Heading a business set up or company from the front requires masterminds. The men or women at the helm needs to hold on to their wisdom and be focused to witness the far sighted view. They are to know, be aware of what can change or what might just get right or wrong in the coming days. It is their experience added with their thought quotient and their abilities to grasp the trends, that makes them steady on track and helps them in perfecting the right strategy for their companies.
These honchos dominate the business scene with their Excalibur and are ever ready to plunge in to challenge the ongoing decree. However, these men and women have proved themselves beyond doubt in all spheres of life including the most intricate and cumbersome world of entrepreneurship in addition to pressures of balancing work, home and family. They never gave in or gave up, and carried on to build valuable companies while also giving back to society.These honchos are ever ready to swim against the tide to become success stories. And their success is worth celebrating. Let’s meet onesuch Indian personalities who can be easily termed as role models for every Indian in the lingerie industry.
The Second in the series is Mr. Shekhar Tiwari – CEO Enamor since August 2015, earlier to that he was the Busines Head-Innerwear at Arvind Brands Ltd heading the Hanes and US Polo Innerwear business.Prior to that he handled the Hanes Launch in India as VP Sales &Mktg from 2004 to 2008. He began his career in 1993 with BalsaraHygiene . He joined Page Apparel in 1997 during the initial years of Jockey and spent 7 years establishing Jockey as a brand. He is basically a person who has been in the Intimate Apparel industry for over 20 years and helped several brands gain their eminence in the Indian market
We interviewed Mr. Shekhar Tiwari in Bangalore here are the excerpts of this interview
Tell us a little bit about yourself? Your journey as a successful professional begins from a crisp personal and educational background. Tell us a little in brief about yourself by throwing light into these lesser known arenas.
As a product of small town India, growing up in the 80’s one either aspired to be an engineer or a doctor. Since I could not bring myself to dissect frogs and earthworms , I chose Engineering. I did my BE in Instr. Tech from SJCE Mysore and worked as a service Engineer for a year. Post that , I did my Masters in Management from WE School Mumbai , majored in Marketing and moved to the consumer business side.
Holding on to the decision making position as a part of the lingerie industry and defining brand performances and trajectory for years now. How has it been manning the show for these brands?
Every association has been a learning experience. My earlier years in the FMCG industry under some very hard but amazingtask masters taught me a lot about markets, channels and consumers. Page Apparels and Hanes Brands were both startups when I joined and the challenge of working in startups, doning multiple hats, building team and culture, and scaling up was an experience which shaped and enriched me immensely as a professional.
What is your greatest achievement?
Being part of and leading teams which conceptualised, incubated and grew businesses from scratch has been a great joy. Along the way I managed to build fantastic relationships with people who started as colleagues and became lifelong friends
What are your hobbies?
I love reading and at any point am reading more than one book. I have always been conscious of my fitness and have taken up long distance running and walking. Hindi movies and old Kishore Kumar songs is something else that I enjoy with friends.
What motivates you? How do you generate new ideas?
The fact that we have only one life and so little time. We are living in a world which is undergoing huge transformational changes due to technology. Talking to young people and people from different domains and expertise one learns so much.
Looking back, do you see yourself regretting any decision or feeling bad for some decision or thought from your past?
Each one of us makes good and bad decisions. As long as intent is right and I learn from the mistakes, they don’t bother me so much. Personally though I regret that I never got around to learning singing professionally or learn to play an instrument.
You are confident about…….
About India and the immense opportunity that young people have today.
What does a typical day in your life look like?
Mornings are about spending some time with kids before they head off to their respective schools. I have a long commute to work so I start early. Typical work days when one is not travelling are spent with various functional teams within the company and external partners at times. I typically reach home around 8 pm and then try to spend some time with family and catchup on news or sports on Television.
Do you tag yourself as a workaholic? Or do you always love to maintain a fair balance between work and family?
Given the reality of long work days, one gets very little time on the weekdays for personal stuff. But I try to strictly keep weekends for family.
If you could turn the time, what would you love to do in regardsto your professional career?
I have been lucky to work with some great brands, companies and colleagues. They have shaped me into the person I am and I am happy with that.
What hurdles did you encounter in claiming such a refined and clear position for yourself?
Not for myself alone per se but the industry that I have spent most of my professional life in- the innerwear/lingerie industry, has moved from being a small unorganised and unrecognised category, to one which is very visible and and upfront today. Being part of that process had its own growth pangs but has been immensely satisfying as well.
How many hours do you work a day on average?
It is not important to count the hours. What is important is to ensure that what you set out to achieve gets done properly and in time.
Any dream position or dream job that you want to grab on in the time to come?
I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing if I did not believe this is that job. I believe that lingerie industry as a whole and Enamor as the leading brand in lingerie, is a hugely exciting place to be in.
