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Building winning teams

Suresh Reddy, Co-founder and Chairman, Ybrant Technologies, does not believe in individual credits, only teamwork, writes Tanu Talwar

Perseverance, confidence and the determination to constantly evolve through hard work, and well-formed business plans and strategies has made Suresh Reddy an inspiring and successful Chairman of Ybrant Technologies. After starting his career as a Project Engineer with AM General Corp in 1992, Suresh Reddy’s strong focus to succeed, coupled with his able managerial and leadership qualities have led him to earn a rightful deserving position—chairman of one of the fastest growing digital marketing companies.  

Coming from a close-knitted family in Kadapa, a small town in Andhra Pradesh, this self-made achiever is the elder of two siblings. His father was a retired Director with a large scientific organisation in the Ministry of Defense (India) while his mother is a homemaker. After competing his schooling from St Patrick’s High School in Sikandarabad (Hyderabad), Reddy went ahead to pursue his dream and did his BTech from IIT Kharagpur in 1982. Soon after graduating, Reddy went to the US and did his Masters in Science from the Iowa State University. Citing his reasons for moving to the US, Reddy reveals, “There were several reasons. Besides the urge to explore new places, it was the opportunities the land offered at that time.” In order to support himself in the country, Reddy took up the position of a teaching assistant in the university while pursuing his studies and taught Engineering Mechanical Strategy as a subject.   

Soon after completing his course, Reddy started his career with AM General Corp (Makers of Hummer), in February 1992, as a Project Engineer engaged in the computer simulations of the defense tanks manufactured by the company. After working with the company for about an year, he went ahead and joined Caterpillar, a company engaged in the manufacturing of construction equipment, in 1993. After working as a Project Manager and Engineer for the company for over two years, playing a key role in project analysis and implementation, he moved ahead to join a leading vehicle manufacturing company, Chrysler in 1995 as a project manager and analyst.  Two years later in 1997, Reddy joined AT&T, where he was engaged in building a computer-based system to support the transaction processing system and voice mail architecture of the company. In 1998, Reddy had a short stint of one year with Charles Schwab, a stock brokerage house, working as a senior software analyst with the company. 

Moving ahead, it was in the year 1999 that Reddy decided to put his experience to use and co-founded USA Greetings.com in San Francisco, along with his childhood friend and classmate from his school, Vijay Kancharla. Talking about the initial challenges faced, he says, “One of the major challenges encountered by us during the start-up phase was to frame a revenue generation and business model.” In order to overcome these hurdles, the company metamorphosed into Ybrant Technologies to focus on its strengths in technology and marketing.  Under his able leadership the company soon developed four platforms to cater to differing eMarketing needs in the marketplace. However, for Reddy, there are no individual credits. He states, “It’s all about team work. Over the years, one of our greatest investments has been finding the right talent and employees who have successfully contributed to the growth of the company.” 

Talking about his faith in Indian talent as per the e-marketing industry, he states, “We currently have a development centre in Hyderabad that houses over 175 people. The Indian workforce is highly talented and holds huge potential in the e-marketing space. Though currently the Indian e-market is still at a nascent stage as compared to the US, it is bound to pick up in a big way.” 

Besides growing professionally, Reddy loves to read and travel. He enjoys reading philosophical and management books. “The last book I read was ‘The Power of Leadership’ by John Heider. Besides reading, I like to travel and meet new people,” he concludes.