Abhay Gupte is your quintessential technology man with over 25 years of experience, but he hates the word ?techie?. He feels it is a much abused word, and we agree. ?I often see the press using the term, and it is often used in a negative context,? says the man who is the CEO of the Indian arm of European IT firm Logica.
He?s probably right. One often sees headlines like ?Techie robbed at knife point?, ?Techie involved in scandal? etc. ?I never see any headline mentioning other professions. That?s strange,? he argues. The usually unflappable Abhay seems a tad ruffled, but then quickly turns his attention to dwell on his life story. A post-graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, he joined Logica from EDS where he held the position of the managing director of EDS? Indian operations. Prior to that, he worked with American Express Bank and GE Capital. Very impressive line-up of corporates indeed.
?I come from a middle class Maharashtrian family. It was made very clear to me that if I had to progress in life, I had to study hard.? Study hard was what he did for years together, but he was never the class topper. ?I was always behind the top bunch of students. Some of them are CEOs of other companies now.?
Computer science was fascinating in those days. ?Those were the days when computers were still housed in large air-conditioned rooms, where you had to remove your footwear before entering. And programs were punched on cards. The environment created a lot of curiosity about the entire workings of a computer room. I was fortunate to get access to a computer during my college days. The idea of finding the best?fastest and cheapest?solution to a business situation appealed to me.?
But he learned quickly that being a good student was not the recipe for corporate success. Self-belief is what takes one to the top, he says. ?Self-belief and inspiration are important aspects of leadership. I discovered the importance of self-belief when one of my previous leaders once asked me to complete a task. Looking at the task?the complexity of it and the expected delivery time?I was convinced that the work would not be completed within the expected time. But I decided to try completing the task with an open mind, and by removing the roadblocks. I gave it my best shot. To my great surprise, I not only completed the task within the time but also made my boss very happy. His entire request was fulfilled beyond his expectations. This was a great learning experience about ?not giving up? and believing in oneself.?
After having been exposed to the American corporate culture for a number of years, he took some time to adopt to the European culture at Logica. ?The work culture could look slow, intrusive and sharp at times. But once you understand why they do what they do, then things fall into place.?
The European market is diverse in terms of IT outsourcing. It is regarded as conservative and takes longer time to align itself to changes. Language is a barrier and the continent thrives on multiple languages and cultures. The diversity of business practices around accounting standards, risk management, labour regulations and social legislation make outsourcing a very complex plan in Europe. Majority of Logica?s clients are European, and thus the company is exposed to greater risks with the continent?s economic health not being at its best at the moment. ?But we have mechanisms in place to control the situation. We are confident we will come through,? he says.
The key, according to Abhay, is to spend time with clients to understand their business issues. ?Recently we were faced with a situation where a client was not happy with the results. It was escalated to me. But when I dug deep into the situation, it appeared that the client expectations were not well understood by the team. At the same time the likely outcomes were not discussed with the client. Hence there was an expectation mismatch which led to doubts about quality. When both the teams took the time to talk about it, explained their respective thoughts and expectations to each other, the outputs were understood and opinions changed. I do often notice that communication plays a very important part in a successful business relationship, but is often low down on the list of priorities.?
Logica is a major international force in IT and business services. Its solutions and services cut across consultancy, design, systems integration and value based applications and business process outsourcing. The company?s business is built around core verticals such as energy & utilities, financial services, space & defence, telecom and media, transporation and the public sector.
India remains a key part of Logica?s global game plan. Its India operation serves clients across Europe, Asia, US and Australia using Logica?s ?blended delivery model? which provides for a combination of onshore and offshore resources.
Logica is one of those few multinational corporations that drive strategic and global innovation out of India. Its Spark Innovation Centres in India are a case in point. These focus on mobility solutions of the future in the areas of intelligent transportation and wireless monitoring of vehicle emissions.
Abhay does not enjoy too much of free time, but when he does get some time he turns to books. ?Bill Bryson is definitely one of the authors that I like to read. His travelogues are excellent and create such vivid pictures. He has an interesting style of writing that appeals to me. His book on Australia??Down Under? and ?A Short History of Nearly Everything? are my favourites.?