New-age CEOs make waves

Mr. Go-getter

Going by the popular notion about an Indian CEO, Gowri Shankar Subramanian should either be a venerable old gentleman close to retirement, or a cranky fusspot. But unlike other CEOs, Subramanian created history when he became the CEO of Aspire Systems at just 27.

Age does not have much to do with position...

...however, the experience one gains, and how that experience plays a role in grooming the person, is important. The virtue of having been with the company from the beginning, the willingness to forego other opportun-ities,and also the willingness to relocate to India (when it wasn’t fashionable to do so) have played a major role in my transition.

Maturity comes from listening to people...

If we encourage an environment where people can openly discuss mistakes, correct those mistakes and accept responsibility, maturity automatically develops.

Great experience accrues to those who choose the path less traveled. I firmly believe success will be theirs sooner or later. At my age, I believe there are many, many others who have gone much farther.

Mr. Pacemaker

Undaunted by challenging situations, 34-year-old Harsh Chitale, Managing Director,Honeywell Automation India Ltd. is raring to take everything in his stride. “The experience of having handled multiple situations is certainly valuable.

However, that is no longer the only critical factor for business success, as businesses are becoming less and less predictable. Even large global organisations have only 6-7 levels.

Also, global competition is driving in high performance orientation and meritocracy in all companies. One fallout of this is that there are cases where people are seen to be rising to the top position at a fairly young age,” feels Chitale.

While he was leading teams with older team members, he confesses that he must have got on to some people's nerves, “I have always been a little impatient and it reflects in my behaviour. But I have learnt a few things and I have toned down.”

He feels that, in a knowledge industry, how seriously you are taken by your peers depends upon what value you add to their job and is not just a function of age or hierarchy. But does he think that he has shouldered too many responsibilities too early?

“Not really. I think the entire credit goes to my organisation for investing time and energy towards grooming and `risking' themselves by hiring young MDs like me,” jokes Chitale.

Mr. Innovator

29-year-old Rajul Garg, VP- Corporate Development, Induslogic, who started out at 23, reigns and regulates his company’s future at an age when other executives are still beating around in middle management.

There aren’t many people who have the relevant experience...

The growth of the IT industry has been rapid in the 90’s and hence there aren’t that many people who have the relevant experience available for top slots. Hence you find lesser experienced, but more talented people as the next best compromise.

Initially, it was tough taking concrete business decisions...

...but having an experienced professional CEO/mentor - Peter Harrison - as my boss helped me. I trusted my instincts and have thankfully been more right than wrong!

Just being young does not give anybody an edge...

A combination of relevant experience and raw talent is unbeatable. In my experience, age has never been a factor in decision making and I have had nobody questioning me just because I was young.

Mr. Conqueror

Francisco D'Souza, COO, Cognizant was born in Nairobi, studied in Hong Kong, worked in Europe and America, is bubbling with oodles of positive energy, has a 'never-say-die' mantra and has already bagged the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award twice, all before the age of 37!

At 24, when he was recruited into The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (D&B) Management Development Programme, he got the opportunity to come to India to set up the company that later became Cognizant.

The more accurate indicators of position besides age are...

... relevant experience and potential. People don’t work with you because of your age. They work with you because they trust you, mutually respect your views and understand what you bring to the table.

Too much, too fast?

No. But I did work twice as hard because that was my way of demonstrating my gratitude to those who gave me the opportunity to shoulder that responsibility. I have been fortunate, in that over my career, I have had positions and roles that have been very experience-rich.

Mr. Trendsetter

Anshuman Misra received his master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana. At the age of 34, he was made the Managing Director of Turner International India and today, he is the Senior Vice President, Network Distribution, South East Asia.

“The definition of work experience varies from person to person. You could work in a company for two years and achieve a lot, or be doing the same job for 20 years and feel bored. The choice is yours. It is not only the tenure that is important, but also the quality of experience,” says Misra.

He also believes his work provides him enough food for thought and action to keep him going for many years. “There is a lot of creativity which keeps me interested here,” he says, adding, “My journey has been very exhilarating. How people treat you depends on how you treat them.

The foundation of your company’s culture sets the tone for the way people treat each other irrespective of any of them being older or younger.”