Sridhar has spent his career in the fields of consumer research, brand building and communication. Understanding of people and their behaviour is at the core of his work. Taking it forward, how this influences the choices they make and then creating interventions to influence their behavior, either to change it or capitalize on it!
He is not active on any social media platform including Linkedin. Definitely little dispassionate about new age marketing/ digital marketing spaces but he is getting by alright 😊 for sure!
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM so far?
A. It took me 3-4 years after I graduated to figure out my happiness/ comfort space from a career perspective. Took me sometime to figure out what kind of a professional I want to be. I started in one of Kantar’s earlier incarnations, IMRB, in its social research unit. This was through campus placement. I couldn’t click in the sector; the pace of work was too slow for me, and I felt that my job was to produce well-manicured documents that go through series of iterations. Well-manicured word documents are also not my strength, I take comfort in the world of PPTs. But Kantar opened other offerings in research space, and after a couple of adventures I found my match in consumer research space, that too in qualitative research. Qual research is more short term, more intimate, more result oriented, all of which suited my vision of how my work needs to get reflected. Along the way I also dabbled with advertising in their Strat planning departments and enjoyed the process of developing campaigns. Now I am at a stage in career where I do less work but have the chops to come out of situations with my smarts and douse the fires when necessary 😊!
In nutshell, I started as a person who never had a great degree of drive (which I don’t even now). Those 5 years from now, 10 years from now questions are wasted on me. I just enjoyed the process, my clients, my projects and just carried forward. I also believe that life should be a series of projects and created enough space to pursue other projects and hobbies. I was never stingy with my holidays, took those gap months/ year when there was an opportunity.
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. Honestly, no big milestones, but many everyday small little happinesses. It is very difficult to pass something as a learning without knowing aims and ambitions of the recipient. I have met some people who called me a success and some people said I did not live up to my full potential! So, it all depends on perspectives. Having said that, I believe 2 things worked for me in life:
- Developing a sense of security early in my life. It could be financial/ emotional/ family or a combo. It helps in your work too, because security gives one the freedom to express freely at work, and it shows. Everyone needs a bit of swag at their work.
- Be nice to people, especially if they are down the chain. Majority of my work life happened in SE Asia which is relatively classless, I have seen executives and pantry ladies being lunch buddies. I work in an organization which is not known to throw huge salaries, despite which we have low attrition. I feel people in Hyderabad find my GMs & GEs, ‘Thank You’ a bit too excessive!
Q. How has been your experience in your current Organization-Kantar? What all areas have you been working here?
A. I work as a senior leader in Kantar’s Indonesia’s business having a mandate of team, clients, and business. Half of my time goes in setting the vison and business plans for my division and creating a comfortable space for team members. Remaining half, I spend with the clients addressing their marketing needs and planting the opportunities for us to work together. I specialize in brand building, guidance, and communications, which also means a decent number of workshops. Perhaps the best part of my job is to have figured a solution to marketing problem. When I see the brand registering growth because of our efforts or pass by a billboard which resulted from our work, it gives meaning to time we put and to money we charge 😊.
Q. What is the most satisfying part in your career?
A. My career giving me enough space to attend to my family and to my hobbies is perhaps the most satisfying part of it. Again, I never wanted my career to define me, all I wanted from it is to make a good living, where clients and colleagues hold respect for my views/ opinions, and the work I do should create/address something, help someone.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. Tough one to answer, would my approach have been different if I passed out of a different institute? There is a prelude to IIFM in my case. With strong agrarian roots, I had an empathy with people, issues, problems at grassroot level. My understanding was not always accurate, it evolved over time, during my time in IIFM and continues to do so now. I guess the tools would be available irrespective of the institute. But what makes IIFM different is the context, the people, the places we visit, the situations we see and feel, all these am sure has an impact on how we think and decide. I believe IIFM made me more sensitive to people, livelihood, resources, sustainability compared to my other ‘corporate’ colleagues and have a feeling that they too acknowledge the difference. It might not be visible on a day-to-day basis, but it sparkles when it is needed. One day I was explaining the commonality between thinning/ canopy management and talent management to our HR team 😊. We have so many lovely anecdotes/sectoral stories/ parallel analogies which can capture peoples’ attention for sure.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.
A. I will skip the influencers. My advice would be to pick this profession if you are passionate about consumers, it could lead to openings in marketing and communications too. You need to figure and fight it out, your IIFM degree will neither be an advantage nor a disadvantage. I have a team which comprises of economics, psychology, architecture, medical graduates. During their interviews/internships they impressed us with their thinking and expression, so treat those internships (SI & Project Work in today’s terms at IIFM) with a little more respect. I take this opportunity to apologize to Prof Pethiya and Prof Rathore for not putting my best efforts in OT ☹ which is now called SI/Project Work.
Q. Did you ever think/plan about higher studies post IIFM?
A. I did not, but a lot of friends have gone for it. In many cases, it proved to be a good decision for them. So, think about it. Circling back to what I said earlier, one needs to feel a little discomforted with their status quo to aim for something more/ better. Unfortunately, I did not feel that at any point in time and felt that my education qualifications were good enough.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. Many, it is a string of memories. Friendships, trips, trainings, bus/train rides, movies in Apsara and Rangmahal, walks to Kerwa dam, dinners in Jehan Numa . There is never a dull moment. Honestly, I will belittle others by picking some experiences. Those 2 years were very dear to me. Because of variety of situations/ teams, we get to know each other personally.
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A. Difficult to pick, I would say the courses and friends if am forced to… But it’s so long since I passed out, I have a hazy image of it. But whatever it did, it made me a happy and useful person.
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?
A. Being a small batch (21 to be precise) we had many personal stories not only with each other, but also with seniors and juniors. And for 2 years, we spent time with almost all of them. And my family visited me a couple of times, and perhaps I am the only student whose grandparent(s) have travelled to Bhopal and stayed in campus. I remember Kajoli and Tanmay treating my grandfather for dinner.
Q. As an alumni, what’s your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
A. My son is going to university this year. So, pardon me if my fatherly traits seeps into my advice. Also, with a bigger batch am sure life will be far more competitive compared to our times. So, I will tone down on ‘just have fun’ part!
One, create a good study/work ethic and have enough material to showcase it. Your quality and depth of thought will be more valuable than your grades (if I am the recruiter).
Two, develop a passion/ hobby/ interest (better if it gives monetary returns in long run)!
Most important, take good care of your health. Eat well. If there is one thing that I can change from the past, I will change the abuse I put my system through during institute and early working phase. And I am not talking alcohol.
And don’t ignore grades.
Q. What was your typical day at the work? And how does it look like while you are on a break?
A. I start early and end early. One hour before everyone arrives, I dedicate to ‘me only’ tasks. Once seats start filling in, its all about dealing with others. Post Covid, work systems changed and I get to spend considerable amount of time either working from Hyderabad or on working holidays.
Q. And how about weekends, hobbies, family and anything else you want to add?
A. You ask my partner, she will say that I am the laziest person in the universe. We become active only when we get out of Jakarta. We have quite a few Bali trips and weekends getaways under our belt.
Indonesia is a vast country and with my love for scuba diving, I end up visiting the most remote and pristine places on the planet. Facilities are basic but the experiences are amazing.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors?
A. Not so much into books, I do consult some journals/ subscriptions for work related information. Have a HBR Must Reads handy whenever I need some inspiration or a POV. Movies, I am a buff. Staying away from India, keep track of all Telugu movie releases and wait for them on Flix/Prime. I never miss a single screen experience in Hyderabad, especially in its first weekend. Pure joy!!
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? Your engagement with IIFM Placement or OT/SI?
A. More than happy to pass the references/ few contacts I have in Kantar India. But am sure there are some other alumni who are closer to action.
Also, any kind of thought/ monetary contribution to AA initiatives. But as Rishi would know, it takes a lot to get me going 😊!
Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there?
A. I visited campus in 2023, after 25 years for our reunion. The word I would use is ‘burdened’. It feels a little more burdened because of its own expectations/ self-doubts. There was a wee bit carefree atmosphere when we were there. Times were different and I am open to being corrected.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. I have come a bit late in the mainstream, so not sure who all were profiled before me. Just pick any name from our Class you haven’t profiled earlier, all of them are wonderful people who I am proud of. I would suggest Devbrat Kumar Sinha from my batch, he seems to be in semi-retired zone (my dream) and has started a Pankaj Udhas toned YT channel which gets only 15-20 views. Hopefully more will start following him post his expose 😊.