There is a sense of contentment on Pradip Dutta?s face?a kind of serenity, not seen on the faces of very many at the top of the corporate ladder. The managing director of Synopsis India talks in an easy, relaxed tone and looks like he does not need an ice-breaker question.
Synopsis, a world leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software, is making a great name for itself on Indian shores and as the captain of the ship, Pradip has lots to be proud about. Born into a traditional Bengali family, Dutta picked up his early technical skills from his father, who was an engineer himself. During his days at South Point High School in Kolkata, Pradip took a great liking to maths and science. ?Unlike so many other other peers I was not pressurised to take up engineering. I just loved it.?
He was deeply connected with maths that he found it difficult to say whether the subject was a hobby or an obsession. The bright student he was, no one was surprised when Pradip moved on to complete his B.Tech in Electronics from IIT Kharagpur, and then packed his bags to board a flight to the United States. He picked the University of Maryland to do his Masters in Semiconductor Device Design, where he delved into metal-oxide semiconductors (MOS) and related aspects. Pradip then proceeded to do his Ph.D in materials and characterisation of semiconductors.
?I was really crazy about semiconductors. I kind of instantly knew that my future work lay there. And I was ready.? Not too long after completing his thesis, he was lucky to get a break in Delco Electronics Corporation, then a subsidiary of General Motors (GM). ?I was thrilled. Finally I had the opportunity to put to use what I had learned.?
His expertise and learning of transistors got instant recognition at GM, and soon he was elevated to Delco R&D. ?Those were five of the splendid years of my life. I got to learn a lot, and also contribute immensely as well. I got to work with several automobile players like Hyundai, Daewoo and Toyota and this was a very exciting time.?
Pradip continued to grow in stature within the company, and then he got a call to move to Singapore. The opportunity was to develop the business in the APAC region. ?I jumped at it because I wanted to get more exposure in the business development side of things.?
Pradip got his hands around product engineering, programme management besides business development at Singapore. And after some time, he was sucked back into India. ?I got this opportunity within the company to move back to India as country manager (sales and marketing). I loved the challenge.
India had changed so much after I had left its shores and it felt great to be back.?
By then he had spent many years at Delco and wanted to taste something different. That?s the time when Synopsys came into the picture. ?That was in year 2000. I also wanted to get back to electronics design and Synopsys was a great choice for me.?
The industry was well aware of his accomplishments in EDA, and he was a marked man everywhere he went. Since the turn of this century he has been handling Synopsys? R&D centres in Bangalore and Hyderabad and people flocked to work under him.
Synopsys started its Bangalore operations in 1995. It had started off as an offshore development centre with an initial investment of $4 million. The centre specialised in the areas of development, testing and verification. This involved the software development of EDA tools, verification and chip design applications. ?What I love about Synopsys India is its work culture. It is a very people centred approach, which thrives on empowering the individual. The core values here are built around integrity and customer success. Fresh ideas from a new employee are always welcome and we hold immense pride in the quality of work we do,? says Pradip.
At Synopsys, continuing education is an integral part as chip design is so complex. EDA tools will have to steadily incorporate the latest in research in computer algorithms and date structure management. ?Hence, we encourage our employees to be in constant touch with academia.?
When it all gets a bit too much at work, he likes to unwind by traveling overseas with his family for ten days every year. ?I love places like Australia and New Zealand. I also like to read novels based on real-life experiences and management books. At present, he is finishing ?Who Says Elephants Can?t Dance? Inside IBM?s Historic Turnaround? written by Louis V Gerstner Jr, the man who turned around IBM.
He also has his retirement mapped out. ?For long I have cherished a dream to get away from the corporate environment and spend time teaching. Teaching is my forte and I would like to teach basic science and mathematics to high school kids.?