Category: Leaders

Shweta has a successful career spanning over 15 years. She initially joined her family-run garment export business, one of the oldest export houses in the country. It provided her the opportunity to work with globally leading garment brands and understand the export market in-depth. In her tenure of 14 years, where she worked with a multitude of export houses, she has gained incomparable knowledge of research and design, operations, and other key export processes. Thereafter, Shweta moved to hospitality, where she worked with Novotel Chamiers, a business hotel in Chennai. Under her leadership, the hotel expanded to become an award-winning franchise, widely acclaimed for its F&B services. The pandemic and a 5-day Korean skincare expo organized in Chennai led Shweta to set up Aardae, with her long-time friend, Darshana Balagopal. It took place during the pandemic and made her realize that lockdown regulations would make it difficult for global brands to transport their supplies to India. Shweta also undertook extensive market research in order to analyse a shift in behaviour towards more conscious living, leading to a spike in demand for ‘clean beauty.’ That’s when she planned to bring home-grown sustainable brands came to the forefront. Added to this, was her experience of the five-day Korean beauty expo in a Chennai mall. The products that were meant to last for 5 days sold out in a matter of 2 hours. This strengthened her confidence in her business idea and led to the birth of Aardae.

PIONEERING STEPS

Aardae promotes brands that sell sustainable, non-toxic, and cruelty free beauty products. It is set to launch flagship stores in Singapore, Dubai, and London – beginning with Singapore. In addition, they will launch their online marketplace, which will showcase over 1000 products from over 25 Indian and 35 foreign clean beauty brands, with an initial inventory stock of 10,000 products. These brands include Aminu Wellness, Juicy Chemistry, Ruby’s Organics, Soul Tree, Dot & Key and Brillare.

According to Shweta, Singapore being a cosmopolitan city where citizens focus on sustainability in every sphere, became her obvious first choice. The consumers here prefer clean and green beauty products. However, there was a lack of platforms such as Aardae, which offer smaller brands that fulfill this consumer demand. The path was not easy, and Shweta recalls the difficulties faced during their launch, especially with the stringent Covid-19 rules in Singapore. She had to manage everything remotely from India, without ever being physically present in Singapore.

GROUNDED BY ETHICS

Shweta has set stringent norms and procedures for onboarding brands. Each brand must fulfill a checklist of six factors – safety and certifications, sourcing, sustainability, transparency, efficiency, and brand position. In addition, Aardae makes sure that the products are both skin-friendly as well as eco-friendly. To provide the consumers with products that are ‘clean’ in their truest sense, the company performs stringent in-house quality tests on each product before including it in their catalog.

AMBITIOUSLY YOURS

With the aim to position Aardae as a one-stop solution for their consumers’ hair and skin needs, Shweta aims to expand the business by 2023 in ASEAN countries, like Malaysia and Indonesia, and other GCC nations. She also plans to launch an IPO in the next 5 years.

Darshana co-founded Aardae (in 2020), an online platform headquartered in Singapore that promotes cruelty-free, sustainable, non-toxic beauty products. Prior to launching Aardae, she established and led the marketing division of a luxury mall. She later rose through the ranks to become the Indian head of a major international technology brand.

AN INTERESTING ENTREPRENEURIAL START

International beauty brands have always been an obsession for the vibrant and young entrepreneur. The COVID-19-induced pandemic that disrupted lives around the world provided the impetus for the formation of her startup. During the initial phase of the pandemic, Darshana and her business partner – Shweta Gupta struggled to get hold of some of their favourite international beauty brands, which prompted them to source Indian products. They were highly impressed by the effectiveness of a few Indian beauty brands discovered by them. This discovery compelled them to design a platform for such unique homegrown products to gain international recognition. Aardae, under their direction, brings the best of homegrown/indie conscious beauty to the world, actively helping India in becoming a more important player in a thriving industry.

According to them, Indian conscious beauty brands possess all the attributes needed to succeed globally in terms of formulation, processes and effectiveness. However, the only thing they lacked was a robust international distribution platform. With Aardae, they aim to bridge that gap by bringing Indian beauty brands to foreign shores. Additionally, they chose Singapore to launch their brand due to the country’s strict quality control policies.

QUALITY COMES FIRST

As a values-driven leader, Darshana prioritizes quality. She ensures the quality of all products in her catalogue through in-house quality testing. Furthermore, all the products have international certifications that indicate various criteria such as cruelty-free, transparency about ingredients used, and so on. Additionally, the carbon footprint of the product is also taken into consideration. By emphasizing quality, she has helped her brand stand out from other beauty platforms.

As a believer in the philosophy of clean beauty, she and Shweta had launched Aardae to help educate others about the same. Aardae presently offers a specially curated catalogue of over 40 highly efficient and indigenous beauty brands specialising in clean, organic, sustainably sourced, and cruelty-free products. These include popular favourites such as Dot & Key, Juicy Chemistry, OCEGLOW, Earth Rhythm, SoulTree and Omorfee. The proactive entrepreneur intends to add another 15 top brands to her catalogue soon. Additionally, Darshana is a constant learner. She says that it is a privilege each day to learn new nuances of the trade which helps her grow as an entrepreneur.

MARCHING TOWARDS A GLISTENING FUTURE

With regard to her future plans, she hopes to expand her company’s presence in South East Asia by making the platform available in additional countries. She further asserts that they are open to securing investor funding soon after they starts thinking about expanding their business. Additionally, they dream of launching an IPO to become a listed company. They will be launching their platform in India soon.

TECH-TONIC RESULTS

A tech savant, Dr. Andre’s passion for applying his profound knowledge to design innovative problem-solving tech solutions led him to start a global tech company – TDTL. In fact he has travelled worldwide to gain a multidimensional perspective on different technologies, which he imbibes to create strategic business solutions for major global companies in the Middle East, US, Singapore, Philippines, etc. A leader and true-blue techie, his innovative initiatives are directed towards improving organizational growth, profit hiking strategies, and keeping pace with technological advancements. Owing to his dedicated efforts, his firm reached cumulative revenue of over $235M within just 9 years. His excellent leadership qualities and wealth of experience of 20+ years ensured that despite the recession, his company amassed the highest sales of average $5.5M.

THE NEW-AGE LEADER

Dr. Andre believes that the key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. He has led a team of 2,728 members across Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman, India, and East Africa. His democratic leadership style catalyses a conducive work culture for his team, wherein it can maximise its potential. He has also created a strong learning environment for the teams where they are provided training and opportunities to enhance their skills. In the post-pandemic era, when people are struggling to maintain a remote work-life balance, Dr. Andre has been a staunch support for them. He regularly maintains a rapport with them to ensure a high mojo. For instance, he shares the organisational goals amongst the employees to give them a clear direction and encourage participative decision-making.

THE LEARNING CURVE

Though he is already a Doctor in Data Science and AI, Dr. Andre is a perennial learner. He strongly follows his father’s belief that learning is never-ending. This has served as a guide to achieving his dreams of learning and training. One of his goals is to provide a learning platform on AI and emotional intelligence to people to help them upgrade their knowledge for professional or personal growth. To implement this vision, the TDTL has executed various research-based innovations.

Besides being a learner, he is a passionate trainer as well who believes that knowledge is a treasure that must be shared. He has a proven track record of training over 32,000 IT professionals from top-notch organisations across 82 countries in a plethora of technological domains like Project Management, CAPM, PMP and ITIL v3 Foundation, which has led to an increase in organisational profit. His high-end tech qualifications including several certifications from AWS and Microsoft, his ability to solve complex problems in real-time and sharp business acumen with a result-oriented approach make him a super trainer.

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS

In his rich 20-year career, Dr. Andre has achieved some remarkable milestones including The Best Innovation Award 2017, wherein he was selected from 1400 participants from 21 countries. He is a global-level speaker invited by renowned institutions across 87 countries. He has been recognised for his expertise in business and sales growth, excellent leadership skills, decision-making abilities for effective strategy implementation, and up-to-date skills in AI & Data that make him a digital transformation expert. Dr. Andre has carved a niche for himself in the dynamic digital world and emerged as a true transformer. He also believes in giving back to society and invests in children’s education.

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.

After a nearly two-decade long stellar career in banking, Roshni founded Myosutra in 2017 out of her unconditional love for the Indian craftsmanship. Born and brought up in a culturally inclined typical Bengali household in Kolkata, she developed a deep admiration for traditional Indian textiles and fabrics at an early age. Her exquisite handloom saris and bespoke jewellery are popular among foreigners and the Indian diaspora. With exports spanning to almost 25 countries across 5 continents, Roshni’s label is on its way to become the most prominent ‘desi’ brand in Europe. A saree connoisseur herself, she keeps exploring creative ways to redefine sarees and fashion accessories that best represent modern women. One of her unique designs, the ‘Bengal weaves’ saree is a masterpiece combining the best of traditional weaves like Baluchari from Bishnupur, Dhakai from Dhaka, Kantha from Bolpur, Batik, Tant, and Gamcha — all in one saree. Her Spring Summer Ethnic Jackets collection represents 6 different weaves from different corners of India and has been a successful attempt at adding some colours to the British high street fashion dominated by black and grey. She has something for every generation, be it contemporary designs like the London Skyline and Harry Potter themed sarees or the ‘ShohojPaath’ saree collection, an attempt to familiarise young Bengalis with ‘bornomala’ and the Bengali culture.

Her passion for fashion and the steady support and encouragement from her father, Mr. Shyamal Paul Chowdhury, have helped her fulfil her dreams of promoting the wondrous weaves and traditional textiles of India globally. She considers her creations as an ode to the Indian weavers. Thanks to her, NRIs can now easily buy their favourite local weaves from Calcutta, Banaras, or any other part of India in the UK and rest of the world. She attributes the economic success of Myosutra to her experience as a banker. It equipped her with the necessary skills to become a successful entrepreneur. Superior quality products and impeccable customer services have earned the brand 25,000 followers on Facebook and 9,000 followers on Instagram in a short span.

TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Roshni has launched “Swap that Saree” campaign to bring the Indian culture to the centre stage and promote sustainable fashion. She encourages customers to choose smartly and transform their old sarees into entirely new outfits like gowns, jackets, and dresses. According to Roshni, clothes are an investment and one should reuse them creatively instead of wasting their resources on new outfits for every occasion.

One of the eco-friendly fashion practices Roshni follows is experimenting with various Indo-western outfits made out of recycled sarees. An alumnus of the British Academy of Fashion Design, she feels that as a responsible fashion leader it is her duty to innovate and create a fashion opinion that genuinely evokes a positive change. Through her association with Psyconnect as the Chief Designer, she advocates the importance of mental health and promotes how dressing well can induce a sense of positivity in life. Her lifestyle and fashion television show- ‘AshwinerSharodoShaaje’ has established her as a television fashion guru in the UK. She is also a member of the Board of Advisors of Miss India, UK. For Roshni, learning and continuously updating oneself through work and life experiences is the key to sustenance and progress.

After completing a Bachelor of Economics degree, Sourav received his certification in Economics and International Business in 2020 from the International Business Management Institute in Germany. As a result of this course, he gained a thorough understanding of market structure and strategies to design, develop, expand, generate, and invest in the global markets with the correct knowledge and economics.

Sourav began his career in 2016 as the Manager – Operations in a Fintech Start-up where he learned about fintech industry and ending up driving it. The ambitious entrepreneur also co-founded Rounderz Ventures, a travel and event company, in the same year. In 2021, he joined SPay Technology Pvt. Ltd., a growing B2B platform that offers a wide range of services, including bill payment, online fund transfers, prepaid mobile recharge, insurance, ticketing, trip bookings, and more. SPay Technology is reaching unprecedented heights under his leadership.

AN EXCELLENT STRATEGIST

Sourav is also an expansion consultant and strategist. He has aided countless startups and businesses in achieving explosive growth and new sources of revenue. As a growth consultant, he assists firms in identifying new prospects and ways to improve their existing business offerings. Simultaneously, he is a specialist in analysing current market fundamentals and recommending better ways to serve clients.

He is a thoughtful entrepreneur who understands the needs of his customers and caters to their preferences. To improve the quality of his services, he is currently working on developing an unrivalled platform that provides financial services to customers’ doorsteps or into their hands, regardless of their location. Under his supervision, SPay Technology recently launched a phygital platform to fulfil the banking needs of low-income communities in rural India. Sourav argues that while digital India has progressed, people in rural regions still lack the knowledge and resources to conduct all transactions electronically.

To that end, he has developed the phygital platform, which allows customers to find customer service centers near their homes. These physical locations will make it easier for low-income people to use banking services such as money transfers, Aadhaar-based withdrawals, micro ATMs, flight train bus ticketing, and so on. This laudable endeavour is a continuation of the digital India dream, opening up a plethora of opportunities in rural banking.

CREATING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Apart from meeting rural banking demands, Sourav’s phygital platform also aims to eliminate unemployment by providing employment opportunities. This is accomplished by paying commissions to network partners who work with customers and help Spay Technology achieve its goals.

By digitising banking, SPay Technology network partners have emerged as micro-entrepreneurs who have formed a connection between rural and urban India. In this way, they have advanced the significance of the government’s digital India campaign. In a short timespan, Sourav has led his company to reach a service base of 16 million customers with its 30,000 network channels, which is indeed a commendable achievement. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to be prepared for harsh lessons, to roll with the punches, and to never give up.

Born and brought up in Kanpur, Nikhilesh set foot in Delhi to start his professional journey. He started as a Sales Manager in Suvidha Infoserve – a fintech organisation. From then on he started his journey to gain all the experience in Fintech. He also worked with Vodafone for some time. Although entrepreneurship was always on his mind, he decided to wait till the market is ready for what he was proposing. After working for around 15 years, he decided to take the plunge and started Spay India.

DREAM TURNED INTO REALITY

The journey of Spay India had to wait for the market to be digitized and online payments to become mainstream. As soon as Nikhilesh sensed that the time is right, he started building Spay India piece by piece. He and his Co-founder Mr. Sandeep Dhawan started building Spay India with only one goal – to be the best service provider in the fintech industry. Nikhilesh and his team decided to focus on empowering the migrant population and other underserved sections of the Indian economy. Spay India is a growing B2B portal that offers a range of services like online money transfer, Aadhar enabled payment system, utility bill payment, travel, bus ticket booking recharge, insurance, and other services. Nikhilesh has one rule – to offer services where the customers need them, when they need them and in whatever manner they need them. Thanks to his years of working in the field, he knows that getting the pulse of the customer is the first step, rest follows automatically. At Spay India, Nikhilesh has trained his team to speak the consumers’ language. He has built a network of agents and merchants to be present at as many locations as possible and provide a hassle-free platform for all financial services to his customers. The biggest strength of Nikhilesh is that he knows his market and his goals are set. He wants to use fintech to bring about equality. He wants everyone to enjoy digital payments and feel empowered. This is also reflected in the kind of targeted products he has in his suite – micro-ATMs, domestic money transfers, POS, and many more.

SHARP, STEADY & CONSISTENT

Nikhilesh’s immense focus and sharp vision played a major role in building this organisation from the ground up. Under his leadership, the company has been growing at a rapid pace and now has an annual revenue of INR 100 crores. He managed to build a core team and roped in some very experienced people from the industry to help him make Spay Technology a reality. Despite no background in business, no IVY league, or IIM degrees, Nikhilesh has managed to build something that many can only dream of. He was dismissed as an underdog when he started his journey, but he took it upon himself to work tirelessly to achieve his goal. Today, Spay India is slowly and steadily carving its own distinct niche in this huge Fintech industry. Nikhilesh’s message to all aspiring entrepreneurs is to be patient but stern and face competition with grounded aggression, without losing focus. As for Spay India, the journey has just begun. Nikhilesh and his team are looking at a bright and action-packed future. Nikhilesh envisions Spay India to reach every nook and corner of India’s tier-4 & 5 cities, towns, and rural areas. He wants to build a network of millions of exclusive stores – each of them operating as a mini bank for his customers. While it’s all a vision, for now, that’s how every journey begins – with a dream.

QSR Brands appointed Nehchal to its Board of Directors in March 2020. Thereafter, he was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director in April 2020. The Board chose him for his leadership brilliance, strategic competencies for organizational transformation, and consistent performance in previous roles. His appointment has been a pivotal step for the company, as he has extensive experience building high performing teams, leading company growth, and improving product value.

The visionary leader stood up to the expectations of the Board by delivering outstanding financial performance. He continues to take QSR Brands and its subsidiary businesses to new heights with his experience, determination, and zeal. He has shown extraordinary courage during the global health crisis posed by COVID-19.

Since his appointment, the company has embarked on a transformation journey while growing shareholder value. Keeping in mind QSR Brands’ values and vision, he continues to build upon them to ensure that the company remains competitive in the market.

AN IMPRESSIVE CAREER GRAPH

Nehchal is a qualified lawyer. He pursued Bachelor of Law (LLB) from King’s College in London. Throughout his career, the well versed leader has held leadership roles at leading investment banks.

Prior to joining QSR Brands, he worked as a Corporate Advisor to Johor Corporation, a state-owned investment company established by the government of Johor State (Malaysia). Between 2010-2016, he served as MD of Morgan Stanley’s Singapore office. Before joining it, he worked for Deutsche Bank as the MD, overseeing investment banking operations in Malaysia and Indonesia.

ASIAN DEAL MAKER

An industry veteran with significant experience in Investment Banking, Nehchal has orchestrated some of the largest IPOs in Asia, including Petronas Chemicals’ USD 4.8 billion IPO and Felda Global Ventures’ USD 3.3 billion IPO (each as Global Coordinator)., Nehchal originated several capital market mandates, including Khazanah Nasional, Axiata, Sime Darby, and other notable companies within Southeast Asia. He has also advised numerous multi-billion dollar corporate clients across the Southeast Asian region regarding transactions of mergers, acquisitions, and capital markets. These remarkable achievements make him uniquely qualified to drive any business forward.

A TRUE VISIONARY

Nehchal is a proactive leader brimming with relentless energy. His passion about his vision is a testament to how much he loves his work and the people in the organization. Under his stellar leadership, QSR Brands have been witnessing remarkable growth year on year. With his relentless efforts and strategic planning, he is helping the brand further strengthen its position in the market as the leading food chain brand loved and trusted by everyone in the region.

Nehchal’s new vision for the company is to provide future-proof dining experiences using technology and data and become ASEAN’s leading food technology company. In the coming years, he aims to mold QSR Brand’s Mission to proactively prioritize product innovation and providing high quality food to new segments of consumers. His strategic approach during the COVID-19 pandemic has already helped the brand transform into a technology-based omnichannel food service company. When thousands of thriving businesses struggled to stay afloat due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nehchal, instead of giving up, rolled up his sleeves and implemented an overnight transformation to upgrade the business model. Firstly, he placed a high priority on keeping people safe and providing food that is hygienic and safe for consumption.

Secondly, he initiated the transformation of the brands business models into e-commerce and digital to enable “channel switching” – to continue sales through online delivery when Dine-in was closed. He ensured customers would seamlessly place orders and receive them smoothly via brand’s own website, apps and 3rd party aggregators like FoodPanda, Grab food and others despite the ongoing pandemic and the restricted movement control and lockdowns. All these initiatives were done following the government set guidelines and the abiding by the company’s stringent SOPs. As a result, business growth and profitability increased significantly during such a highly challenging period. It was an instant transformational change to shift from a traditional business strategy to a digitally-driven dynamic and agile business model, which helped QSR Brands and its subsidiaries to thrive during the pandemic period. As a result, digital sales for KFC and PH increased 600% and 300%, respectively. Through radical changes, Nehchal took every possible measure to transform QSR Brands and its subsidiaries into a data-driven, digital-driven group. He also ensured that all QSR Brands employees received training on the new COVID-19 prevention practices.

LEADING BY HEART

At QSR Brands, pregnant women who are at their 28th week of pregnancy can work from home. This scheme launched in 2020 is applicable to women working at KFC and Pizza Hut Stores as well. Nehchal is a compassionate individual who believes in leading from the heart. People and their wellbeing have always been a top priority for him. Consequently, the benevolent leader has implemented numerous welfare initiatives for their benefit. For instance, QSR Brands launched a private vaccination assistance campaign under his direction in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, PIKAS (Program Imunisasi Industri COVID19 Kerjasama Awam-Swasta), and KPJ Hospitals. He has steered QSR Brands towards making meaningful CSR programs an integral part of the firm’s commitment to giving back to the society. It has launched several CSR initiatives under his guidance.

Born and raised in a middle-class family in Chandigarh, India, he lived most of his life in Africa. During the late 1980s, the 18-year-old Mr. Hari made an unimaginable journey away from his hometown, leaving behind the comforts of his home in India for the rugged terrains of a far-away place. His belief in himself and the mentorship of his elder brother, who worked in Liberia (a country in West Africa), enabled him to withstand the storms his joint family went through in the years that followed.

Thus, he set off for Liberia, driven by the desire to succeed. Since it was too early for him to settle on a career path, doing whatever came his way seemed the best option. Therefore, with the support of his elder brother and sister-in-law, he first got into the entertainment industry. He started with a video library and later expanded to include a movie theatre, a discotheque, a casino, and a fast-food outlet. Unfortunately, Lady Luck did not favour him; consequently, he and his family were forced to leave everything behind during the Liberian civil war of the early 1990s and return to India.

AN INDOMITABLE SPIRIT

An epitome of perseverance, passion, determination, and fearlessness, Mr. Hari is known for his indefatigable spirit. The traumatic experience of becoming financially unstable after several years of hard work did not shatter him. Instead, he faced the situation fearlessly. After returning to India, he spent the next two years learning new skills, from mending electronic devices to mastering software programming at a time when the IT industry was still in its infancy.

While undergoing long periods of unemployment and uncertainty, one thing that remained constant was his faith in the Almighty that his mother had nurtured in him from early childhood. This faith led to a vision of the West African map with Ghana standing out to him early one morning. In 1992, Mr. Hari moved to Ghana with his elder brother and set up an IT company called IPMC. Despite being one of the first countries in the world to abolish customs duties on computers and to declare tax holidays for IT businesses, the acceptance of automation by enterprises in Ghana was still a long way off. In the early days, Mr. Hari tried convincing customers door-to-door to buy the PCs he assembled personally. During this time, he also developed the first accounting software called ‘Account Manager’ exclusively for Ghanaian businesses, which remained the best seller for several years.

PROMOTING IT SKILLS

In addition to making IT gadgets and software freely available in Ghana, IPMC’s initiative to promote IT skills among Ghanaians and people from neighbouring countries led the company to become a household name in the West African region. Mr. Hari is one of those entrepreneurs who recognised the potential of this region and its people long before others.

Due to his unwavering efforts, IPMC has evolved into one of Africa’s largest IT companies specialising in data centre consulting, business analytics, IT service management, and more. The company is a major distributor of IT products for multinational corporations such as HP, IBM, DELL, EMC, MICROSOFT, and CISCO. Presently, it has over 25 offices in five West African countries, viz., Ghana, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and employs over 750 IT specialists. Mr. Hari asserts, “Both private and public education institutions must seek out ways to expand the IT sector, and the skills required to do so. The country lacks IT training centres, but even more so than quantity, we need quality IT education institutions today.” To that end, he has established IPMC’s College of Technology and IT Learning centres to offer computer science engineering and IT skills development programmes through the STEM initiative. With its franchise program, plus more than 27 IT learning centres and the college of technology, IPMC offers IT training to over 20,000 students a year. Over the past three decades, IPMC’s College of Technology has trained over 2 million people creating a technologically skilled and digitally empowered labour force across West Africa, especially in Ghana.

MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

Mr. Hari staunchly follows the Sikh faith with solid principles of service to humanity. Born into a family devoted to service before self, the Ghana-based Punjabi entrepreneur pursues a humble but vital role in the larger scheme of things for building a better world for all. Whether it’s organising cultural events, adopting an orphanage, starting programmes for women’s empowerment in far-flung locales, creating response strategies for outbreaks like Ebola or COVID-19, or raising money for cancer genomics research in Canada, Mr. Hari and his entire family are constantly at the forefront of community outreach initiatives.

Despite having a flourishing business overseas, he is deeply connected to his roots. Recently, he addressed the gathering of all office bearers of Punjabi Sahitya Academy, Ludhiana, calling on them to promote Punjabi, their mother tongue. According to him, it is a moral duty that needs to be carried out by Punjabis themselves, including those living abroad.

GARNERING ACCOLADES

IPMC has been honoured with numerous prestigious accolades globally, including various national awards from the President of Ghana. His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Asantehene, the King of the Ashanti people of Ghana, recently bestowed the renowned Millennium Excellence award upon him, illustrating the gravity of his contributions.

He is an accomplished writer and singer and loves to play different musical instruments. He is also a dedicated art event host and has hosted various live performances.

In 2021, following the drastic second surge of Covid-19 cases in India and shortage of oxygen, he rallied Ghanaians for a brotherly gesture to India and organized shipping of 150 medical grade oxygen concentrators which was shared among 30 health facilities in rural areas across 14 states.

POSSESSING A FAR-REACHING VISION

Prof. Sasmita has undertaken several initiatives and business innovations in congruence with her belief that ‘Leadership is the responsibility to contribute for the success of others.’ She launched the ‘Education for All’ programme that supported one million students to participate in higher education. Recognising the psychological impact of socio-economic disadvantages, she organised the ‘Lead For Life’ confidence-building exercise for underprivileged children. She strives to maintain a student centric ambiance in the campus. Her vision is to create an ecosystem that supports researches for finding effective solutions to social issues. She is working dedicatedly towards making KIIT rank amongst the top 100 universities in the world. She is gearing up to introduce online certification courses to expand the horizon of KIIT.

UPHOLDING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

She has been vehemently advocating social welfare through education. A voracious public speaker, Prof. Sasmita has participated in various conferences, and even organised an international webinar on National Education Policy 2020. It was presided by Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ the former Minister of Education, and had more than 25000 participants globally. Under her counsel, KIIT has been taking active part in outreach activities. They conduct programmes for holistic development, provide free medical services, hold awareness camps and occupational safety and health workshops for agricultural and construction workers at Kandhamal and other rural areas. Moreover, they facilitate Rural Capacity Building by conducting skill set training programmes on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology, the Government of India.

EFFICIENTLY BATTLING THE PANDEMIC

Under her guidance, KIIT managed its academic calendar without any disruption by conducting virtual lessons and COVID-19 awareness programs on TV and other mass media channels to reach remote parts of the state. They aided the healthcare infrastructure by distributing 50,000 PPE kits amongst healthcare workers and, setting up 4 specialized COVID-19 hospitals in Bhubaneswar, and in the districts of Balangir, Mayurbhanj and Kandhamal. Along with 1250 hospital beds in total, they have also built quarantine centres, isolation and post COVID care facilities. Under her leadership, KIIT distributed dry and essential food items, groceries, sanitizers, masks and sanitary napkins to 3 lakh + people, and set up a tele-counseling cell to provide support for stress management and emotional wellness during the pandemic. Their tele-medicine facility also made online healthcare consultancy available to the public. KIIT has also started the initiative to provide free education to children who lost their guardians to COVID-19 in Odisha. For all their contribution, KIIT was awarded the Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award-2020 by the AICTE, Ministry of Human Resource Development, for post COVID-19 redevelopment and rehabilitation plan and ‘Leadership and Management Team of the Year’ by THE Awards Asia 2021.

A DYNAMIC CAREER

She is the ambassador of UGC Paramarsh Scheme, KIIT-DU, which helps many institutes to get NAAC accreditation and good ranking nationally. She is the Assessor and Committee Member, NAAC. She is the Founder-President of World Leadership Academy, which serves as a platform for global leaders to address issues from diverse domains. She has immensely contributed to professional bodies such as the Indian Science Congress, Indian Academy of Social Sciences, Indian Commerce Association, Odisha Commerce Association, and others.