Ritesh Idnani is Chief Operating Officer at Infosys BPO and has had a dramatic influence on growing both ITO and BPO business at Infosys in the last 5 years. With a passion to excel in everything he does, Ritesh looks forward to the convergence of operations and technology to drive BPO business for the future
SSON : Who do you look up to in business and why?
Ritesh Idnani: I look up to Jack Welch, Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffet for different reasons. Jack Welch for being one of the foundations of my professional dreams and igniting a fire within; Jamie Dimon for his perseverance when the chips are down, never die attitude and his ability to execute ; Warren Buffet for simply doing what he does, defining his strategy and waiting for the results to pour in.
SSON: What has been your greatest achievement?
RI: Scaling 2 businesses in the last 10 years – first on the ITO side at Infosys from USD 30 MM to USD 500 MM in my first 5 years and then growing the BPO business 10 fold from USD 43 MM to USD 400 MM (estimated) in my last 5 years at Infosys.
SSON : What is your greatest regret?
RI: Not spending as much time with my family as I’d like to
SSON : If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
RI: I wouldn’t change a thing – life is good
SSON: What looks like the biggest potential for you right now?
RI: The convergence of operations and technology to drive disproportionate business value for my clients
SSON: What is your favorite occupation?
RI: Travel writer with the Lonely Planet
SSON: In 10 years time – how do you see your current operation being run?
RI: I am not a soothsayer, but I do believe that we will see a dramatic shift in the way business looks to govern outsourcing relationships with service providers to maximize value creation
SSON: Which management books do you read?
RI: Straight from the gut, Winning, Blink, Execution, Know-how, all of these books rank amongst my favorite management books
SSON: Who are your favorite writers?
RI: Ram Charan, Malcolm Gladwell, Bill Bryson, Michael Lewis, P G Wodehouse
SSON: What car do you drive and what should you be driving?
RI: Audi A6 – I’ll continue with German cars for their precision, efficiency and driving prowess which is unmatched
SSON: What’s your favorite 10 minute dish that you cook yourself?
RI: A cup of tea.
SSON: Tell us a behavioral trait we should expect of you
RI: Passion to excel in everything I do
SSON: Reveal one weird thing we don’t know about you
RI: It’s not weird but I did do a 2 minute cameo in a TV serial several years back
SSON: What one question would you put to your peers?
RI: Is everything you do value adding for your customers?
SSON: Which historical figure do you most identify with?
RI: Abraham Lincoln for successfully leading the country in difficult times
SSON: If your job requires a lot of traveling – what is your favorite journey?
RI: Flying eastwards to Singapore – the Singapore airlines non-stop flight from Newark is absolutely worth the 18 hours
SSON: What is the quality you most like in men?
RI: Candor and honesty
SSON: What is the quality you most like in women?
RI: Sense of humor
SSON: What would you like your legacy to be?
RI: I still have a long way to go, so I will have ample time to frame my legacy
This article was originally publised on the SSON website.
Niamh Byrne hails from Ireland and has a degree in Media Studies, graduating from the University of Ulster, Coleraine, Co Antrim in Northern Ireland in 1997. Following a year and half working in advertising for Channel 5 in London and a stint of globe-trotting, Niamh completed a post-graduate diploma in journalism in Griffith College, Dublin in 2001. She went on to build a career in radio and television prodution – working on lifestyle, health, political and current affair programs, eventually producing a live television show for RTE television in Ireland. Since re-locating to London in 2007, Niamh has been working for SSON, beginning as a conference director producing events for SSON in the UK, Eastern Europe and the Nordic Region. So with a strong knowledge of the Shared Services and Outsourcing market, she has married this expeience with her journalist skills to become online Editor of SSON.
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