'The experience of building an organization from scratch is the learning of a lifetime'

Background



Narendra Saxena got his BE (telecom) degree from BITS Pilani in 1966. He has
been working in the IT, electronics and telecom segments for the past 35 years.

His job profile has included a wide spectrum of responsibilities ranging from

logistics, project management, marketing, software consultancy and development

and software training.

Current Job profile



He is responsible for creating an overall framework for the development of

the company’s strategic plan, formulating company policy and ensuring that it

is communicated, implemented, and monitored effectively. He is also responsible

for overall operations that include his participation in all key business

activities.

Best professional decision



In 1977, he quit IBM to join CMC as one of the first five employees of the

company. The move provided him the experience of building an organization from

scratch. "It was exciting, taught me a lot and was an opportunity that

comes once in a lifetime," he says.

Turning point



After meeting with an accident and fracturing his spine, he was moved from

the hardware division to the software division in IBM. In retrospect he says the

accident proved to be a blessing in disguise.

Professional faux pas



"Way back in 1985, I launched my own company that dealt with PC

assembly and sales. Having no financial backing, I relied on financial

institutional support that eventually did not come through".

Achievements



In the last 12 years, Saxena has played a key role in successfully building

up two organizations from scratch, State Informatics Ltd (SIL) and STG

International. While SIL was based out of Mauritius with the aim of providing

software consultancy and development to the public sector in Mauritius, he

helped mould STG International as one of the key players in the IT training

industry

As told to Yograj Varma