Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran took a trip down memory lane on Friday to share his time at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and how he worked to build relationships. He served as the CEO of TCS from 2009 to 2017. He said that TCS is a phenomenal and inspirational story, he said at an event.
Recounting the journey of making TCS the bellwether of the Indian IT industry, Chandrasekeran said he used to travel about 200 days a year to forge relationships with clients and amalgamate the ‘TCS culture’ across geographies.
“Running a global company is not easy, it is very demanding. For 20 years – 10 years with Ramadorai and 10 years after Ramadorai – I used to travel 200 days in a year and Ramadorai used to do the same. This is not because the company was selling its services to clients but it is very difficult to create a culture unless you meet people. You are operating in different markets, hiring people in different markets and each market has its own culture. How do you blend in to those cultures? There were cultural and certain performance traits that got deeply imbibed in the company. We used to be passionate about customers. To live is not easy because the world out there is very demanding, and this took a lot of years. Ramadorai captures some of these moments – people; hangout; customers – in the book. “I am glad he chose to translate it into Tamil,” he said.
Chandrasekaran, the CEO of TCS from 2009 to 2017, was speaking at the launch of the Tamil version of ‘The TCS story… and beyond’ written by its former chief executive S Ramadorai.
Ramadorai took over his job at TCS in 1996, succeeding the first CEO FC Kohli. He is widely recognised for his role in taking TCS’ cumulative revenues to $6 billion from $400 million during his 14-year stint. Ramadorai’s book tells the tale and the history of the growing prowess and importance of India’s IT industry, especially from the turn of the century.
“The book intends to be an inspiration for generations of professionals and entrepreneurs who must think of addressing problems differently,” Ramadorai said. “The very essence of the book is to inspire the readers to be solution-oriented so that our people and the country at large can reach our true potential and move towards a future of collective prosperity.”
On the future in the IT industry, Ramadorai said that technology disruptions that are taking place whether in synthetic biology, nano-technology, Big Data or 5G, cyber security – are moving at an accelerated pace. But, one big thing is climate change and sustainability where technology is going to play a very critical role.
Chandrasekaran said TCS has an open and inclusive culture, its biggest draw. “We never pulled the rug (on each other),” he said. “We created opportunities and tried to bring out the best in everyone. We met each other equally outside of the conference room and were connected.”
What makes TCS stand out is the camaraderie and genuine affection those in the company share, Chandrasekaran added.
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