ADROITLY LEADING THE SHOW

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Rajesh Nair , a leader with born skills in business is scaling new heights with his ideas and concepts for the budding entrepreneurs . He is currently the Head of Business development for all services of EY in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and is currently the President of TiE, a non- profit global organization which promotes and fosters entrepreneurship. Apart from his business ,he is a voracious reader and an excellent writer . In an exclusive interview to The Friday Mania he spoke about the future plans and activities of TiE and EY .

By Reeny Joseph

1. You are the President of a global organization which promotes entrepreneurship. Just brief us about TiE’S activities to help the entrepreneurs?

TiE ( The Indus Entrepreneurs ) is the largest non-profit body globally , which promotes and fosters entrepreneurship. We do this by providing power and promise to the five pillars of TiE as outlined by TiE Global – Mentoring , networking , entrepreneurship education, incubating and funding.

2. Since you are the Director –Markets of Ernst & Young( EY) ,and also being an active person with TiE, how do you manage to handle both the posts with such enthusiasm?

I currently head business development for all services of EY in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A lot of work which we do has an immense synergy with TiE. As a consultant, one of my fundamental duties is to improve the business ecosystem around me. It is not about beating competition, it is about making the pie larger for everyone. That is the one and only sustainable way to grow in our business. TiE gives me a great platform to work with start-up entrepreneurs and young minds.

RN23. Tell us about your activities and plans at Ernst & Young ( EY ) ?

My initial responsibility was to set up our consulting operations. I came to Kerala in 2011 to set up office and offer our services. We have seen growth over the last five years and happy that I have been part of a time when entrepreneurship and start –ups are gaining momentum in Kerala. It has been greatly a fulfilling journey. Now I continue the focus of growth through exceptional client service in Kerala and hope to replicate some of our learning in the Tamil Nadu business landscape.

4. According to you how can a budding manager contribute to the growth of a company?

We live in a time of great opportunity and there are equally large challenges. There is too much change and disruption happening around us. It is the responsibility of the new managers to understand the changes and think through what to do for their organisations and for themselves. Your career is not a job any more, it has to be a calling – something which you ‘live’ in.

5. Do you feel Kerala is the right place to experiment with a new venture?

Days of militant trade unions , lack of a support ecosystem and lukewarm government initiatives are over. Today, Kerala is a great place to start and look at ventures. One must understand that an entrepreneur will start and set on the course in any way possible – with or with out support. But today , there is wide support available from organisations like TiE and excellent support from KSIDC , Kerala Finance Corporation and the Kerala State Start-up Mission

6. What are the qualities to be upheld by an entrepreneur to establish himself in the industry?

Some of these qualities have been the same across decades – deep commitment and passion , an attitude to keep going , razor sharp focus on execution of ideas today , they will also have to constantly think through the future landscape , possibilities of disruption and have a readiness to pivot their business models as time passes.

7. How do you visualize the future of India in the area of development?
We are on the right track. Some of the changes in digital technology, introduction of GST and the focus on improving the Ease of Business in the country, has already put India on everyone’s radar.

8. Any upcoming events for TIE on the anvil?

We have our flagship event TiEcon Kerala 2016 , coming up on November 18th and 19th at Hotel Le Meridien , Kochi. This is the fifth year of the event and we hope to do in a bigger and larger scale this year.

9.Apart from your business commitments tell us about your other areas of interest?

I travel a lot nearly every weekday, I am on the road and in the air. This does give me a lot of time to read. Besides reading , I write a lot too and spend a lot of pro-bono time with start-up entrepreneurs.

10. Your family and your dreams and inspirations?

My family is settled in Bangalore. My wife is a senior professional in a Global Financial services firm and my daughter is in her sixth standard at school. We don’t get much time together but weekends are cuddle time – library , movies, walks and reading together. But I never switch off from work and love to steal a glance at mails and think through work every early morning – even weekends 

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