A few days back he got a mail that read, ?Hi, how are you? Haven?t seen you around for a while?. Nothing unusual about the mail, you?d say. Well nothing really except that the mail was sent from a new recruit to his deputy managing director.
For Kartikeya Bharat Ram, the young scion of the Rs 1,615-crore SRF Limited, the mail says a lot about the kind of person he is. ?I was in Thailand for some work, but I read the mail and promptly replied tom it. It feels nice to know people in your office can relate to you,? he says simply.
At 37, Kartikeya is a young man with head firmly on his shoulders. He is friendly yet firm, easy going yet in control. And the attitude you realise grew with him over the years. After his carefree initial seven years in Chennai (where the SRF plant was located), he was sent to Doon School in Dehradun for his schooling. Talking of his early years in Chennai, where the family stayed till 1980, he recalls, ?Those were some of our best years. Cities were smaller, friends were close by, and we?d cycle in the evenings. It was fun.? When Kartikeya was sent to Doon School, it wasn?t something that he resented much because his elder brother Ashish was already there. ?I made some of my best friends at Doon. I think I became a far more confident person living a more confident life, like you do there.?
So, when he went for graduation to Santa Clara University, it wasn?t that bad being away from home. After his graduation, he came back and joined the family business. It was something that he was keen on right from the time he can remember. ?When you grow up hearing about business, it becomes a part of you. In Chennai, Dad (Arun Bharat Ram) took us to the factory often. There was a sense of pride about being a part of the Sri Ram family. Also, I really looked up to my father and wanted to emulate him. So, I think I was pretty interested in the family business. What exactly I wanted to do was not something I was sure about,? he confesses.
Kartikeya particularly remembers the lunches, which his late grandfather Dr Bharat Ram would organise, where he?d invite industrialists, senior bureaucrats and politicians.? It was a great opportunity to interact with people who you wouldn?t otherwise have the opportunity to interact with. So, you became much more worldly wise. As a child you couldn?t really contribute, but the very act of sitting and listening to these people made a lot of impact,? says Kartikeya.
So at 21, when he joined the family business in 1993, he was ready for a lot of challenges. The first challenge, for example, was his first assignment where Kartikeya had the opportunity of working as a member of the SRF team with McKinsey & Co for developing and implementing a cost reduction programme and rationalisation of manpower.
As a result, they had to ask some people to leave. It wasn?t easy considering the fact that there were people twice his age who had to be asked to leave. ?I would have looked like this precocious kid who?s just joined and was asking people to leave. It was a tough job. But we tried getting external placements for as many people as it was possible. Everything was done with humility and sensitivity. It was an experience that told me about the fragility of life. I learnt not to take things for granted. Look at the bankers today. From having some of the cushiest jobs, a lot of them are today jobless. We used a lot of logic when taking the decision.? He adds, ?There are two important lessons that I learnt. One, do proper analysis before you take a decision. Secondly, it?s important to communicate with people before you take any major decision because it can at least soften the blow to a certain extent.?
Ask Kartikeya if he was ever treated like the boss? son and he says matter of factly, ?One went in the uniform and one tried to be as normal as possible to that extent. But I think ultimately everybody gets to know who you are. One went ahead with regular rules. But yes, you know that you?ll always be looked up to in terms of ideas, knowledge and directions and to motivate people as a leader. So, there is always some pressure to some certain extent. But it comes with all the great things that come with being a promoter. So, you have to know the basics. For me, one of the greatest things as a promoter is to continuously reiterate the values of the company.?
A few other projects followed after which Kartikeya decided to do his MBA from Cornell University. Firstly, because it was the done thing and secondly, because he thought there was only so far you can go with a graduate degree. ?Up to graduation, education is relatively basic. There is only so far you can go with your knowledge of things. It wasn?t easy getting back to making notes and preparing presentations after four years of working, but I would say it ultimately proved to be a great experience. There were a lot of other professionals who got back to studies after working for four to six years, so everybody in that sense was struggling. What I found, and I give all the credit to my professors at Cornell, we got so highly involved that there was a huge amount of interest in what we were doing. So, I did end up learning quite a bit,? he says with a sense of satisfaction.
After coming back, Kartikeya had to go through what the entire Bharat Ram family was going through ? separation pangs. ?It was the second separation after 1989. It wasn?t easy on anyone emotionally but I guess at one level we all realised it would be the best for everyone and it ultimately did. We are all doing well and we still have excellent relations. We all still meet at all festivals. We all celebrate the day of separation for the simple fact that it happened so amicably,? he smiles philosophically.
Work wise, it was time for the families to move on as well. Kartikeya wanted to do something but the biggest challenge, like he puts it, was to figure out what to do. For the first few months, he tried to work on investor relations but it wasn?t something he enjoyed much. It was the dotcom boom era and Kartikeya was bitten by the bug. So, he set up a portal. ?But it wasn?t the kind that went bust, ?he says with a smile. ?We decided to look at centralisation of procurement across the organisation. About a year and a half later, I took it to other companies. We had 15-16 companies. So, it became a proper start-up that a company was running. We had 25-30 staffers and a proper office. We ran it for four to five years and it was pretty successful in the sense we were making profits,? he says proudly. In 2006, they decided to shut it because the growth opportunity was limited.
Around 2004, Kartikeya?s father came back to the group management. And that is when Kartikeya and Ashish were given bigger roles. The duo decided to divide work between themselves. While Ashish decided to take care of strategy, operations and banking, Kartikeya decided to take care of HR, IT, TQM and corporate communications, at that point of time (2004-2005). ?We decided it would be easy if we work in areas that are our strengths,? he explains. Today both of them have grown in their roles. Last year, while Ashish took over as managing director SRF, Kartikeya took over as deputy managing director. Another interesting thing that has been done is formulating a family constitution that is followed to the T. ?The constitution is very tough. It covers our families, children?s education, divorces, salaries and perks, gambling, addiction etc. We wanted to look at every eventuality, even death.?
Clarity and communication, says Kartikeya, are extremely important. ?I feel if your manage your family well, the chances of managing your business better are greater. So, we make sure we communicate to each other about every little thing. Everything is discussed; it?s out in the open. We know that it?s lack of communication that had earlier harmed the larger family and we surely don?t want to repeat that.?
And communication for Kartikeya is important at all levels ?We aren?t a typical family business. It?s not that each cheque has to be signed by me. We try to delegate as much as possible, and run it as professionally as possible. So, if Ashish and I are out for 10 days, it?s not that the business will collapse. I believe it?s better to have qualified smarter people below you because I can?t claim to be an expert in every field, neither does Ashish. Having a good group of people makes work much easier. As long as you have trust in them, it?s easy to delegate. People are by far the most important players in an organisation.?
What probably sets Kartikeya?s communication apart is the fact that he is a people?s person, somebody who genuinely likes interacting with people and also knows the art well.
While his work keeps him busy, Kartikeya looks forward to going back home to his wife Radhika and children Maahir and Ahaana. ?I cherish every moment I get to spend with my children,? smiles the proud father.
Golf, something he picked up as a child , is a big passion . And his awards say as much. ?It?s great to get away with a group of friends. And there is a competitive spirit about it, which I quite enjoy.Also all the walking keeps you active.?
Another passion is sarod, something that he picked up thanks to the musical inclination in the family. ?I haven?t played it for a few years but I think I?ll listen to my wife and get back to it. It?s a good engagement and you feel proud about learning a new art. Also, I want my children to listen to santoor and Indian music rather than get addicted to guitar.?