CxO Of The Week: Anand Ramakrishnan, CEO, Qtek Systems, A Quess Company

CxO Of The Week: Anand Ramakrishnan, CEO, Qtek Systems, A Quess Company, he has over 19 years of experience in Business Strategy, Leadership and P&L Management.

Your top priority while making decisions to improve tech infra in your organization?

My top priorities while taking any decision to adopt new technology or improve the existing ones are:

a) It should enable a strong business-case and the investment should have a pay-off within 24 to 36 months

b) It should help us do our job better and faster

c) It should be resilient and future-proof

As long as the above criteria are met, change can be adopted.

Challenges you face in driving digital transformation?

I think the key challenge in driving digital transformation is in making the old work with the new, from a technology standpoint. A decade or two back, the challenge to the adoption of any transformational idea was to address Change Management from a human perspective but I don’t think that is a challenge anymore since most of us welcome change and willingly adopt any idea that is for the better. Today’s challenges are more technology and information security related.

Do you feel that freshers in the industry come with only basic knowledge but don’t have the right skills to fulfill job requirements? If yes, your suggestion to students and colleges?

I think it is unfair to expect freshers to come into the Industry fully prepared for their jobs. After all, with the pace of change in the Industry, today’s “ready” fresher can become obsolete tomorrow. In my opinion, the most important aspect of a fresher is the attitude that he/she carries. They need to be curious, be willing to learn, be willing to put themselves through the grind and be willing to take feedback. If he/she has this attitude, the rest will follow.

What’s your mantra to become successful in life?

Hard work is the only mantra. Life is a sinusoidal wave and it’s easy to work hard when things are going your way. However, you need to work doubly hard when things don’t, which is most difficult. I don’t have any other mantra.

What would you like to give back to the society?

I have been very lucky to have been associated with great people and great organizations. Apart from monetary contributions, I try and mentor youngsters as much as possible, the way I was mentored when I was young.

Your favorite book and what are you reading now?

Am currently reading “Zorba the Greek” by Nikos Kazantzakis. It’s an old but beautiful book with so many life’s lessons told without being preachy. It is about living in the present and being happy with the things around you.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I love to exercise and keep myself fit. I have also just begun to learn to play the guitar. Hopefully, becoming a guitarist will be my alternative career, post-retirement.

Achievements (Awards & Recognitions)

Anand is an avid speaker and has spoken in multiple events like the NASSCOM CEO Summit, CII Leadership Forum, Business Technology Summit, Datacenter Summit, etc.

Experience 

Over 19 years of experience in Business Strategy, Leadership and P&L Management.

First job— ERP Consultant in Sonata Software.

Education – Anand Ramakrishnan is a Mechanical Engineering Graduate and holds a Master’s Degree in Management from TAPMI.

Take a look at the previous CxO of the Week