1. What have you found most challenging as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise?

Respecting and getting the best out of senior creative minds including a Nobel Laureate in a given project. Meeting project schedules amidst policy changes by Government within the project fruition cycle.

2. How did you become a CEO or executive of a large enterprise? Can you please briefly tell the story?

My constant thought process of embracing newest technical challenges for the organization caught the imagination of the board and subsequently able to deliver with high energy teams as it happened after completing digital transformation pilot projects in various group companies in RP-SG Group with much uncertainty at the beginning of the journey with financial commitments on the table already.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I usually sleep not more than 4 hours a day and the day begins with the moon still on the skyline with a light workout. I believe in connecting 121 rather than exchanging copious mails.

Nowadays the screen time gets the better of me with no looking at the wall clock as I have to keep up with changing time zones.

4. What’s the most recent significant leadership lesson you’ve learned?

Getting the most from the confinement of your home and technological excellence keeping the site personnel at their job.

The best lesson I learnt is how to keep the supply chain undisrupted in these extraordinary situations and how to motivate vendors to keep the project on wheels sometime slowing down while sometime speeding up but never coming to a standstill.

5. What one book has had the most profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

The Return by Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes and I read it over and over again because it gives me inherent strength to see how mankind embraced uncertainty despite best of the training and how the science and astrophysics matched to give an unparalleled success where no one dared to venture before.

6. How do you build leadership capacity in a large enterprise?

I believe in empowering staff and allowing them to do their way but keeping a close check so that the safety of personnel and equipment is not compromised.
Holding regular meetings (both pan India and across globe) and always give them a feeling that they are important to the organization.

7. If you had to pick just one story, what would be the most meaningful story from your time as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise so far?

Convincing the Management and the Board to embrace Digital Transformation in various Group companies of RP-SG.