Santhosh Kumar Narapareddy : Leveraging Technical Expertise & Ethical Business Practices To Drive Organizational Growth
Santhosh Kumar Narapareddy
Managing Director
Starting in 2010, the firm has become one of the most trusted service providers to its clients while experiencing consistent growth. At the helm of its operation is Santhosh Kumar Narapareddy, an inspiring business leader with extensive industry experience and the Managing Director at the firm. An alumnus of the prestigious Vellore Institute of Technology, Santosh has a no-compromise approach to employee empo- werment and welfare. Under his able guidance, the firm has grown to become a leading one-stop service provider to the stone industry in the country.
In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Santosh sheds light on his university days at VIT, his leadership approach, and much more:
As an alumnus from Vellore Institute of Technology, what are the most memorable academic experiences you can recall when you look back on it today?
After completing my graduation in Industrial & Production Engineering from Karnataka, I decided to go abroad for my Master's as most of the institutes in India were not offering courses on advanced technologies. That's when I came across VIT. VIT was the first and only Indian university to start a specialization in Mechatronics at that time. Being from an Industrial & Production Engineering background,
I felt choosing Mechatronics would help me in my career in Industrial development. We had some of the best faculties, including Professor V.V. Rao, Adityan, Janardhan Reddy, and Elizabeth Rufus, mentor us. Under their guidance, I started to see the industry in a completely different dimension.
For my final thesis, I was guided closely by Professor Radha- krishnan, then-Vice-Chancellor of VIT. Working on many projects under those mentors and for the Department of Science and Technology expanded my thought process on approaching a problem. I decided not to go for the campus placement as I didn't want to confine myself. Instead, I chose an industry that was extremely new at that time. Today, we are working in the stone industry. In 2017, long before Facebook announced Meta, we started another firm on Spatial Computing. Named Deft & Tact, this firm helps businesses optimize their customer experience, brand image, and business operations through customized VR, XR, and 3D visualization solutions.
I am still connected with my professors. From time to time, if I am passing through, I still visit the campus and they have been extremely supportive. VIT has been a great career decision for me. More than the degree or securing a job, those university days have helped change my dimension of thinking.
Shed some light on your leadership approach. What is the kind of work environment you have created under your leadership?
Instead of giving my team some impractical targets and pushing them, I, as a leader, believe in leading them from the front. Till now, we have never set any targets for anyone in our organization. I have ensured to build a more human-centric company. There is no bond system. You can't make someone work by force. I am also strongly against any kind of favoritism and believe in equality for opportunity for everyone. If someone in the team aims or aspires to be in a leadership position down the line, I believe in grooming them towards that. In case of any distress, I am always available and approachable to my people irrespective of their domain.
What is the next destination you have envisioned for your journey?
For my final thesis, I was guided closely by Professor Radha- krishnan, then-Vice-Chancellor of VIT. Working on many projects under those mentors and for the Department of Science and Technology expanded my thought process on approaching a problem. I decided not to go for the campus placement as I didn't want to confine myself. Instead, I chose an industry that was extremely new at that time. Today, we are working in the stone industry. In 2017, long before Facebook announced Meta, we started another firm on Spatial Computing. Named Deft & Tact, this firm helps businesses optimize their customer experience, brand image, and business operations through customized VR, XR, and 3D visualization solutions.
Failure is delayed success that teaches people how not to do things
I am still connected with my professors. From time to time, if I am passing through, I still visit the campus and they have been extremely supportive. VIT has been a great career decision for me. More than the degree or securing a job, those university days have helped change my dimension of thinking.
Shed some light on your leadership approach. What is the kind of work environment you have created under your leadership?
Instead of giving my team some impractical targets and pushing them, I, as a leader, believe in leading them from the front. Till now, we have never set any targets for anyone in our organization. I have ensured to build a more human-centric company. There is no bond system. You can't make someone work by force. I am also strongly against any kind of favoritism and believe in equality for opportunity for everyone. If someone in the team aims or aspires to be in a leadership position down the line, I believe in grooming them towards that. In case of any distress, I am always available and approachable to my people irrespective of their domain.
What is the next destination you have envisioned for your journey?
My future roadmap in the next five years includes establishing an academy and driving it further to acquire international recognition. We aim to induce over 500 skilled manpower in the Indian, Middle East, and US markets. We are also planning for a centralized command center to achieve real-time monitoring of the machines and processes. We also aim to establish Gimco Kiosks at every stone cluster in India. Our future strategies also include establishing warehouses for displaying machinery technologies and introducing online and offline simulator training. Apart from that, we are also working on introducing Gimco merchandise @ no profit. Additionally, our long-term goal includes introducing Gimco as a franchise model to be replicated in global markets and different industries.
What would be your advice to budding industry leaders?
The four factors that are required to lead a successful business are passion, patience, perseverance, and consistency. You have to find your passion. Forcing yourself to do something you are not passionate about always leads to stressful results. As a leader or entrepreneur, you should be more balanced and expansive in thought. Instead of micromanaging, make others understand that they are also a part of the milestone. I consider all my employees as intellects. As a leader, you need to identify their real talents and then nurture them. You should always motivate your team to experiment. It's better to experiment and fail. Failure is delayed success that teaches people how not to do things.
Santhosh Kumar Narapareddy, Managing Director, Gimco Global Services/Deft And Tact Solutions
An inspiring business leader with extensive experience in the stone industry, Santhosh Kumar Narapareddy has always been an engineer at heart - passionate about technology and innovating solutions to ongoing industry challenges. As the Managing Director at Hyderabad-based leading one-stop service provider to the Stone Industry, he drives the firm to consistent growth while ensuring strong technical expertise and ethical practices are in place.
•Hobbies: Reading, Writing, Playing cricket & badminton
•Favorite Book: Freedom from the Known is a book by J. Krishnamurti, The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo, Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho, Find your Why by Simon Sinek
•Favorite Travel Destination: Kashmir, Varanasi, Nellore (Hometown), Cinque Terre
What would be your advice to budding industry leaders?
The four factors that are required to lead a successful business are passion, patience, perseverance, and consistency. You have to find your passion. Forcing yourself to do something you are not passionate about always leads to stressful results. As a leader or entrepreneur, you should be more balanced and expansive in thought. Instead of micromanaging, make others understand that they are also a part of the milestone. I consider all my employees as intellects. As a leader, you need to identify their real talents and then nurture them. You should always motivate your team to experiment. It's better to experiment and fail. Failure is delayed success that teaches people how not to do things.
Santhosh Kumar Narapareddy, Managing Director, Gimco Global Services/Deft And Tact Solutions
An inspiring business leader with extensive experience in the stone industry, Santhosh Kumar Narapareddy has always been an engineer at heart - passionate about technology and innovating solutions to ongoing industry challenges. As the Managing Director at Hyderabad-based leading one-stop service provider to the Stone Industry, he drives the firm to consistent growth while ensuring strong technical expertise and ethical practices are in place.
•Hobbies: Reading, Writing, Playing cricket & badminton
•Favorite Book: Freedom from the Known is a book by J. Krishnamurti, The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo, Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho, Find your Why by Simon Sinek
•Favorite Travel Destination: Kashmir, Varanasi, Nellore (Hometown), Cinque Terre