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Hot seat
A matter of integrity and trust
Every person takes a different path to succeed in life. Vinutha
V writes how Srini Rajam, chairman and chief executive officer of Ittiam Systems,
chose the path of integrity, trust and striving for excellence to emerge as
a leader
 Right from
his childhood, Srini Rajam was fascinated by complex problems in science and
mathematics. He would pore over books on the subject and put in a lot of effort
to find the solutions. "There is lot of excitement in solving mathematical
problems that have not been solved before. I have always liked algorithm-related
puzzles that were difficult to crack," says Rajam. The interest in the
subject helped him take a practical approach while making decisions.
Family support
Recollecting his childhood and college days, Rajam recounts, "It was my
father and elder brother who encouraged me to take greater interest in my studies.
The support I obtained from them has really helped me." Besides excelling
in studies, he was a cricket enthusiast. He also read a lot of historical and
classical novels during his formative years. Now, engrossed in his work, he
complains that he doesn’t get enough time to read. However, he still manages
to enjoy Carnatic classical music rendered by M S Subbalakshmi, and spend time
with his family. The shift from mechanical engineering to computer science was
a challenge he faced. "But I overcame it with the mathematical strength
I had," recalls Rajam.
During his career in Wipro for two years and Texas Instruments for 15 years,
Rajam spent most of his time in software development and research-oriented work.
Indeed, it was a challenge for him to move from research-oriented work to marketing
for the entire Asia-Pacific region while with Texas Instruments; his people
management skills helped him to handle the change.
Rajam was the managing director during the last five years of his tenure in
Texas Instruments. He attributes his successful handling of the job to Mohan
Rao, who played a key role in starting Texas Instruments in India. "I believed
that my potential lay only in research and development; it was Rao who encouraged
me to believe that I could also handle management-related work," reminisces
Rajam. The renowned tennis player, Bjorn Borg, who won Wimbledon for five years
in a row, has been his role model since his college days. He is in awe of Borg's
concentration and determination to strive for excellence.
Having been exposed to different areas of work, and people from all walks of
life, what made Rajam excel was his belief in integrity, trust and the need
to strive for excellence. Says he, "I want to follow these principles throughout
my life. I feel an individual has to maintain a level of integrity and trust
with everyone—friends, family, customers and professionals."
Words of advice
Rajam loves to impart his knowledge to upcoming entrepreneurs. "They need
to gain in-depth knowledge and experience in a particular area. Venturing into
a new business is an activity of both the heart and mind; this allows you to
take a practical approach to decisions. One must learn to make decisions which
are not biased."
He opines that our IT companies have excelled because of their teamwork. To
be a successful corporate, Rajam says, team efficiency is more important than
individual efficiency. On being asked what he would have been if not an IT professional,
he says he would have become a teacher. Apart from giving guidance to upcoming
entrepreneurs, Rajam likes to give talks on a few aspects that are related to
the IT industry such as how to build a product company, how to market to customers,
and how to get venture capital funding.
IIIT & IIM
He has often been invited to the Indian Institute of Information
Technology and the Indian Institute of Management, both at Bangalore, to share
his knowledge. Rajam's long-term goal is to contribute something in technology
that India can be proud of.
vinutha@expresscomputeronline.com
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