Ones to Watch- CIO Exclusive - Part I

Here are the stars -

Krishna Basudevan, 42
General Manager Enterprise & Architecture, Aircel

He is someone to watch: Because he was instrumental putting together a solution that will reduce the average call handling time of over 6,000 operators in contact centers spread across 18 locations. Because his experience in value-added services is a boon to Aircel and has contributed to its bottom line. Because he pursues projects with unflagging conviction even when others have little faith in its success. Because his consistent commitment to deliver SOA-based IT systems has brought tremendous business value. Because he has rarely been known to succumb to pressure. Because he knows exactly when to lead his team and when to guide it. Because he works ferociously to live by Aircel's credo: to build the most exciting brand of the next decade. Because he has the technical and operational skills to deliver results, despite the ever-changing needs of his business. Because two minutes with him and you know he's the type who's firm in his decisions, yet open to discussion.

Mentor Speak: At Aircel, he quickly started working on the concept of ‘aircel of the Future.’ We saw the respect he got by way of his engagement with people.” — Ravinder Jain, CIO, Aircel

If you want to be a rising star you have to…Take decisions with uncertain inputs and believe in yourself.
Turning point in your career When I moved every pillar in the organization to ensure that we could get a messaging gateway for a service delivery platform live pan-India — in 15 days.
Your leadership philosophyAutocratic when you know what’s to be done and democratic in uncertainty. Give your team room to work independently, and guide them when they face obstacles. Praise in public, criticize  in person.

One question you wish you had better answers to Why people think they  can have success without hard work.

If I were not an IT leader, I’d have been… A journalist.

Over-rated Cloud computing for enterprise applications. Bandwidth and connectivity in India need to mature before it can fly.
Your hero Bill Gates, because he gave the world the vision of personal computing and now everybody talks of personalized service.

Who would you invite  to dinner?
Sachin Pilot. I’d like to ask him what inspired him to become a public executive.
What would you be most likely caught saying? Let’s get this done.

Favorite TV shows
CNBC’s stock marketanalysis at 10 PM and theTom & Jerry show.

Continued (see Part II of Ones To Watch)...

Pankaj Agrawal

Pankaj Agrawal, 43
Head IT Governance, Aircel

He is someone to watch: Because he was instrumental in making the company a national service provider in just 18 months.  Because he quickly caught up with the pace at which Aircel was growing. Because he created an SLA framework where 77 percent of SLAs are directly aligned to business KPIs. Because in a highly-competitive sector he came up with the idea of creating Wi Fi hot zones across India. Because that project provided the company an edge over the established giants. Because his negotiating skills saw to it that 293 pending security audit observations were reduced to 37 in just four months. Because he took it upon himself to seal a long-term strategic outsourcing contract with Aircel’s outsourcing partner. Because in telecom the success of a large outsourcing contract depends on how it is administered. Because his organized and methodical approach made that process smooth. Because his sincerity speaks for itself.

Mentor Speak: Pankaj’s inter-personal skills are good and his acumen for business is sharp. His belief in quality and timelines makes him stand out.” —Ravinder Jain, CIO, Aircel

A question you wish you had better answers to How do I get other stakeholders to become self-organized?
Your leadership philosophy The way to gain your team’s respect is to share your vision with them. Be a role model and demonstrate how you expect your teams to behave.
If you want to be a rising star you have to be...A good listener. Be willing  to understand other
people’s perspectives even when you strongly believe in yours.
Smartest advice you’ve got Recognize your special performers and reward them — even if it’s in a small way. And rewarding a non-performer could be counter-productive to the team’s performance.

What’s non-negotiable? Ownership and commitment.
Your favorite magazine: TIME
You would like to invent... A machine that enables the self-empowerment of people all around me.
Common mistake managers make Conveniently forgetting their commitments.
In high school, you would have been voted most likely to...… come up with  innovative ideas to do  same things differently.
You would like to stay in people’s memory as... Someone who has contributed to society  and fellow human beings — not just someone who lived to earn for himself.

Continued (see Part II of Ones To Watch)...

Sudip M. Banerjee

Sudip M. Banerjee, 38
Reliance General Insurance

He is someone to watch: Because he walked out of banking and into insurance and adapted swifty. Because he quickly won his team over with his charm. Because that was critical since his predecessor was hugely popular and the company expected to lose people when he left. Because he took the initiative to re-engineer a claims processing system, critical in the insurance industry. Because that brought down turnaround time from 21 to 16 days and cut costs by 5 percent.  Because he motivated his team to work on projects with an objective to cut costs using six sigma initiatives. Because these projects have saved about Rs 10 crore. Because he transformed the company’s portal into a line of business by simplifying it and extending sales and service capabilities. Because he is reliable and has a sense of responsibility. Because  he is a consensus builder. Because his technology skills have earned him respect companywide, and that helps the IT team get management buy-in.

Mentor Speak: During these tough times, it is an accomplishment that he has managed to do many projects by rotating and keeping the team challenged and also helped cutting costs.”
—Sriram Naganathan, CTO, Reliance General Insurance

To be a rising star you  have to…Be humble, prioritize frommultiple alternatives, under-promise and overdeliver and build friends all around.  

Your hero My daughter. She seems to be everything I couldn’t be ather age. 

You won’t compromise on Honesty and commitment.

Your leadership philosophy To be numbers-driven, to think of business first and  IT later.

Your catchphrase Boss, this is not what I want.

Over-rated Windows Vista. It has superficial changes compared to XP and adds little value to oS performance or user experience.
The best advice you ever got Honesty is the best policy.

A common mistake too many managers make Not following-up on initiatives, always acting short-term
In high school, I would have been voted most likely to ... Make others laugh.
One question you wish you had better answers to…To cloud or not to cloud?
You would like to stay in people’s memories as… A guy who delivers on promise

You would like to invent A tool to effectively mine unstructured data

Continued (see Part II of Ones To Watch)...

Mahesh Chandra Srivastava

Mahesh Chandra Srivastava, 36
Manager Systems, IFFCO

He is someone to watch: Because he is dependable. Because thattrait was put to the test when IFFCO shifted its datacenter and hecame through shining. Because being technically sound, he was maderesponsible for designing and commissioning VPN links to remoteoffices. Because he got the job done with +99% uptime on every VPNlink. Because he provided near 100 percent secure WAN connectivity toIFFCO’s remote offices, despite challenges that seemed out of his control.Because he then introduced video conferencing between the corporateoffice, manufacturing units and the zonal offices. Because that savedthe co-op a lot of money and allowed faster decision making. Becauseit made IFFCO more efficient and helped submit its subsidy claim tothe government of India early. Because his work ensured that IFFCOclosed its books with no delay despite its size and the unwieldy natureof its business.

Mentor Speak: Srivastava is young, dynamic, sincere, has vision and knows the art of managing teams and projects.” — S.C. Mittal, Senior ED (MS&IT), IFFCO

Over-ratedServer virtualization. Electronically, single high-end hardware can not give same performance as individual servers. And its licensing costs are much higher.

Your leadership philosophyTake prompt action against ignorance and plan jobs for the long term. Redress issues by looking at the root cause.

Turning point in your career When I was put in charge of one area of the IT department that was responsible for the entire country.
One question you wish you had better answers to. How can I better balance  a project’s timeliness 
with quality?

If you want to be a rising star you have to…Be willing to multi-task.
The best advice you’ve gotThink broader and higher sothat your plans can cater to future requirements.
What would you be mostlikely caught saying? Ok, no problem.

Your nickname at work MC

What’s non-negotiable?Honesty.

Favorite gadget My Nokia E71
Your hero Ratan Tata for leading the way to the Nano. And Capt.Gopinath for what used to  be Air Deccan. They showed that if there is a will, there is way to design technology that’s low cost and still has quality. They served society while doing business.

Continued (see Part II of Ones To Watch)...

Ram Gollapudi

Ram Gollapudi, 38
General Manager IT Operations, Tata Teleservices

He is someone to watch: Because he is not fazed by pressure. Because when Tata Teleservices was haunted by data discrepancies that led to customer dissatisfaction and revenue losses, Gollapudi came up with a solution. Because he got other teams involved and backed them with the technology to fix the problem. Because he has outstanding team-building skills. Because he built a separate team for application operations from scratch and it’s now a full-fledged division that strives to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance user satisfaction. Because for him, it didn’t end there; he pushed the efficiency of the system by introducing process enablers for continuous improvement. Because by doing so he brought in synergies between application operations, DC operations and IT security. Because he is determined to increase interactions between IT and business, and he does so by hosting several forums. Because these forums air the pain points of both sides and bring them closer.

Mentor Speak : "I first noticed him when we collaborated on a Taiwanese project at Tech Mahindra. The company was venturing into a new area. ram rose to the occasion, demonstrated grit and commitment and made the project a grand success.” — Shirish Munj, Head-IT, Tata Teleservices

Over-rated 3G. Indian telecom consumers are spoilt for choice and my guess is only 4G will meet their  high expectations.
A question you wish you had better answers to
How do I achieve better work-life balance?
If you want to be a rising star you have to… Believe and make your team believe that ‘if faith
wills, fate fulfills.’
What would you like to change about the world?Make it into a really  global village.
Turning point in your career A project I did in Bangkok in 2005. It taught me that turning a situation into success or failure is in one’s own hands. It also reiterated the importance of team work.

The best advice you’ve got Don’t waste your energy over the small things.
Favorite gadget Photon Plus, it gives  laptops real portability.
Your catchphrase Let’s address the root cause.
Your hero My father for his leadership skills at work and life. His legacy lives on seven years after his death.
What impresses you? Working smart. It minimizes stress and achieves better results faster.
Your leadership philosophy Set clear goals, define clear roles and responsibilities, and empower and enthuse your team.
Your nickname at work Mr Perfect

Continued (see Part II of Ones To Watch)...