“Do not join HCL if you want a job, join HCL if you want an adventure.”
On the 11th of May, the students of Class XII of MAHSS had the honour of interacting with none other than Padma Bhushan awardee Mr. Ajai Chowdhury, founder of Hindustan Computers Limited( HCL), among the largest publicly traded companies in India, with a market capitalization of 18.7 billion US Dollars.
After being warmly welcomed by the Director of our Institute, Mr. Vyankatesh Prabhudesai, he was further formally introduced to all of us by senior faculty Dr. Ketan Sardessai.
To start with, Mr. Chowdhry spoke about the tumultuous journey that HCL had endured to come out on top. The problems he faced during his childhood which he overcame in his journey took us aback and made us look at him in absolute awe. Despite securing a job in DCM, one of the top companies in India at that time, he always dreamt of doing something bigger instead of spending his entire life stuck with one job. Then 6 fellow thinkers banded together to form Microcomp. Soon their hard work began to pay off, and despite the quagmires caused by the Emergency being imposed at that time, they came out successful.
In what is one of the most successful entrepreneurship stories we have ever heard, the students listened in rapture and the enthralling story of HCL’s growth. From their main office being a barsati in friend’s grandmother’s home and their conference hall being a dining table to being a company which has offices in 44 countries including the United States, France and Germany, and the United Kingdom with a worldwide network of R&D, “innovation labs” and “delivery centers”, and 137,000+ employees and its customers include 250 of the Fortune 500 and 650 of the Global 2000 companies. It operates across sectors including aerospace and defense, automotive, banking, capital markets, chemical and process industries, consumer goods, energy and utilities, healthcare, hi-tech, industrial manufacturing, insurance, life sciences, manufacturing, media and entertainment, mining and natural resources, oil and gas, retail, telecom, and travel, transportation, logistics & hospitality!!!
HCL was a pioneer in the computer industry, coming out with their first computers at the same time as Apple. Mr. Chowdhry spoke about the difference between servicing a market and creating a market, which is what HCL had to do. Computers had been something reserved only for the premier research institutes in the country, and there was little to no demand for computers anywhere else. But with HCL’s first of a kind style advertising and their starting of a concept which revolutionized the industry, EMI, made HCL grow beyond any other company in the computer industry in India!! Soon HCL also spread its branches to countries like Singapore and the US. The students thoroughly enjoyed the various types of advertisements HCL used to promote its brand image.
Mr. Chowdhry also enlightened us with a glimpse of what the future industry might look like, with permanent jobs on the wane and the rise of micro specialization.
Then began the eagerly awaited question and answer session, with Mr. Chowdhry graciously quelling all of the student’s questions, ranging from the challenges of entrepreneurship to the importance of the stock market!!
The talk left us all with an important message of pursuing your goals and overcoming hurdles, no matter the cost.
On behalf of the students XII of MAHSS, we would like to thank our director VPD sir and Mr Ajai for giving us an opportunity which profoundly affected our lives.
-Prepared by Prithwij Sinha, Student of STD XII, MAHSS