Lessons From My First Job: B S Shantharaju. CEO, Indus Towers

B S Shantharaju of Indus Towers shares his first job experience.

My First Job: I started as a management trainee (Finance) in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Here I got the real foundation and understanding of a job at the young age of 25. I handled a team of 33 people, most of them being senior to me in age.

My experience: In my 30+ years of professional life, I have had a varied and rich work experience. Before joining Indus Towers in 2009 I was with Delhi International Airports Pvt. Ltd. as the CEO after the airport was privatized. Prior to that, I was the managing director for Gujarat Gas Company Ltd.

I have spent a major part of my career with SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (currently part of Glaxo SmithKline) as finance director of India and country head of Bangladesh.

Things I learnt: Value an individual for the strength he has got; do not worry about weakness of an individual unless it is disruptive. Focus on the variety of skills rather than his years of experience. Good talent needs to be tested in a frying pan to understand their ability to rise above the bar and the behaviours exhibited in a very strenuous job.

Skills I acquired: Communication and story-telling is my biggest strength. I can articulate the business issues in a simple language so that people focus on key issues. I learnt how to focus on vision and values so that people work in a trusted environment for a larger purpose. I can seamlessly move from strategic issues to operational issues which is important for a balanced business.

My Manager’s teaching: Strategy is all about execution. Focus only on people. I am fortunate to have had some tough bosses who improved my performance, but also very humane in living with my emotions and shortcomings.

My Journey so far: My motto in life is ‘to make a substantial difference to the lives of people in society’, and that’s the reason I choose to work in the Infrastructure sector.

At Delhi Airport, every assignment I worked on made significant differences in the lives of people. When I handled Delhi Airport after privatisation, the task was to bring customer focus and build a strong team which could give distinct identity to Delhi Airport. Now it is rated 4th best in the world by Airport Council International.

Turning point in my career: My biggest change happened when I become the CFO at of 33 for a large public listed MNC. My personal transformation happened in 1996 when I wrote the purpose statement of my life – “I will make a positive difference to the lives of people in society and around me”.

My most crucial step/assignment: Getting into the role of a country head in 1999. The job opened my eyes to the complexity of the role and also gave me a platform to build my skills for larger roles. Bangladesh also opened my eyes for deep cultural sensitivities and transforming that market in a short time, gave me immense confidence in myself.

Working in 9 different cities (being transferred in some of my jobs) I have learnt immensely on how to handle uncertainty/ambiguity as well as appreciate different cultures.

My advice: Focus on variety of skills, not too much on knowledge. Experience different locations – it adds immensely to the experience and cultural sensitivities.

Where I see myself 5 years from now: From being a porter in a vegetable market at the age of 12 and later turning into a CEO of large MNC and now the World’s largest telecom tower company is a dream run. Having lived the purpose of my life through the corporate world, I intend to work with NGOs and touch the lives of people positively.

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