Ep. 06: Letting Go to Grow: Why Building a Great Team is Important for a Leader

As a leader, getting the right talent at the right time is crucial for an organisation's growth.
Is it possible to hire the right people all the time? Probably not. Without people, no company can be successful, no entrepreneur can be successful, and no purpose can be delivered. It's all people that make things happen.

In this episode of Unleashed Conversations, I continue my discussions with Kris and Shibu, Co-Founders of Infosys about the importance of people in building world class organisations. I am joined by a new guest on the podcast, Sandeep Maini, Chairman of the Maini Group, and reflect on this theme with Raju Venkataraman from Medall, and Shivakumar Ganesan form Exotel.

Key takeaways from this podcast:-

• Kris and Shibu share their deep experience about how the founding team at Infosys built a great team
• How Shiv is scaling up new-age start-up, Exotel, by building a strong team
• The story of bringing in independent directors at the Maini Group in the very early stages, narrated by Sandeep Maini
• Exceptional reflections from Raju Venkatraman on how founders and leaders can groom people

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Kris Gopalakrishnan is the Chairman of Axilor Ventures, an accelerator that helps start-ups during the early stage of their business journey. Kris served as the vice chairman of Infosys from 2011 to 2014 and the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Infosys from 2007 to 2011. Kris is one of the co-founders of Infosys. In January 2011, the Government of India awarded Mr. Gopalakrishnan the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third-highest civilian honor.

Profile: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://srinivasuppaluri.com/unleashed-inspiring-leadership-journeys/kris-gopalakrishnan⁠

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S.D. Shibulal (Shibu) is the Co-founder, former Member of the Board and CEO of Infosys Ltd. Prior to becoming the CEO and Managing Director, Shibu served as the Chief Operating Officer from 2007 to 2011. Earlier, Shibu held a number of senior leadership roles including: Head of Worldwide Sales and Customer Delivery. From 1991 to 1996, Shibu had worked with Sun Microsystems in the US, where he led the team which designed and implemented Sun’s first e-commerce application. Shibu retired from Infosys on 31st July, 2014.

Profile: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://srinivasuppaluri.com/unleashed-inspiring-leadership-journeys/sd-shibulal

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Sandeep Kumar Maini is an Industrial & Production Engineer, an alumnus of Manipal Institute of Technology. His journey with the Maini Group began in 1989, and in 2007, he ascended to the position of Chairman of the Maini Group. Under his leadership, the Maini Group has grown into a conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of companies operating both domestically and internationally.

Profile: ⁠⁠⁠https://srinivasuppaluri.com/unleashed-inspiring-leadership-journeys/sandeep-kumar-maini

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Raju Venkatramam, a successful Serial Entrepreneur is the Founder, ex-Chairman and ex-Managing Director of Medall Health Care Pvt. Ltd. Headquartered in Chennai, under his leadership, Medall got visibility and presence in 8 States Pan India and grew to become the 4th largest Diagnostics Services company in less than 7 years touching more than 12 million lives by 2018.

Profile: ⁠⁠https://srinivasuppaluri.com/unleashed-inspiring-leadership-journeys/raju-venkatraman⁠⁠

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Shivakumar Ganesan, or Shivku as he is affectionately called, is one of India’s leading startup and technology leaders under 40. He helms Exotel, as its Co-Founder and CEO, a company which has ushered one of the most trailblazing customer conversation platform and business-focused virtual telecom operator in the emerging world.

Profile: ⁠⁠https://srinivasuppaluri.com/unleashed-inspiring-leadership-journeys/shivakumar-ganesan⁠⁠

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More about Srini: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://srinivasuppaluri.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

Connect with Srini on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/srinivasuppaluri/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Join the Unleashed Community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://srinivasuppaluri.com/unleashed-inspiring-leadership-journeys⁠⁠⁠⁠