Young CEOs are ruling the corporate world

[jsangeetha]

Multinational CEOs in India are no longer venerable old gentlemen close to retirement. They’re 30-something professionals who have a shot at becoming global CEOs. Corporate Dossier checks out the career plans of this happening new breed.


So they have achieved what we may call one of the most compelling milestones. They sit atop the rung; reign and regulate their company’s fortunes at an age when other executives are still thrashing around in middle management.


They’re the 30-something chief executive officers, managing directors, country heads and in India’s booming economy, they’re no longer a small breed. Numerous global corporations have picked up the best professional talent available and appointed them to the top position in their Indian subsidiaries, at an age that might have been inconceivable a decade ago.


Of course, this also means we now have CEOs with a good 20 to 30 years ahead of them in their careers. Do they see themselves staying in the race for the position of global CEO of their corporations? Moninder Jain, 34, who recently assumed responsibility of director, South Asia for Logitech, has no ambitions of occupying his global CEO’s chair.


Seven years down the line, by which time he expects to have grown to his full potential in the corporate world, Jain wants to use his managerial and technical skills for social development. “I am looking to give up my corporate career in my early 40’s,” he says. “Having achieved what I have and what I will in the next few years, I want to give something back to society. I want to enter politics and social service.”


Earlier Logitech’s director for India, Jain’s new position as director, Logitech Singapore, requires him to spend much of his time overseas, though he continues to live in Mumbai. Indeed, for most Indian CEOs of multinational corporations, a relocation to Singapore or Hong Kong is considered de rigeur as they advance in their career. The ultimate posting, of course, is at corporate headquaters, where the race really hots up.


Naresh Gupta, 39, who was instrumental in commencing Adobe’s operations in India, was promoted and transferred to the company’s headquarters in San Jose as senior vice president of emerging business. Now he’s back in India as Adobe India’s managing director. What’s next for him? “Within Adobe, I would have I relocate to the US again. I am looking at my career on a global scale and not just restricted to India alone,” he says.


And would he consider a career outside Adobe? “I don’t work in a very goal oriented manner and have no plans for my career five years hence. But if I think of moving somewhere else, it would probably be a start-up or academics. Biotechnology or bioinformatics are the emerging areas that interest me,” he says.


Having achieved big-time success in the corporate world, it’s not surprising that many under-40 CEOs nurse ambitions of becoming entrepreneurs. Shumone Jaya Chatterjee, 40, managing director of Levi Strauss India, hasn’t given up on the idea of eventually moving to San Francisco to take charge of the clothing major’s global operations, but he also has some entrepreneurial plans ready, just in case.


He says he wants to start a school for underprivileged children — and a chain of restaurants. Meanwhile, Chatterjee is definitely up for taking on a larger operation — like his forerunner C S Suryanarayanan who has moved on to head the Asia operations of Levi Strauss — before he moves on with his restaurant plans. “There are enough and more opportunities to grow in Levi, especially in India, which is one of the best countries to operate from,” he says.


Anshuman Misra, was appointed managing director of Turner International in India eight years ago, at the age of 34. Today, his responsibilities have been expanded to include network distribution for South East Asia. He believes the field of media provides 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, “There will be a time, I’m sure, to do something different. When that times comes, I would definitely look at NGOs as an option.”


Muktesh Pant, former head of Reebock India was one of the country’s most high profile young professionals in his time. He went on to quit his fast track career at Reebock’s global headquarters to start a global yoga training venture. His successor as Reebok India’s managing director, the 37 year old Subhinder Singh Prem, says there is no question of quitting his corporate career for other pursuits since it’s all about balancing interests and career. “It’s not just about the designation,” he says. “As long as you work on new challenges, there is enough to achieve and grow.


With global corporates now focused on growing their Indian operations, their under-40 CEOs have no shortages of challenges in their jobs. They may not grow immediately in terms of designation but there’s still immense scope for personal growth as they address the challenges that are hurled at them in such a competitive environment. “There is still a lot to be done and a whole lot of ground to be captured. I am not thinking of anything till I achieve the goals that I have set for the company and myself,” says Anand Agarwal, the 38 year old CEO of Sterlite Optical Technologies.


For technology companies, the India operation is invariably more than just a subsidiary that follows the headquaters’ diktats — it’s a place where directions are set and products for the future developed. “Sterlite has actually given me a chance to be entrepreneurial — develop newer products, reach newer markets and make the company into a force to reckon with in the global scenario,” says Agarwal.


Amit Agarwal, managing director of the Amazon Development Centre in India too feels that there is a lot for him to pursue at his current post. “I am comfortable with Amazon — its core values, principles and perspective appeal to me. It has provided immense opportunities to be an entrepreneur.”


The 32 year old Agarwal set up the centre in India from scratch two years ago after spending four years in Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. His passion for music (he played the guitar with a band back in Seattle) does set him thinking of devoting more time to it but definitely not at the cost of giving away an equally exciting profile of developing new products. “This is just the beginning. I still intend to stick on long enough to make a successful impact on society,” he says.


It is not just the growing company that drives them but also the fact that India is the new power in the global arena, an emerging country where economy and demographics are both in favour of growth. Most of the young guns have got their views on India as the next super power absolutely imbibed in them — and this is where they want to be.


Of course, there’s also a sense of stagnation that may creep in because of focus on particular country — however fast it may be growing. Turner International’s Misra, for one, would definitely like to handle a bigger scale of operations. “I would like to explore other regions too. What interests me is the way businesses function in different parts of the world,” he says.


While handling a bigger operation seems like the next logical step, these achievers are not entirely betting big on their future career in the company on a global scale. History shows that not many Indians who have held reins in the country have gone on to head their global parents.


Unilever, for example, did have a major restructuring exercise where many top rung Indian managers are catapulted to their board, but that’s far from the global chief’s chair. But our Indian managers are least concerned. “I am not looking at a global career in Reebok because India is where the action is and the challenge to grow in an emerging market is immense,” says Singh. For these achievers, life will indeed begin when they turn 40.


It is remarkable to witness these very individuals ready to take on another challenge after having achieved what may seem elusive at such young age. And also praiseworthy is the fact that they do not consider it a major achievement at all. Achievement, after all, is a frame of mind.