LEADING FROM THE FRONT
NEC Corporation, the technology behemoth, a world leader in biometrics, ORAN, AI, and a plethora of technologies, has touched the lives of a billion+ Indians with its ICT-based social infrastructure solutions. NEC is strategically placed to drive innovation in India and enable it to realize its Digital India Vision owing to its vast domain experience and understanding of the Indian landscape. For the past seven decades, NEC Corporation India’s (or NEC India) technological solutions have been at the core of India’s infrastructural development. Its recent prestigious award wins at ET Best Brands, World Leadership Congress, Stevie Awards, and ten others simply embellish the strides the company has made in transforming the digital landscape in the country. At the heart of this turnaround is the soft-spoken, no-nonsense, humble to a fault, delivery-focused Aalok Kumar. In the two and a half years that Kumar walked into the corner room of the country’s long standing digital transformation partner – NEC, the firm has not only expanded business with impressive numbers by overcoming the turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic but also implemented a paradigm shift in its workplace embracing the new dynamics.
ENTERPRISING VISIONARY
Aalok’s journey with the Fortune 500 IT giant NEC began in March 2020 when India imposed its first national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as he visited NEC’s Noida office, he took on the challenges head on, exemplifying how he is ‘a master at his work.’ With a global experience spanning 26 years in Indian and international markets, including Japan, APAC, and EMEA, Aalok has relentlessly focused on core operating profits, organic growth, and a people-centric approach. A brief recap of his journey, portrays his result-oriented approach and deep expertise in performance improvement, margin expansion, and overall business transformation. A St. Stephens College (Delhi) graduate, Aalok secured a seat in the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to pursue his dream career. His first job was with Castrol India Limited as a Sales Manager and since then there has been no looking back. His stellar track record reflects phenomenal performance in various roles like VP – Marketing, CMO & Head of Strategic Initiatives, Chief Strategy Officer, Senior VP, and others.
SETTING THE BAR HIGHER
For Aalok, NEC’s primary anchor is its people – customers, partners, employees, and end-users. Connecting people with innovation ensures NEC India’s forward movement, impacting society and expanding NEC’s global footprint with India as the engine. As the ship captain, Aalok firmly believes in democratizing innovation, changing its workforce’s mindset, and removing any kind of bias from the system, thereby accelerating the company’s continuous transformation journey. Hence, it wasn’t a surprise when NEC India partnered with the government and businesses to deliver life-saving solutions achieving an accelerated growth curve even during the pandemic.
MAN WITH A PLAN
Aalok, a strong advocate of emerging technologies for human benefit, has set high standards & ambitions for NEC Corporation India for the following many years. In his opinion, NEC India isn’t a company but an institution that has been relevant for more than 70 years and will be at India’s service for at least more than 100 years. In his mind, he is crystal clear about the mark NEC India will carve in India’s Smart City, telecommunications, transportation, logistics, and public infrastructure journey. He remains bullish on India’s next stage of the digital transformation revolution with 5G rollout, and his determination is unmistakable.
