. The journey of Delhi-born Shubham Goyal reflects this idea — from excelling academically at IIM Ahmedabad to building a career in technology and leadership at Microsoft Canada.

Shubham Goyal
Shubham Goyal

Shubham Goyal’s career journey is a story of academic excellence, continuous learning and the courage to change direction. A graduate from IIM Ahmedabad who was awarded a gold medal for scholastic performance, went on to build a career at Microsoft.

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Early Days

Shubham was born and brought up in Delhi. He came from a family that had a strong emphasis on education. His grandfather and maternal grandfather were professors at the University of Delhi. This academic environment shaped his approach to education, although his professional journey would eventually take him far beyond the conventional path.

Enrolled in computer engineering

Shubham took admission in the B.Tech. in Computer Engineering course at the Delhi Technological University. He graduated with a GPA of 9.564 out of 10 and ranked second in his class of 146 students. He also secured an All India Rank of 365 in GATE-CSE and scored 760 in the GMAT, placing him in the 99th percentile.

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Life in IIM Ahmedabad

He joined IIM Ahmedabad’s MBA programme in 2017. Rather than focusing solely on competing with his peers, Goyal has said that he concentrated on learning, working hard and improving his own performance.

His approach eventually produced an exceptional result. He secured Institute Rank 1 during both years of the MBA programme and finished with Overall Institute Rank 1 among 393 students. He was subsequently awarded the IIM Ahmedabad Gold Medal for scholastic performance in 2019.

While speaking to NDTV, Shubham mentioned that there were students in his batch who were more knowledgeable and intellectually sharper than he was. Instead of merely trying to outperform others, he focused on his own process: learning something new every day, working hard, and improving his performance.

This approach of his led him to win a gold medal.

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From BCG to Microsoft

Shubham joined Boston Consulting Group (BCG) after graduating from IIM Ahmedabad as a Senior Associate in 2019.

While consulting gave him exposure to business strategy and management, he gradually realised that he wanted to move closer to technology and product development.

He eventually made a significant career shift, joining Microsoft in January 2021 as a Program Manager in Product Management.

Moving into AI and product leadership

After joining Microsoft, one of his major assignments involved co-leading a 19-member team working on an AI-first transformation through the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, which serves millions of users. His career subsequently moved further into the intersection of enterprise technology, AI and cybersecurity.

He is now based in Canada, where he works as a Principal Product Manager at Microsoft and has been leading a 13-member team since December 2025.

  • Papri Chanda
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Papri Chanda

    Papri Chanda is the Deputy Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times Digital. With over 12 years of experience as an education journalist, she has worked across multiple media platforms, building deep expertise in education policy, examinations, and higher education systems. In her current role, Papri manages the day-to-day editorial work for the education beat. She plans daily content, decides story priorities, and oversees breaking-news coverage in a fast-moving digital newsroom. She works closely with reporters to ensure stories are accurate, timely, and meet editorial standards. Papri plays a key role during major exam cycles, CBSE and state board exam results, and policy announcements. Her work focuses on covering India’s education system, including the Ministry of Education, UGC, CBSE, NEET, JEE, CUET, and important higher-education policy changes. Prior to joining Hindustan Times Digital, Papri served as Correspondent – Education at Times Now Digital, where she delivered high-volume breaking news under intense newsroom deadlines and conducted interviews with key policymakers and academic leaders. Earlier, at Dainik Jagran, she independently managed the education and careers vertical, leading coverage of competitive exams, government jobs, and admission cycles, while mentoring junior writers and streamlining editorial workflows. Papri holds a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Burdwan. Outside work, she enjoys travelling, reading, experimenting with new recipes, and exploring diverse cuisines.Read More