::..:: ARCHIVES ::..::

I spent the majority of my working life with the Shriram Group of Industries, at that time the fifth largest company in the country. I had joined their senior management training scheme and went on to spend 20 years with them, except for the two years I took off to do my MBA.

I had a fairly accelerated career path, becoming the CEO of Shriram Refrigeration in Hyderabad at the age of 34. Prior to that, I had also been the chief executive of a business unit. Though the latter part of my career is more visible, I believe the most satisfying and rewarding assignment was as the chief executive of Shriram Refrigeration. The company had been losing money for five consecutive years and its net worth had gone negative. Within a year, and most importantly, with the same team in place, (except for one person whom I saw as being dysfunctional anyway), we turned the company around. Thereafter, every year we increased profits.

By the time I was about to complete two decades with the Shriram Group, I began to feel this need for change since I had practically spent all my life with them. And right out of the blue, change came knocking at my door. I had gone to the US and met an old friend by chance. A few months later, Azim Premji, the owner of Wipro, happened to ask the same friend if he knew anyone willing to set up an IT company in India. The person, Mr Premji had specified, need not be an IT professional. I had never dreamt of getting into IT. In 1984, Mr Premji got in touch with me, and before I knew it, I had joined what was then a much smaller company – Wipro Infotech in Bangalore. I spent the next 15 years running Wipro as its president. I rode the wave of growth in a small company.

Once again, I felt the need to do something different. There was no negativity – just a desire for change and a desire to let them find a new path without me, and for me to find a new destiny. That desire took the shape of a new generation software company, MindTree. We wanted to provide our customers the best of both worlds – the high-quality consulting associated with the large MNCs and the low cost factor of Indian firms.

Challenges
When MindTree was less than a year old, and all we did was internet-based solutions, the dot com bust happened. It felt as if the whole business was going to disappear. We didn’t want to lay off people in the very first year. We had to find work for them, train them and develop new skills. It also meant absorbing the losses. But we survived those two years. In retrospect, it might have been the toughest period but it was also the best thing that happened. We came out of that cycle better prepared for the future, with new skills and capabilities, and new ways of meeting our customers’ needs and requirements. Then, we had this wonderful success story for the next five years which took us through to our IPO in 2007.

Here we are, in the midst of yet another challenge. Unlike the previous downturn, which was very tech focused and, therefore, hurt us much more disproportionately; this one is much more diffused. But then, it impacts the whole world. It’s deeper and wider. Since our customers are hurting, there is no way to avoid being a part of that tension. Also, there’s more uncertainty on where the bottom is and how long it will last. There’s no knowing the speed and the trajectory of the recovery. To that extent, we all have to wait and watch. From a strategic and managerial angle, it is also a time to test the calibre of different managements.

The Road Ahead
This might take five years or more, but we want to be among the top 20 globally-most-admired companies in our industry. We want to be known for customer satisfaction, people satisfaction and knowledge management practices. We would also like to be identified as a company that always follows the highest standards of corporate governance.

I feel there’s just so much to be done. We can leave our own impact just by leading good lives! Through the MindTree Foundation, we try and use our expertise to make a difference to people’s lives. Our vision is to be one of the global leaders in terms of assistive technology. We develop technologies that would make life easier for differently-abled people – those who cannot see, hear or listen, those who are autistic or have been affected by cerebral palsy. I am now into the 10th year of creating and running MindTree. This is my extra inning. I spent a good 20 years in engineering, then came Wipro and this is now the third installment, which I am enjoying the most. I have been very fortunate to get this one extra chance.