'If you can survive in Mumbai as a professional, you can survive anywhere'

Background

Uday Birje began his career with HCL in 1987 and moved on to Digital Equipment

in 1992. He successfully set up Digital's networking business and was made head

of operations for India and SAARC. When Digital was acquired by Cabletron

Systems in 1998, Birje continued as head of operations. Last year, when

Cabletron Systems was split into four independent companies, he took over as the

Country Manager of them, Enterasys Networks. While the overall industry is

growing only at 30-40%, Birje managed a significant growth of over 100%,

establishing the new brand as the #2 networking company in the country.

A Learning Experience

His

early days at HCL have been crucial in making Birje the person he is. Be

aggressive, fight hard and never give up – are some of the dictats he has

retained ever since. "At the beginning of your career, you have to put that

extra effort in creating a place for yourself. There cannot be any substitute

for hard work," he says. And starting his career in a place like Mumbai had

an added advantage. "If you can survive in Mumbai with the unlimited

opportunities, you can survive anywhere else in the world," says Birje.

My Strengths

"In a tough, competitive and hot industry like IT, you have to take

quick decisions all the time. Your success depends on how fast you can move in

all aspects of your business," he says.

Other Interests

A travel freak that he is, Birje enjoys driving down the countryside and on

the mountains in the Western Ghats in his Mitsubishi Lancer. Apart from his

passion for the latest technologies in IT, networking, telecom, automobile and

aircraft engineering, he also has an interest in sports, where again, like most

Indians, cricket is the favoured choice.

Philosophy in Life

Honesty, integrity and straight forwardness help you in the long run. Have

faith in destiny but don’t hope to be lucky all the time for "luck

favours the brave," believes Birje.

 As told to Shweta Verma