I have lived life through multiple identities: a private-sector professional turned IT entrepreneur, an author of several business books and, later in life, a public servant. As an entrepreneur, the pinnacle of my achievement was co-founding Mindtree in the year 1999, where I started as the chief operating officer. When I stepped down in 2016, after seventeen eventful years, I was the executive chairman. In 2019, Mindtree was acquired by Larsen and Toubro (L&T). After its merger with L&T’s own IT subsidiary, it became LTIMindtree. In June 2024, the combined entity reported sales of USD 4.3 billion, hit a market cap of USD 17.84 billion and employed 81,000 people worldwide. This made it the 1018th most valuable company in the world. 

In 2006, while I was at Mindtree, I debuted as a published author. Since then, I have written many books on a variety of subjects such as entrepreneurship, organizational leadership, building scale and becoming a true professional. Each book became a bestseller when it was published. Some titles such as The High Performance Entrepreneur, Go Kiss the World and The Professional, written two decades ago, are still popular and continue to sell. Go Kiss the World became an evergreen and iconic book. My books have been translated into all major languages in India; some have been translated into Chinese and Korean.

In 2016, at the behest of Naveen Patnaik, then chief minister of Odisha, my home state, I took on the role of chairman, Odisha Skill Development Authority. Along the way, I was also the chief spokesperson of the government on Covid-19. In 2024, I transitioned to a new role as the chief adviser to the government on institutional capacity building. Here, my aim was to envision the transformation of the twenty-odd civil services training institutions of Odisha in anticipation of 2036, by which time the state would be a hundred years old. Through all these assignments in the state, I worked simultaneously at the policy and implementation levels. This gave me a rare, engine-room view that the layperson does not always get to see. My latest book, The Day the Chariot Moved is a moving tale of that experience. 

I am married to Susmita, who is a noted Odia writer with more than 18 books to her credit. She gave five years of her life to public service as chairperson of Mo School Abhiyan at the invitation of the Government of Odisha while I was working in Odisha. We share many interests and values in life. In particular, our responsibility towards nation building through committed work in healthcare and allied research & education.