The series includes interactive sessions and talks by corporate doyens. An alumnus of prestigious institutions like the Doon School, IIT Kharagapur and the Harvard Business School, MR. Malhotra, prior to leading Headstrong, was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of TechSpan, which merged with Headstrong in October 2003.
A true pioneer of the Indian IT industry, Mr. Malhotra founded TechSpan in 1998 with funding from Goldman Sachs and Walden International. The merger of TechSpan with Headstrong has built an end-to-end services organization. Mr. Malhotra led the seamless integration across businesses and cultures, resulting in Headstrong’s recognition as one of the fastest-growing IT-based Financial Services companies.
Mr Malhotra broadly spoke on the following four aspects- What it makes to be an entrepreneur, the environment at IIT, the Indian way of doing business and the HCL story. The author put laid great stress on going out and making the most of an opportunity and said, “Interviews are like exams; the more you do them, the better you get”. Mr Malhotra urged the future managers from the batches of 2008 and 2009 not to run after money. According to the doyen of the IT industry, “Money should be a by-product of success and not the reason for success”.
The speaker also gave useful insights into the difference between working hard and working smart- “Real life is all about competing with peers who are smarter than you. You need to survive, differentiate and perform”. This was one trait which the speaker felt that Indians lacked. Mr Malhotra felt that Indians make good entrepreneurs predominantly because of their inherent nature to tolerate frustration, ambiguity and are highly innovative but suppressed. This is coupled with a need for job security and lack of self-confidence.
Mr Malhotra shared his thoughts on the changing face of business processes in India and gave a peek into his own entry into the business of doing business during the crestfallen days of the license raj in India. The honoured speaker shared numerous insights into the ways of doing business. The speech was highly interactive and was filled with numerous anecdotes some of which were humorous but had a moral beneath them.