Paraj Vidyarthi: A Magnanimous Asiapac Leader Driving The It & Engineering Business In The Indo Japan Lobby
Paraj Vidyarthi
Regional Country Head
Tell us about your professional journey
I began my career in the automotive sector at Yamaha Motors and frequently traveled to Japan for meetings and training on Production engineering, Quality management, and New model development areas and gained early insights into the Japanese management methodologies like TPM, TQC, QC Circle, Poka-Yoke, Kaizen, and more. During my tenure, I got recognized for several projects like Assembly SPR improvement, TPM implementation, the Philippines Taxi project, and ensuring the success of the Crux-R New model development.
Later on, I moved to the IT industry and joined Aithent Technologies and thereby HCL Technologies, reporting to revered Industry leaders like Anil Gupta, MD & CEO of HCL-NEC Joint Venture, who established one of the most successful IT businesses in India and Japan. Under his guidance, I gained wide experience in various industries and domains covering embedded, engineering, and software products & services. All this helped in forging my journey ahead as a Business leader during my tenure at some of the leading IT companies.
Tell us about your leadership approach and
what has been your success mantra.
There are a few Leadership principles that I follow like, Lead by example, Striving for Quality, and Customer Centricity followed by People Empowerment and Recognition.
One such example is the 2010 Japan Triple Disaster, which shook the Japan Archipelago with Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear disaster. Where the real threat was the Nuclear meltdown which could have potentially wiped out millions of lives throughout Tokyo in the next few hours. I took my stand and decided to stay back to evacuate 200 people and also ensured service continuity for customers from remote locations. Also, I was the first member to return to Japan, advising engineers on safety and guiding them to travel without their families. I was later awarded the Spot Excellence award for putting my life at stake to ensure employees' safety and wellbeing.
The other aspects of it are the importance of quality and customer centricity through critical thinking and problem solving, as well as effective people management. A leader should innovate, resolve problems, and provide excellent solutions for customers. They should excel in leading, coaching,
and effectively delegating tasks to their team.
Where do you derive your inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from my family, including my grandfather, father, and mother, who were role models and made sacrifices while displaying integrity even in the toughest moments of their lives with a great commitment, grit and nerve in spite of all the dangers and uphill struggles. I also attribute my success to my wife, Puneeta Singh Vidyarthi, who was a topper in academics and a committed person, supporting my brothers' studies in Japan, brought her parents a house, and stood along all through.
I fondly remember my grandfather, Parameshwar Dayal Vidyarthi, who played an active role in India's freedom struggle, along with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, and more, who were frequent visitors to our home at the then Headquarters for freedom movement. Involved in meetings with Queen Elizabeth, Kruschev to the freedom marches during which he landed in jail along with these leaders till he finally laid his life for the nation.
I recall the adventurous journey of my multitalented father (U Vidyarthi) who was an innovator, avid sportsman, a serial award winner, and was lauded for his strong stands against the mafia and corrupt system. Topped in engineering he joined Indian Railways and claimed the railways minister award. Later invited by CBI, he made headlines unraveling some top-notch cases for the country. He represented State and Railways in Chess and Table Tennis, pursued Boxing, Gymnastics & Judo, also his passion for Stage, Photography, Painting, and Astrology all to a good level.
My mother, born with a strong thought process, truthfulness, strong principles, and with a motive of selfless service to all, supported my father during his stand against the male fice system and the tough times, including discontinued education, financial crises, and attacks and threats from the mafia and corrupt ministers. It is from the family I picked these traits of Strong Integrity, Innovation, Vision, and Selfless leadership.
Define Path Partner Technology As An Organization And Its Position In The Software Development Industry.
Path Partner is a niche product engineering company and R&D specialist company helping its clients to develop, productize, and maintain advanced technology solutions. At the core is Engineering DNA and niche expertise working in low-level architectures, algorithms, and semiconductors, also good expertise around Camera, Radar, and Lidar which are all the next generation of Technologies being sought by Automotive, IOT, and Industrial customers. This expertise enabled us to engage with Automotive OEMs and Tier-1s or big industrial customers and semiconductor clients.
As The Regional Country Head, What Factors Do You Take Into Account When Developing Effective Strategic Initiatives For The Development Of The Business?
I've been a strategic thinker, all through paving out the strategic roadmap for the current enterprise, critically under standing the current customer pain points, and needs, and mapping all our solutions effectively around it. Also had a chance to work with visionaries like Arun Jain, CEO of Polaris Software (now Virtusa Polaris) who was a strategic thinker and built a strong business empire in the BFSI domain with most of the leading Global Banks, Insurance companies. We were constantly led by Domain and were awarded the most of the sterling deals with leading customers like JPMC, HSBC, Nomura, Mizuho, and more. Some of these we scaled into Mega Accounts like Citibank which was $180 million in revenues with 4,000 people globally working on almost 200 projects at a given time and had 18 products rolled across the globe.
Where do you derive your inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from my family, including my grandfather, father, and mother, who were role models and made sacrifices while displaying integrity even in the toughest moments of their lives with a great commitment, grit and nerve in spite of all the dangers and uphill struggles. I also attribute my success to my wife, Puneeta Singh Vidyarthi, who was a topper in academics and a committed person, supporting my brothers' studies in Japan, brought her parents a house, and stood along all through.
I fondly remember my grandfather, Parameshwar Dayal Vidyarthi, who played an active role in India's freedom struggle, along with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, and more, who were frequent visitors to our home at the then Headquarters for freedom movement. Involved in meetings with Queen Elizabeth, Kruschev to the freedom marches during which he landed in jail along with these leaders till he finally laid his life for the nation.
I recall the adventurous journey of my multitalented father (U Vidyarthi) who was an innovator, avid sportsman, a serial award winner, and was lauded for his strong stands against the mafia and corrupt system. Topped in engineering he joined Indian Railways and claimed the railways minister award. Later invited by CBI, he made headlines unraveling some top-notch cases for the country. He represented State and Railways in Chess and Table Tennis, pursued Boxing, Gymnastics & Judo, also his passion for Stage, Photography, Painting, and Astrology all to a good level.
My mother, born with a strong thought process, truthfulness, strong principles, and with a motive of selfless service to all, supported my father during his stand against the male fice system and the tough times, including discontinued education, financial crises, and attacks and threats from the mafia and corrupt ministers. It is from the family I picked these traits of Strong Integrity, Innovation, Vision, and Selfless leadership.
Define Path Partner Technology As An Organization And Its Position In The Software Development Industry.
Path Partner is a niche product engineering company and R&D specialist company helping its clients to develop, productize, and maintain advanced technology solutions. At the core is Engineering DNA and niche expertise working in low-level architectures, algorithms, and semiconductors, also good expertise around Camera, Radar, and Lidar which are all the next generation of Technologies being sought by Automotive, IOT, and Industrial customers. This expertise enabled us to engage with Automotive OEMs and Tier-1s or big industrial customers and semiconductor clients.
As The Regional Country Head, What Factors Do You Take Into Account When Developing Effective Strategic Initiatives For The Development Of The Business?
I've been a strategic thinker, all through paving out the strategic roadmap for the current enterprise, critically under standing the current customer pain points, and needs, and mapping all our solutions effectively around it. Also had a chance to work with visionaries like Arun Jain, CEO of Polaris Software (now Virtusa Polaris) who was a strategic thinker and built a strong business empire in the BFSI domain with most of the leading Global Banks, Insurance companies. We were constantly led by Domain and were awarded the most of the sterling deals with leading customers like JPMC, HSBC, Nomura, Mizuho, and more. Some of these we scaled into Mega Accounts like Citibank which was $180 million in revenues with 4,000 people globally working on almost 200 projects at a given time and had 18 products rolled across the globe.
How do you foster a learning culture in your team, and guide them to draw valuable insights from the market to help the company stay informed of the latest trends in technology?
In today's fast-paced world,it's essential to continuously upgrade oneself and engage with internal training teams to stay ahead of the curve. When we move from college into Jobs the 'L' from 'Learning' drops out and the only focus thereafter is Earning. Hence I sit with HR to understand team strengths and weaknesses and create effective training plans to upgrade employees. Additionally, giving employees ownership of their areas can lead to highly productive teams. I coined a term called Account Ambassadors where we empowered self motivated leaders to take initiative and pave new avenues for business. This ownership, delegation, and recognition led to highly productive teams and these are consistently practiced at Path Partner.
Where do you see yourself headed towards the upcoming years?
Over the years, I have worked with recognized organizations in Japan and Asiapac. Currently, I am also engaged as an advisor in the Indo-Japan Lobby with the Indian Embassy, various ministries, or organizations like IITAJ helping build business traction between both the countries. I am involved in discussions with diplomats and ministers, bringing in various customers to India and implementing some big Indo-Japan initiatives. My future aspiration is to play a significant role in Indo-Japan relations.
What is your anticipation on the future outlook of the Asian market and what would be your advice to budding leaders while hacking new opportunities going forward in this industry?
The Asia market is experiencing significant growth due to IT advancements in industries like automotive, IOT, and semiconductor industries. The market is further expected to grow between India and Japan. Also, I strongly feel that while being a Global player one must Localize a lot and study the local language and cultural nuances of each market which eventually leads to growth. Finally, to succeed, leaders should constantly learn, empower and motivate their teams and maintain strong ethics and integrity.
Paraj Vidyarthi, Regional Country Head
Paraj Vidyarthi is a Growth Oriented Sr. VP with 23 years of experience in Asiapac and Global markets. He is a driving force and leader in the Information Technology Products and Services markets who have Built Large Regional businesses and transformed the region towards strong revenue growth. Established dedicated ODCs, Captive centers for some large customers in India. A serial awardwinner, equally accomplished in self-directed sales and sales management and experienced in building and leading regional teams. Off late he has been busy building business grounds up for companies like VVDN and Path Partner Technology, or taking various Japanese businesses to India and looks to further contributing as in the India-Japan lobby.
Current Hobbies:Reading, Chess, Table tennis, and Guitar
Most favorite books:'Fountainhead', 'Good to Great',and 'Built to Last'
Travel destination:Europe and Australia
Cuisines:Indian/Japanese Cuisine
Awards & Recognition:
•Spot Excellence Award(May 2011, Risking life to evacuate 200 employees during Japan triple disaster)
•MERLION Award (Nov 2011, towards business expansion in APAC)
•KONARK Award (Jan 2012,highest recognition for world-class leadership)
•Best Sales Person Of The Year (March 2012, Achieving 115 percent of the target)
•Long-Term Service award(Nov 2014, post-completion of 5 years)
In today's fast-paced world,it's essential to continuously upgrade oneself and engage with internal training teams to stay ahead of the curve. When we move from college into Jobs the 'L' from 'Learning' drops out and the only focus thereafter is Earning. Hence I sit with HR to understand team strengths and weaknesses and create effective training plans to upgrade employees. Additionally, giving employees ownership of their areas can lead to highly productive teams. I coined a term called Account Ambassadors where we empowered self motivated leaders to take initiative and pave new avenues for business. This ownership, delegation, and recognition led to highly productive teams and these are consistently practiced at Path Partner.
Where do you see yourself headed towards the upcoming years?
Over the years, I have worked with recognized organizations in Japan and Asiapac. Currently, I am also engaged as an advisor in the Indo-Japan Lobby with the Indian Embassy, various ministries, or organizations like IITAJ helping build business traction between both the countries. I am involved in discussions with diplomats and ministers, bringing in various customers to India and implementing some big Indo-Japan initiatives. My future aspiration is to play a significant role in Indo-Japan relations.
What is your anticipation on the future outlook of the Asian market and what would be your advice to budding leaders while hacking new opportunities going forward in this industry?
The Asia market is experiencing significant growth due to IT advancements in industries like automotive, IOT, and semiconductor industries. The market is further expected to grow between India and Japan. Also, I strongly feel that while being a Global player one must Localize a lot and study the local language and cultural nuances of each market which eventually leads to growth. Finally, to succeed, leaders should constantly learn, empower and motivate their teams and maintain strong ethics and integrity.
Paraj Vidyarthi, Regional Country Head
Paraj Vidyarthi is a Growth Oriented Sr. VP with 23 years of experience in Asiapac and Global markets. He is a driving force and leader in the Information Technology Products and Services markets who have Built Large Regional businesses and transformed the region towards strong revenue growth. Established dedicated ODCs, Captive centers for some large customers in India. A serial awardwinner, equally accomplished in self-directed sales and sales management and experienced in building and leading regional teams. Off late he has been busy building business grounds up for companies like VVDN and Path Partner Technology, or taking various Japanese businesses to India and looks to further contributing as in the India-Japan lobby.
Current Hobbies:Reading, Chess, Table tennis, and Guitar
Most favorite books:'Fountainhead', 'Good to Great',and 'Built to Last'
Travel destination:Europe and Australia
Cuisines:Indian/Japanese Cuisine
Awards & Recognition:
•Spot Excellence Award(May 2011, Risking life to evacuate 200 employees during Japan triple disaster)
•MERLION Award (Nov 2011, towards business expansion in APAC)
•KONARK Award (Jan 2012,highest recognition for world-class leadership)
•Best Sales Person Of The Year (March 2012, Achieving 115 percent of the target)
•Long-Term Service award(Nov 2014, post-completion of 5 years)