Shobha Ramswamy

Ajay Pandey, the newly appointed president of the Tata Group’s Telecom Enterprise Business Unit, knows a fair bit about communications. That explains why he doubles up as a writer in his spare time

Ajay Pandey, the newly appointed president of the Tata Group’s latest initiative, the Tata Indicom Enterprise Business Unit (Tiebu), knows how to plough the waves.

No surprise, then, that his Are you Fishing in the Right Ocean? has caught the imagination of readers and enchanted them — hook, line and sinker. This self-help book, on making the right career moves, is now in its second edition.

"We are experts at developing visions and mission statements for the companies we work for," says Mr Pandey, "but when it comes to our personal goals we are completely at sea. The book is aimed at helping people explore their professional life and find the answers they may be seeking."

And he would know how. Be it researching steam turbines in Mumbai, marketing photocopiers in central India, becoming the youngest general manager at Godrej, or ringing in the cellular business in Andhra Pradesh for Tata Cellular and in Haryana and Punjab for Essar Cellphone, his professional journey has been about navigating effectively through a tide of events.

In recent years Mr Pandey has been the chief operating officer of Essar Cellphone and then of Tata Teleservices (TTSL). He has handled the integration of Hughes Tele.com with Tata Teleservices, Maharashtra (TTML), and has also been the CEO of Tata Internet Services (TIS). Currently, he heads Tiebu, the specialised sales and marketing initiative formed by Videsh Sanchar Nigam, TTSL, TTML and TIS.

On behalf of these four companies, Tiebu targets enterprises with sizeable telecom spends and offers them customised, end-to-end voice and data solutions under the Tata Indicom brand. "Presenting a single face is simple, but coordinating and organising the back-end deliveries and processes with four different companies is tough," he says.

But a knotty spot has always been bait for Mr Pandey. "I love to start something from scratch and get it going. Then, once it becomes a well-oiled machine, I like to move on. The joy is in watching your creation grow. I enjoy a good challenge."

When it comes to writing, the challenge for him lies in keeping it simple. "I steer clear of jargon, philosophy, theory and technical subjects. I like to say things in simple words." He firmly believes that simplicity and straightforwardness are the essence of right communication. "My approach is pragmatic and practical. I prefer focusing on issues that actually affect one’s life," says the mechanical engineer from RAC, Kurukshetra.

These traits, visible in all his work, were endearing even to his little readers when he started out by penning stories for the children’s monthly Champak during his days as an engineering student. He used his earning of Rs 60 from these writings to pay part of his monthly expenses. Since then he has been contributing regularly to various magazines and journals.

Mr Pandey is, then, no newcomer to the business of words. "I get so many ideas. Writing helps me shape these random thoughts into something more concrete. It cements them in my head and brings clarity."

His reading habits reflect his inclination for the clear and the lucid. Simple 100-page, will-not-bog-you-down books and real-life success stories fascinate him. Be it reading, writing or tackling work situations, he believes in gleaning the significant.

"My days of mechanical engineering have taught me this approach. They have trained me to extract the necessary portion and then analyse the situation. They have helped me define and refine my stance to any problem." Mr Pandey has also learned a lot from the legendary Jack Welch and S. Ramakrishnan, managing director, TTSL. All this know-how is standing him in good stead in tapping market synergies within the four companies Tiebu is associated with.

Tiebu aims to leverage the Tata Group’s existing domain expertise to develop and market communications solutions to industry groups. This means a unique value proposition of enhanced cost-efficiency, access to cutting-edge technology, and more attention, consultation and proactive feedback for Tiebu’s corporate customers.

The enterprise will look at industries such as banking and financial services, manufacturing and process, petroleum and gas, retail and distribution, transport, tourism and hospitality, government services, information technology (IT), IT-enabled services, communication and entertainment.

The first year is going to be challenging, says Mr Pandey. "Being in the business of knowledge pure-play, we constantly have to be at the cutting edge with what we offer. In the first year we are aiming for Rs 560 crore, with 400 key accounts and 100 people. Soon this could surge to about Rs 700 crore, with more than 600 accounts and 150 people."

All this activity has meant long absences from home. Considering that Mr Pandey draws his motivation from his family, it can’t be easy. Other than his father, who taught him to love challenges, his wife has been a guiding force in his life. "She is one of my most astute critics," he says. "She thrashed the first draft of my book. She inspires me and motivates me to succeed." His book has, in fact, been dedicated to her.

"It is difficult to master the art of balancing home and work," Mr Pandey admits. "Earlier, when we were based in Hyderabad, we would hop into the car after dinner and take off on long drives for some good conversation and music. Lately, work pressure and Mumbai’s traffic jams have made that impossible. But I make it up by spending all my free time with my family."

When he wishes to go down memory lane, he listens to Jagjit and Chitra Singh’s Unforgettable. The album reminds him of his carefree days in college and the first live concert of the ghazal duo. He also enjoys light classical music. This avid music buff once sang semi-classical numbers for All India Radio.

These days Pandey has other fish to fry. But if you visit the high seas, you may catch him whistling while he angles for the right solutions.

Uploaded on September 25, 2003