"The award is a reflection of what the company has done in the last ten years," Gautham Pai
Mumbai Mudrak Sangh (MMS) conferred Gautham Pai, the promoter and group managing director of the Manipal Group, with a Lifetime Achievement Award. With this, Pai has become the youngest recipient of the honour. The ceremony was a part of MMS's Printer’s Day celebration on 3 March 2015 at Garware Club House, Mumbai. Subhash Desai, Minister for Industries Maharashtra presented the award to Pai.
04 Mar 2015 | 3344 Views | By PrintWeek India
Gautham Pai’s address after receiving the Life Time Achievement Award
I am glad to be receiving this MMS Lifetime Achievement Award. When I heard that the Award was to be conferred on me, I was a bit surprised, because it was unexpected. However, I am honoured and touched to receive the award.
I think it is more a reflection of what a company has done in terms of technology and leadership in the last ten years.
On this occasion I need to thank my family for the support that they have constantly given me.
I also thank the leadership at Manipal Technologies (MTL) and the entire team at MPL for always pursuing excellence in everything they undertake and for always standing by the organisation in the most difficult time. I think it’s a result of that endeavour which helped me get the award today.
Manipal Press was started by my father. I had exposure to print from my school days, spending time at the press. After completing my education, I joined a media company, spending the first two years there. But when I was pursuing engineering, I started a small corrugated box packaging unit and that’s where I got my first practical experience in business. And I also realised how difficult it was to do business in India.
I then started spending time in Manipal Press in 2002. At that point of time I realised two things: One, I felt that our print company did not have a focus in the last few years, with no significant development in infrastructure, because of which it has slipped from the enviable position it was in once upon a time in the Indian print industry. Like, we had a single four-colour machine, which was regarded as a basic requisite for printers.
The second thing that I realised was that there was a great potential in the organisation, in terms of the people, the customers and the reputation it had.
I really felt that I had to get the organisation back to the position it once held; to make it the market leader.
I tried to understand about things that made the organisation a success in the past, when my father was running it. I believed that it was the great culture that the organisation had, which came from its values. The customers loved the organisation, the vendors and employees loved it. The five values of – honesty, integrity, respect, gratitude, and desire to be creative and innovative, were really driving the company.
Hence, if I had to build it back, all I needed to do is strengthen the great culture it had, open the areas which are weak and create an environment and platform for the committed people of the organisation. This is where I have really focussed on and spent time on. And going forward, I think this is where I will be spending most of my time on.
The last ten years have been exciting. Manipal Technologies, which we renamed from Manipal Press and Manipal Power Press before that, has grown over 20 times in the last ten years. We have added new and exciting lines of business – packaging, card solution in the space like credit cards, bank cards, digital media, electronic payments, and University marks maintenance.
Over the last ten years, we went from being a South India; one location organisation to 14 locations and four countries; from a print product area to product-less solutions, with the direction of the organisation aimed towards services and solutions. That’s where the name, Manipal Technologies, comes in. We believe that it’s a key strategy for us in this highly competitive and digitised world. Digitisation is happening in many areas, particularly in payments and transactions.
We have had some failures along the way, but luckily the successes were more or I would not be here. We have faced many challenges that come along the way of any fast growing organisations, and especially when one sets up new businesses. What’s really been a strength is the team’s resilience and much more then resilience, the team’s commitment to succeed, really believing that in spite of problems, success can be achieved.
As a leader, I am happy to have developed capabilities in the team, and I believe the journey has just begun. I also believe that what the organisation will do and can do in the next ten years will dwarf the achievements of the last ten years.
Having said that, I think the future is going to be very tough. It’s already a globalised space and will get even more globalised in the future. Digitisation is taking place rapidly and exponentially. It will disrupt many of the businesses, but will also offer new opportunities.
Personally, as I stand here, I’ve never been as excited as I am, ever before. The future is challenging and very exciting based on how you look at it.
Thank you, again, for the Award.