INC-REDIBLES
Sir and madam are words that don’t exist in their lexicon — they respond only if colleagues call them by their first names. They have neither reserved parking slots in office, nor reserved tables in the executive cafeteria. Young, talented and aggressive, they think out-of-the-box. Meet the new breed of CEOs/COOs/MDs who are ringing in a whole new outlook for India Inc.
Devita Saraf, CEO of Vu Technologies and executive director, Zenith Computers, was just 24 years old when she took the plunge in business. She says, “I never felt I was too young as I have the aggression, leadership and fearlessness of a 50-year-old army general. I am someone who jumps into the deep and then figures out how to swim. I had a dream to build a luxury technology brand and I wanted to accomplish it.” Her mantra for success: Don’t fear failure.
And no, this millennial CEO breed doesn’t thrive on their dad’s money or high-profile degrees. Sandeep Maheshwari, CEO of Imagesbazaar.com, in fact dropped out of college and by the time he was 21 was earning over a lakh of rupees monthly. “My idea wasn’t uber creative. When I entered this business of stocking images, there were many players in the market, but today I lead as I’ve the largest stock of Indian images in the world. More than the idea, it’s the execution which is pivotal,” says Sandeep, who recently bagged a ‘Young Creative Entrepreneur Award.’
For Alok Kejiriwal, CEO of Games2Win.com, it was all about finding his own path. He says, “I wasn’t even worth a rubber stamp in my dad’s company, so I decided to start from scratch.” He feels younger CEOs are writing new rules in the corporate arena. “There is more transparency and accessibility in the way young CEOs function. There are no barriers, no hierarchy — we are collaborative, creative, and confident leaders who don’t hesitate to accept our mistakes.”
Age is just a number for Bhairavi Jani, director at SCA group of companies and chairman of CII’s Young Indians (Yi). She says, “What matters really is the breadth and depth of your experience and your ability to apply it at the right time and place.”
The action is now in the boardroom and looks like the young guns are firing.
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