Anil Reddy, Chief Strategy Officer, Microsoft India, is the leading architect of Microsoft India’s long-term strategic plan, in partnership with all Microsoft business units. He is responsible for executing strategies, with and through cross-functional teams, helping Microsoft India deliver on its growth aspirations. Prior to this, he played a key role in the Cloud and Enterprise Division, assisting the leadership team in driving a customer focused approach to build and develop services and help them refine Windows, Azure and Microsoft Cloud Strategy.
He is a career driven, detail oriented, dynamic professional who has had varied and rich experience in leadership roles in large firms such as Pepsi Co, Tata Administrative Services, Target Stores, Jack in the Box, Restaurants. Along with a versatile career, Reddy has been working with a school for the visually challenged in Hyderabad.
In a candid conversation with Corporate Citizen, Reddy touches upon various facets of transformation, performance management, as well as his personal space
I did my Bachelors from Chennai. Later I was with Tata Administrative Services until 1991, after which I worked with the Indian Hotel Company based in Chennai. Then I went overseas to get my Master’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. This was during the global recession of 2008. As part of doing my M.S. in Organisations and Operations Management, I was also teaching Financial Management as well as Hospitality Management there. My first job was running airport operations in Albuquerque, post which I was with Pepsi Co. in their restaurant division, which later became Yum brands. After that I moved to become the regional vice president of a restaurant company called Jack in the Box Restaurants which was expanding business in North West America. Later, I joined Target Stores as regional vice president, and then dabbled for some time establishing my own business which we started as a System Integrator. After that I have been with Microsoft since 2008
We just announced the launching of data centres on 29 September, which will enable better cloud availability in India. What it means to India is that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the ‘Digital India’ campaign, and with the government and the public also ready to digitalise India, Microsoft plans to play a key role in transforming five lakh villages and supporting them. We will be closely working with the government and public agencies and actually defining what it is and also supporting them. We are closely working with all the major entities, from the consumer all the way up to enterprises, to actually meet the needs of new age citizens of India. We see a beautiful future with Microsoft in partnership with ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make with India’.
We do a lot with the ‘Corporate giving’ campaigns. In fact I am very new to India. I have been here since February. Here we work closely with the Aga Khan Foundation. Last year we supported ‘Swachh Bharat’ by setting up toilets across the country, I don’t know the exact number though, but we also donated a substantial amount of money. I am personally involved with ‘Netra Vidyalaya’ in Hyderabad, which is a blind school, for the past five years. I have also been involved with ‘Shankara Foundation’ in the United States
Microsoft, as you know, is helping people throughout the world. As a lot of the staff are Indians, we always try to support a lot of activities here in India. October is the month of giving in Redmond, so we run a lot of activities there to support events over here
You have to be careful about hopping jobs; moving careers is okay as long as it is for the right reason -- money is not the right reason. Money goes only so far, because there is always a point where it limits your career, but it also showcases who you are as an individual. Money also could be a hindrance to your growth
A stimulating session was held at a business symposium at a leading management institute in Pune recently, where anil Reddy, chief strategy Officer, Microsoft india shared his thoughts with the students, based on his myriad experiences working with various industries. he also shared some findings from a recent study by McKinsey
Access is empowerment: after Satya Nadella was appointed Ceo of Microsoft, Microsoft has a clear mission to ‘empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more.’ it is not necessarily related to technology itself. today, more and more things are being done on mobile phones. these days everybody has a cell phone and the first interaction with technology or with anything around is on the mobile. the first thing we do when we wake up in morning is to use the mobile, and it’s the last thing we do before going to bed. the other change happening is, we want access to data or access to information at any place. it does not matter where we are, be it a remote place where someone is hiking, be it in Switzerland enjoying holidays or any other place, we want access to data. We want data wherever we go. that is how we see the world today. One thing important in any field of industry is innovation.
It’s all about transformation:a ccording to a recent McKinsey study, “By 2025 india will be a four trillion dollar economy. By that time a significant amount of SMes will be based on the Cloud”. this is about transformation. for instance earlier we used to carry laptops but nowadays we carry computers in our hand. Pen drives are an important part of the digital world. Nowadays there are tV’s with touchscreens so there is no need for a mouse or keyboard. this is transformation. there are companies which are 30 to 40 years old and are transforming daily. if you don’t transform in today’s highly competitive world it will be very hard to continue or grow your business.
Transformation is not just related to technology, it is about people. the biggest information technology (it) that Microsoft collects is ‘people’. and the biggest asset year by year companies gather is ‘people’. the reason is because people collectively form the trust of the company.
Be obsessed about the customer: Be it any kind of company, one most important skill one must bring to the table today is ‘Customer Obsessiveness’. In earlier times, companies used to think they knew what the customer wanted and they would provide it based on user experience. Nowadays that is not applicable. apple did not follow what others thought of their customers. they gave what the customers wanted. this is what will drive companies in the future.
Here we work closely with the Aga Khan Foundation. I am personally involved with ‘Netra Vidyalaya’ in Hyderabad, which is a school for the blind, since the past five years
The current world is fast paced: in the industry today, everyone is being appraised almost every month. Unlike in the early days, where people used to set goals year-wise and work accordingly and at the end of the year he/she would be at the receiving end of a performance appraisal. you have to continuously adapt to the changes.
Needed, the right attitude: all companies out there are built with a foundation, mission and vision. Ultimately what represents any company are its people. the future of companies are students. Colleges provide the foundation, the teachers give you a lifelong experience. the right attitude will get you right. No matter how technically sound you are, or how well you can handle clients, it is getting the right attitude that matters.
Having children is always a turning point, I have a boy and a girl and especially my daughter is the first child in our family in three generations, which was a big thing for us. Professionally speaking I have always been driven and career oriented. There was a point in my life where I had taken time off to stay at home, just vacationing. Then I realised my kids were busy in their own lives and I was unaware of things going on at home. At that point I decided to make a career choice, do something different. Then I actually I quit corporate life and did something on my own. That was a big turning point for me.
Youngsters should work to realize their dreams, should be willing to take risks which take them where their heart leads, and they need to drive their passion. Schools give them a foundation and also some avenues to experiment. They should avail the opportunities, especially in India.
Well, you have to be careful about hopping jobs, moving careers is okay as long as it is for the right reason -- money is not the right reason. Money goes only so far, because there is always a point where it limits your career, but it also showcases who you are as an individual. Money also could be a hindrance to your growth. There are individuals who are always driven by an adventurous spirit, trying new things, and it is just human mentality to keep experimenting. At some point people like to settle down. This comes with maturity. When you are young it is okay, once you have a family, once you have responsibilities, then you do the job in a measured process. It shouldn’t be a gut-feeling but data-driven process from your professional point of view.
In general, being able to do something in society through an activity of your choice gives some sort of balance. For example working at a charity, being involved in your children’s activities -- there are so many activities to be a part of when they are young. What it does is gives time to relax. But in today’s world technology has brought you so far that you are never disconnected from work. A proper balance is essential.
Microsoft’s launching of data centres... will enable better cloud availability in India. What it means to India is that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the ‘Digital India’ campaign, and with the government and the public also ready to digitalise India, Microsoft plans to play a key role in transforming five lakh villages and supporting them
It was neither difficult nor challenging. You can help shape them. The challenge of youngsters is that they are driven and want to grow quickly. Setting those expectations properly is essential. Building trust with the person they work for is very important. If someone shows interest and guides them the right way, they tend to work with passion and interest due to which they reciprocate very well. As senior people working with youngsters, you need to be a little bit more patient and look at things from their point of view and at the same time be honest in setting expectations.
I do yoga. By the time you hit traffic you don’t want to go to the gym. It becomes very hectic sometimes. I do watch a lot of movies. I enjoy good old Indian movies. I am a Shah Rukh Khan fan. I also like family drama like ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’, ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’.
I like listening to music, and I love going on long drives
By Vineet Kapshikar
