Intel India president Praveen Vishakantaiah is a person everyone loves to meet and call to a party. Extremely popular with colleagues, analysts, peers and rivals alike, Praveen is your quintessential ?people? man. While he is a hard driving top executive by his own admission, he clarifies that he is careful while handling a young executive at work.

” I did gain a lot during my younger days when bosses gave me morale boosts at the right time. I remember what that did to me. I worked like a turbo after each pat on the back,? says Praveen, settling down for our chat at the Leela Palace, Bangalore.

The unassuming gentleman is one of Intel’s best leaders globally, but there is absolutely no air about him, and he listens attentively all the time. He does not weigh his answers too much, as some of his multinational counterparts are known to do and blends in without much ado. ?I do not like prepared speeches,? he declares.

Praveen had joined Intel in the United States way back in 1993 and did not have to update his resume for a new job again. He had moved to the US for completing his MS and PhD in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Texas.

At Intel, he held various leadership positions in microprocessor design technology development and in the Pentium II, Pentium III and Pentium 4 microprocessor development teams. In other words, he was doing the cutting edge stuff others talk about, but rarely do.

His ability to get involved in other projects and help others with their work was noticed. People whom he reported to, took note of this innate ability and coaxed him to become a line manager. ?Am I so bad with technology, that you guys want me to become a manager,? he quizzed his bosses. The managers had to pacify him and explain why they were considering him to be a manager. By now, his people skills were well known and Intel management did want that to be recognised internally.

For many years, the experience of working in the US with Intel gave Praveen the wind beneath his wings, but he knew he would return to India after some time. He re-located to Intel India in 2003 to start its microprocessor post-silicon validation for Xeon server platforms. ?I did not know what was in store for me at that time. India was not yet this `happening’ story in 2003. But it proved to be right decision and I realised soon that India was the place to be .?

Praveen grew to become the director of Digital Enterprise Group at Intel India and was responsible for R&D of various Xeon server platform ingredients including microprocessors developed in India. He was steadily growing up the chain.

” I always believed that one should not position oneself for a post. A lot of people try to get to a position by just hanging around with the decision makers. The key is to take on more responsibility, take risks, explore and do more and better work. That way, one will get noticed, even if that could take 6-12 months more. That’s what I have done. I did not consciously try for the president’s role,? says Praveen, one of the winners of the first Intel Innovators award in 1995. ?The tougher a problem is, the more I get enthused.?

In a large organisation like Intel, there is bound to be points of debate and arguments. ?We call it constructive confrontation. Every time an argument erupts we sit around a table and thrash out the problem. It is important for employees to know that it is a constructive way of debating and nothing more. It’s a hard job for me as Intel president but I enjoy it. In large organisations there will be people issues, and one has to deal with it.?

“In the US, people who visit each other?s homes regularly can get into a professional argument very easily at office. In India that’s not so. One has to handle the situation differently here. Here I make sure that I sit at different lunch tables everyday, so that people do not read too much into anything.?

“In India, there is also a tendency of employees wanting to do something new every year. I guess that’s the way the industry has developed here. People get bored fast, may be because of the IT services way of life here. In the US, people work on one project for 10-15 years,and even then get up every morning with enthusiasm to go to work. That’s something I don’t see very much out here. People should learn to get more technical depth. Only then one can move up the ladder.?

At home, Praveen loves to indulge in cooking and a bit of gardening. ?My wife does not want me to cook at home when others are around. With my kind of corporate position, she thinks I should not do it too often. Personally I do think I’m a good cook. At least I have not killed anyone with my cooking yet!? he adds.