BIKERS CLUB FEBRUARY 2020 ISSUE | Page 41

ISSUE 02 | FEBRUARY 2020 My career started as a Marketing Manager with "Escort Mahle Ltd in 1994. I have worked for that company for 5 years, and then I switched it to Hero Motors as a Deputy General Manager and subsequently promoted to Brand Development with the same. I worked for 3 years in Hero Motors then joined LML again as a Deputy General Manager for almost 3 years. While my years in LML, I made a goal to be a CEO of a good repute company and started working towards it. After working with automobile companies for long, I got an opportunity to work with one IT company, it was not my domain, but I took it as a challenge. I was a GM Sales and Marketing for 1 year and gave high growth to the company. I worked in the areas of Branding and Expansion cost-effectively to provide scale to the business into the Intex Technologies India Ltd for 2 years as a Business Head for Telecom & GM Sales & Marketing in IT. In this company I was given an additional responsibility of Business Head for Telecom, and during my tenure I happened to visit China, where I realized the potential and future of smartphones when Nokia was leading in India. I convinced the management and launched Intex mobile phones, the first-ever smartphone in India. My decision helped the company to diversify into Telecom that paved the way for revenue that exceeded 6,000 crores (USD 1 Billion). Soon I joined Yamaha Motor India Pvt. Ltd, back to my comfort field, although IT & Telecom Sector have gained me a lot of experience now, it was a time for me to boost dying sales of Yamaha in India, and I joined them as a National Business Head for almost 4 years. I have been credited with the turnaround of Yamaha 2 wheelers business in India by media, dealers, and management and launched all successful models R15, FZ16, Fazer, SZ, VMAX, etc., and expedited launch of gearless scooters. BIKERS CLUB ® MAGAZINE | PAGE 54 I created a distribution model of Yamaha Bike Station. Many different and unique successful practice was implemented, including the conversion of credit business to advance under my tenure. In all these switches, I realized that I had not made goals for myself, I recollected my goal to become a CEO for a reputed company during my LML days, and I gave a deadline to it of 1 year. While I was in Yamaha, many companies approached me and were ready to give me a CEO post, which I denied, including POLARIS. POLARIS is the no 1 company that makes off-road vehicles when they approached me, and I denied because of the cultural attitude of Indian consumers. I did not know then how Polaris would crack the market, but the management of Polaris Inc. convinced me to take up that challenge, and I took it up. Polaris Inc is a Fortune 500 company, but in India, it started as a startup in 2011, and I have joined them right from the inception in India as a Country Head & Managing Director. And with the pride, I want to say that the efforts which my team and I took, and the strategies that we applied Polaris India is now a well-established company in India too, and our sales are an all- time high. We have categorized our ATVs in many categories, and we have sold our vehicles to the Indian Army, Individuals, Celebrities. Once the Gen. Of Indian Army said: "POLARIS IS THE LIFELINE OF INDIAN ARMY." I am glad and proud that we are the suppliers of ATVs to the Armed Forces of India. As Indian consumers have a different mindset of buying vehicles, we came out with the idea of "Polaris Experience Zone," which gives the Indian consumers a feel of ATVs and its experience. B I K E R S C L U B ® | www.bikersclub.in