Ordinary man, extraordinary work

During his long and successful career from sales to heading Acer India, W S Mukund, Managing Director, Acer India has learnt that employees are the most important assets and that one should not shy away from dreaming big By Akhtar Pasha

While Mukund comes from a family whose members are mostly teachers and professors, he was the first to venture into the world of business. Naturally, education was a top priority. His father was a Chemistry professor in Bombay and later joined Bangalore University in the 1960s. He stayed mostly in Karnataka and did his initial schooling in Dharwad, Bijapur, Gulbarga and Mercara districts. He stayed in a joint family with his younger brother who works for L&T Komatsu and elder sister who recently retired from Astra Zeneca R&D.

Mukund recalled, “Schooling in those days was not taken as seriously as it is today. So I ended up studying in a Convent school at Mercara followed by the government Municipal School No. 1 in Bijapur, where we used to sit on the floor and had an afternoon nap session between 1 and 4 o’ clock in the afternoon as Bijapur can be very hot during the summer.” The diverse environments helped him to understand the diversity of our country.

After coming to Bangalore in 1965, his schooling continued at National High School and National College. He did his Electrical Engineering from BMS College, Bangalore, and preferred it to an admission to the IITs as it enabled him to stay in Bangalore.

Post graduation from IIM Ahmedabad was more of providence. “I was not even aware of such an institution and responded to a suggestion by a friend to apply since there was an ad in that day’s newspaper,” he said.

Career graph

Post his PGDM, he was campus recruited by Blue Star Ltd for their Appliances division. He said, “Blue Star is one of the best companies to learn about profitability and the concept of a profit center.” After spending five years with the company, one of his bosses there started his own venture and invited Mukund to join him. Later he became a partner. “We were a group of five young MBAs with lots of dreams and ambition but little cash. We tried our hand at many businesses, hoping to be a Dhirubhai Ambani one day. We struggled, but enjoyed,” he said. Since Mukund had a family, he scouted for a more stable job and joined PCL for 10 years. Here he learned to dream big and it was PCL that introduced him to IT. He got an opportunity with Acer in Dubai, and later transferred to India. “Acer gives me the immense satisfaction of having built a Consumer PC brand in the Middle East and then established the company’s presence in India,” he commented.

Inspiration is a never-ending journey

Mukund believes that each of us draws inspiration from a special set of people that we come across during the journey of life. These influences come at various points in time. Such inspirations should never stop. Otherwise, the desire to do more will evaporate and that would be the end of a meaningful life. “I have been fortunate to absorb influences from many sets of people starting with my parents—they taught me the importance of austerity, which I have found, is especially useful in running a business. Schooling at National High School gave a solid foundation for creative thinking and dreaming big; the teachers at BMS College of Engineering introduced to me to technology. He learnt about business from his bosses particularly from Arun Sinha, the then MD of Acer India. “He taught me that people were the most important resource, and that anything could be done by normal individuals. My present boss, Steve Lin, has taught me the power of transparency and consensus building in the team,” he added.

Mukund said, “My career was never by design. IIM A just happened, so did a career in Sales and later marketing. Operations followed. Once they happened, it was up to me to make the best of what was available. I did not worry too much about my career, thinking that if my work was valuable enough for the organization, then the organization would take care of me.”

Connected with nature

He gave up his interest in astronomy because other priorities cropped up but Mukund has a newfound interest in farming. He said, “I hope to be a farmer sometime in the future as farming takes you back to nature and teaches you to be humble and helps you to stay connected with nature.” These days he likes to listen to Kannada film songs. Mohammed Rafi and OP Nayyar have been his favorite combination all along.

Outlook of economy in 2009

Mukund thinks that at present, things are gloomy; both consumer and corporate sentiment are negative. “However I am optimistic that the end of the night is a dawn. I believe that government spending will prop up the economy. I am hopeful that things should start looking up in the second half of 2009. In the meantime we will have to contend with rationalizing costs and enhancing operational effectiveness,” he said.

Words for aspiring leaders

He advises aspirants to build consensus in their teams while encouraging debate or dissenting opinions. Secondly treat all relationships—with employees, vendors, channels, customers, and shareholders—as long term ones. Look for how do I make myself more valuable and accountable when building new skills and last but not the least have a large heart when people are concerned.

akhtar.pasha@expressindia.com