Career Checkpoint

Anurag Kapoor is the quintessential restless entrepreneur. So much so that, when we recorded this, we spoke about two startups that he was simultaneously a part of, and by the time I got around to editing the chat and publishing it, he has started another new chapter in life! Anurag is Head, Solutions and Presales at Iksula. In this episode, we spoke about his journey from Wipro to the multiple startups he has been involved with. Anurag had some wonderful insights about the entrepreneurial life, challenges in moving from a safe, corporate life to being on your own, the thrill of it as well as the depths you’ll plunge to! I know people who eat or drink or binge watch shows when they’re down. You’ll be amazed to find out what Anurag does! So go on, listen to this fascinating chat with Anurag Kapoor.

Cyril Varghese is Global Logistics Director- Strategy and Commercial at Fluor Corporation. Rudyard Kipling’s poem If talks about responding to Triumph and Disaster with equanimity,  he says If you can keep your head when everyone around you is losing their heads, you’ll be a Man. Whenever I think about Kipling’s If, the only person that comes to mind is Cyril Varghese. In this episode, Cyril helps me unpack some meta thinking behind how he has dealt with his life and career - his secrets to being happy in life! That’s reason enough for you to drop everything and listen to this chat. But if you needed one more reason - Cyril also gave me a 101 lesson on Cargo and Logistics. It’s a fascinating domain that has been the engine of civilizations and trade over centuries. If you’re looking to make a career in a slightly off-beat space that makes a real difference and exposes you to different cultures and countries all over the world, logistics is the space to be! And you can listen to Cyril explaining why and how!

In this episode I speak with Harsh, who is a Global Principal with ING, working to diversify ING's income through fee based business models. Harsh has had diverse experience working with brands like Times of India, ICICI, Barclays and IDFC First Bank. What was fascinating to learn was how Harsh rebuilt his career from scratch when he moved to Netherlands in 2014. It’s a great lesson in humility and I found it quite instructive how Harsh navigated through those tough times to almost resurrect his career. This was a fun chat for me as much as it was insightful. All I can say is I wish I had had this chat earlier! 

In this episode, I chat with Nawal Saini. Nawal is a Managing Director in Brookfield’s Renewable Power Group. In this role, he is responsible for building and managing Brookfield’s business in India and assists the infrastructure team in executing large-scale transactions. I got a one-hour private masterclass on how Nawal takes investment decisions worth hundreds of millions of dollars! We spoke about the role of luck and serendipity in his career arc and how he accounts for biases in decision-making. nawal also told me why he thinks he’s a much better senior leader as compared to the associate who had just started his career. If you’re looking to build a career in investment, there are many useful lessons for you. And one more thing - Nawal also explains in novice-friendly terms, what his company, Brookfield, a global leader in alternative asset management does. I hope you find this as insightful as I did.

In this episode, I speak with Anshuman Gupta. Anshuman works with Investec India and as per Asiamoney Brokers Poll, he is the No. 1 Healthcare Analyst in the India region and No. 2 globally. I took this opportunity to get Anshuman to explain to me the basics of the Indian pharma space. We covered India’s contribution to the world pharma industry, regulations, generics and of course, the COVID vaccinations. I also found out about Anshuman’s career arc - from being a chemical Engineer to the top pharma analyst that he is today and what he would have done had he not done his MBA! This was quite the learning opportunity for me and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did recording it.

In this episode, I talk to Parth Bidasaria, Business Head at Udaan. At MDI, the one defining thing about Parth in my mind was his batting. He was one of those guys who timed the ball very well. Over the last 16 years, we have had occasional chats but never spoke in detail about work. So this was an opportunity for me to delve deeper into his career path and get a peek into the world of Udaan. I enjoyed this chat where Parth spoke about the books that influenced his life, how he went about the multiple career pivots. And yes, just like me, he seems to have seamlessly moved on from cricket to tennis! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did recording it.

In this episode I talk to Ashok Das, Managing Director, Fixed Income and Currencies, Deutsche Bank. Ashok gave me a peek into the life of a high-flying market-maker, how he copes with the pressures and incentives of the world of finance. Yes, a tweet from Trump can have a direct bearing on his life. But he tries to keep calm and carry on! This was a fascinating chat and has lot of useful insights for anyone starting a career in the world of finance and banking - to learn how to grow into the  fastest dinosaur out there!

In this episode I talk to Vandhana Rajendran, Director at Strat & OS . Vandhana hasn’t followed the typical career path of an MBA from a school like MDI Gurgaon. She has done two stints at KPMG and has lived the life of a typical management consultant. But at the time of her choice, she decided to get off the so-called corporate treadmill and is living life on her own terms, where her family comes first. This was an interesting chat where I also learned about how she sees her role as a coach for her children. There are a lot of tweet-worthy life-lessons in this chat!

In this episode, I talk to Shom Biswas who works as Director, Customer engagement at Global Logic. But an introduction like this will be doing grave injustice to the many different interests that Shom pursues with characteristic passion. As he himself puts it, professional dilettante is the right way to describe him. I learned about the similarities between investing in stocks and the Fantasy Premier League. He told me about the book that he’s publishing in 2021. We spoke about a sub-altern group from the MDI days (which sounded something like The Fight Club) - other members of that group should listen to the episode to find out if he broke any rules!

And yes, we firmly established that Shom is a Shom is a Shom.

In this episode, I talk to Smriti Handa, Regional HR Director, South Asia, at Reckitt Benckiser. She has worked with Phillips and Airtel earlier. Smriti enjoys getting HR a seat in the boardroom. I learned about what this means, the kind of challenges she has had to overcome, her take on diversity and inclusion. We also spoke about what it means to be a working mom who wants to give her best at work as well as to her family - why should she have to choose one over the other? Hopefully, people like Smriti will help change mindsets among leaders and pave the way for a more equitable and better world for our children.