For Shubham Goyal, winning the gold medal at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad was not something he had set out to achieve when he joined the institute. His focus was on learning, working hard and improving every day. That approach eventually took him to Rank 1 at IIM Ahmedabad. Today, Goyal is based in Calgary, Canada, where he is a Principal Product Manager at Microsoft and leads a 13-member team focused on the enterprise deployment of Microsoft Security solutions.His journey has taken him from computer engineering at Delhi Technological University (DTU) to IIM Ahmedabad, then to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and eventually Microsoft, where his work has spanned product management, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, as per his Linkedin profile.
From Delhi to IIM Ahmedabad
Goyal was born and raised in Delhi. According to NDTV, both his paternal and maternal grandfathers were professors at Delhi University. His mother is a homemaker, while his father and brother were in government service.He completed his Bachelor of Technology in Computer Engineering from DTU, graduating with a GPA of 9.564 out of 10. India Today reported that he secured Class Rank 2 among 146 students and University Rank 4 among 1,582 students. He also secured an All India Rank of 365 in GATE-CSE and scored 760 in the GMAT.Goyal joined IIM Ahmedabad’s MBA programme in 2017 and graduated in 2019. He secured Institute Rank 1 in both the first and second years and finished with Overall Institute Rank 1 among 393 students, based on the combined GPA for the two years. His performance earned him the IIM Ahmedabad Gold Medal for scholastic performance in March 2019.But, as Goyal says, the gold medal itself was never the target.According to NDTV, he said there were students in his batch who were more knowledgeable and intellectually sharper than him. Rather than concentrating on outperforming them, he focused on learning something new every day, working hard and improving his own performance.
From BCG to Microsoft
After completing his MBA, Goyal joined Boston Consulting Group as a Senior Associate in August 2019. His starting package was approximately Rs 27-30 lakh annually, per NDTV report.His experience at BCG gave him an opportunity to understand business and management closely. But he eventually questioned whether management consulting was the career he wanted to pursue for the long term.Goyal realised that career decisions could not be based only on the advice of others. His interest in product management grew, leading him to join Microsoft as a Product Manager.He joined Microsoft in January 2021 as a Program Manager 2 in Product Management in Noida. His early work included leading a team of nine full-time employees for the launch and growth of Microsoft Whiteboard apps on Android and iOS.He later became Senior Program Manager and worked on cross-app partnerships involving Microsoft Loop, Visio and Planner, as well as user education and usability initiatives for Microsoft Whiteboard. In August 2023, he became Senior Product Manager and relocated to Calgary, Canada.
From AI to cybersecurity
In his role as Senior Product Manager, Goyal co-led a 19-member team working on an AI-first transformation through the Microsoft 365 Copilot app.In December 2025, he took on his current position as Principal Product Manager at Microsoft. Based in Calgary, he now leads a 13-member team working on the enterprise deployment of Microsoft Security solutions.His career has therefore moved across several areas – computer engineering, management consulting, product management, AI and cybersecurity.
‘AI’ cannot be the answer to every problem
Goyal believes AI will create new opportunities and improve efficiency, but cautioned against viewing it as the solution to every problem. While speaking to NDTV, he said its use is meaningful when it genuinely adds value and provides a sustainable, long-term solution.His own career has included significant work in Microsoft’s AI ecosystem. Before taking up his current role, he co-led the 19-member team involved in the AI-first transformation through Microsoft 365 Copilot.
‘Success’ is more than a salary
For Goyal, professional success has also changed meaning with experience. He advises young people not to make a high salary package the sole measure of success after graduating from institutions such as IIM. While speaking to the aforementioned publication, he said strong professional skills and good work habits matter more in the long run, with a good salary often being a result of those qualities.For him, the definition of success evolves as a person progresses through their career. At a certain stage, money is no longer the only important consideration; the nature of the work, opportunities to learn and the ability to balance professional and personal life become important as well.
