It?s probably right to say that Biren Ghose, country head, Technicolor India, leads his life in multi-colours. Born to Bengali-Parsi parents and married to a Punjabi wife, his house itself is a melting pot of cultures. Not to
forget, he is also a jazz musician who jams every month for a serious session and a Formula One enthusiast.
His corporate lessons started very early in life. He believes it is in his genes. ?Five generations ago in my family tree, Bazonji Dadabhoy Mehta, was selected by Jamshedji Tata to be the general manager of the Empress Mills of India?which is the first Tata company. He was also knighted by King George V for his management prowess on his visit to India,? says Biren, proudly. Moreover, his great grandfather from his paternal side sailed to UK and was one of India?s first barristers. Hence, picking up negotiation and other related corporate skills, was no great shakes. It came just by hanging around his household. Biren is paying back some of that kindness now. He rates his family vacation, a Mediterranean cruise, with three generations?his mother, his in laws, the wife and kids last year? to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary as a milestone event.
As a 14 year old Biren used to accompany his father on sales trips by road?school permitting. He also used to drop into his father?s office on Saturdays and be fascinated at how different functions worked in sync. So years later when he started his sales and marketing job he did not feel it was foreign territory.
With that kind of exposure there was no way he was going to fail. He started off his career as a management trainee at USHA Shriram and quickly rose up the ranks,
using all that he learned at home. Biren says his first big break came when he was 26, when he had the opportunity to work with Rajan Nanda of Escorts to build a consumer durable brand called Niky Tasha. Biren then was the youngest member of the team.
He firmly believes that the three religions in the family has had a profound
influence on him. Though admittedly spiritual, Biren and his family are fairly non ritualistic and very contemporary in outlook believing that the underlying core messages and values across all faiths are very similar. ?This is the greatest preparation for children in an increasingly multi-dimensional world,? he says.
His hobbies are an extension of his life, and not something that he indulges in to pass time. Jazz, he says, he is a great teacher. ?Jazz is about having a basic theme and then being able to innovate around it. That?s what you need to do in a modern workplace as well. Innovating while trying to retain the tempo of fellow players is a great tool. His other passion?Formula One?is a great lesson in understanding excellence, he says. ?It?s the zenith of what man and machine and teamwork can achieve.?
One of his most rewarding experiences has been his association with Vijay Mallya of the UB Group. ?Here is where I honed my understanding of strategy, manufacturing and finance which rounded off the already ?practiced? marketing skills,? says Biren. UB also helped him get a strong
international exposure having worked on several joint ventures at a time when the concept of inviting partners to share their technology in India was not as obviously attractive as it is today. He singles out his project in bringing a Swedish biotechnology company to India as it gave him a very different understanding of how multinationals work in a global context.
But his true calling came much later when he discovered the world of media and entertainment, a business that he has been in for over 10 years now. He started with UTV where again he credits Ronnie Screwvala for the opportunity to work on some
pioneering projects and Kishore Lulla of Eros International who he refers to as the ?Bollywood king maker?.
Today as the country head of Technicolor, Biren is a massive name to reckon with in the animation space. The combination of working in a ?gigantic? company that has been adding value to the creative community for almost a 100 years in Hollywood and being entrepreneurial in partnering the parent company mainly in digital productions (film special effects, animation and gaming) has been a heady mix for Biren. In the past two and a half years, the team has already grown to almost double its strength to 1,100 people in India.
The company has been operating in
India since 2007. Technicolor?s world-class animation, visual effects and gaming services enables it to handle marquee clients such as Nickelodeon, Mattel, Sony, Disney, Paramount and Warner Brothers. Technicolor also has to its credit the creation of all the characters of the Harry Potter movies. This is besides some cutting edge work in movies such as Kung fu Panda, Penguins of Madagascar and Back to the Barnyard. Technicolor India also houses DreamWorks Dedicated Unit which has produced its first full-length feature film ?Puss in Boots.?
Biren has been instrumental in establishing India as the primary hub for Technicolor?s foray in the CG animation business and has also developed India as a major centre for its global expertise in VFX (Film and Commercials Visual Effects) apart from managing strategic alliances including with DreamWorks Animation, USA. He has been serving as the ?Steering Chair? for the Nasscom Animation and Gaming Forum since 2006. He was also the Chairman of the Entertainment Committee of CII in Mumbai and served on the entertainment committee for FICCI and the Indian Merchant Chamber among others.
Truly, a life in multi-layered hues.
