Determination and courage of conviction are two things
that distinguish Arun Jain, CMD, Intellect Design Arena (and founder of
Polaris Software Lab), from so many other noted business leaders of
India. For, if he wasn’t convinced of his enterprising self and the
talent he possessed, then he would not have pursued engineering at all
(although it required some inspirational talk from his elder brother).
No one can imagine what would have happened had he stuck to his original
plan (not interest, mind you) of becoming a doctor, for which he is
said to have spent or wasted (should we say) one year on preparation
(for the pre-medical exams)
This story of a man with almost modest
upbringing (had his schooling from government-run schools) to not seek
employment after completing his education so at to do what he liked to
do - the business of engineering, is a reminder to all those naysayers
who are averse to risk-taking and are almost anti-entrepreneurial that,
if one has the courage of conviction and is determined to carry forward
the same, then it doesn’t really matter what challenges lie ahead, as
the one with these two qualities will almost definitley have both the
vision as well as the capability to overcome any such obstacle that one
will encounter. It’s not like Arun Jain did not face problems. He did.
In fact, a fair share of them. But, being the courageous man he was and
is, almost everytime he overcame those with almost consummate ease.
So,
he founded one company, learnt the nuances of running a business,
studied what was required – as in what would sell, and do so in the
long-run too, and then founded a company with specialized software
products and services for the financial industry that was slowly waking
up to the dawn of a technology-enabled business age. This would turn out
be a master-stroke as the segment he chose to concentrate on would
both, play a greater role in, as well as benefit from, another ensuing
phenomenon called globalization, which opened up a myriad range of
possibilities and, hence, the opportunities for one and all across the
globe. All this meant finance would play a crucial role in realizing the
full potential of this whole new paradigm that the world was embracing.
The
man’s skill, shrewdness, and vision allowed the company to progress
like nothing else, at least in the country, had ever. Along the way it
went on to win the confidence and trust of many an international
customer, mainly the biggest financial services company (at least at
that point in time) Citibank, coupled with much appreciation and many
accolades for its offerings and quality of the same. 'Best Under a
Billion Company', and uniquely positioned as a pioneer in Financial
Technology by Forbes, are but some of the recognitions and accolades
that came Polaris’ way.
Childhood & Education
Being
one of the ten children in the family meant that life was always at
odds with the times, to be able to make ends meet, much less think of
dreaming big – so big that one wants to be an entrepreneur. But, right
since he was a child, Arun was Jain always inspired by the thespian of
Indian industry, JRD Tata. So, it was a no brainer that he would
definitely want to pursue something that will allow him to inch closer
toward his ambition.
He did his schooling from the Harcourt Butler
Higher Secondary School (New Delhi) and passed out in 1976. Amidst high
expectations from family and friends, Jain first aspired to be a
doctor, and accordingly put his heart and soul for preparation towards
the pre-medical exams for one year. But, as it turned out, by the end of
it, his elder brother, sensing Arun’s heart might perhaps be into
something else, convinced him to take the engineering entrance exams
instead. He fared very well in those, and got admissions in both Banaras
Hindu University-IT (later rechristened as the prestigious Indian
Institute of Technology – IIT, Kanpur) and Delhi College of Engineering
(DCE). For obvious reasons, the latter was his choice because of the
location and reputation of the college; besides, it also saved him his
hostel expenses. Jain pursued his B.Sc. Engineering in Electronics from
1978–1983 at the coveted institute; and that (DCE) is where he learnt to
make choices independently.
Entrepreneur all the way!
And
it was the same fresh thinking and independent decision-making that
allowed him to say no to the green card he had (in 1983) go to the USA.
Instead, he decided to stay back and started ‘International Information
System’ as his first company. This laid the foundation for the
entrepreneurial spirit that he was to demonstrate throughout the rest of
his life.
His next role was a director to promote Nucleus
Software, in 1986, with like-minded individuals, who shared his ideas,
philosophy and vision. The company was into developing banking software.
After
a decade (3 even after starting Polaris) of astute leadership with
Nucleus Software, Jain parted ways and moved to Chennai to follow his
instincts to start Polaris Software Labs (later renamed as Polaris
Financial Technology Ltd.,) in 1993, with a reported initial capital of a
mere Rs.10,000. For two decades or so, the major account of Polaris has
been, and still continues to be, the global financial powerhouse,
Citibank.
With a focus to make it a viable global entity, he built
a unique integrated model of products and services to provide a full
range of solutions from consulting, products and services. Polaris went
on to become a global software house providing quality and customized
information technology (IT) solutions to several multinational clients
across 20 countries, generating annual revenue of around $450 million
(2014), got listed in 1999 and has over 13000 employees. Along the way,
in 2002, Polaris acquired Citigroup’s software business in India,
through one of the largest transactions at the time (reported to be
Rs.280 Crores) and was able to fully integrate the merger successfully.
Over
the years, however, the company was streamed into two – products and
services. As it was allowing him little time to take-up the several
social initiatives he had in mind, it was decided to sell off the
software services business to Virtusa. The spun-off delving in products
was called Intellect Design.
The De-merger
After
scouting for the most worthy and deserving buyer – as Jain wanted the
company to go into the hands of an equally responsible as well as
capable entity, to not only benefit but also to protect and carry
forward the legacy he had so painstakingly built over 20 years.
Philanthropy and aside…
Once
the de-merger was completed, and a great deal of load was taken off his
shoulders, Arun Jain went about working on things that were closer to
his heart, and that would help the society in some way. He wanted to do
something, to the extent he can, for the health care system in India
which, according to him, was one of the worst. Therefore, to address
that, he would facilitate creation of an initial corpus of Rs 100 Crores
for health care. Then, there are plans to set up 10 hospitals with
50-100 beds each over the next 10 years or so, to be run by a trust. The
capital cost will be borne by the trust and the services could be
offered at very low cost.
Then there is the educational field
through which he wants to contribute to the society. But, that is more
in the area of research and, something which is still in the idea stage
but he is keeping the fund aside (for education).
Being a
passionate advocate of ordinary people coming together to do
extraordinary things, with a subconscious alignment for a larger
purpose, he founded the ‘Ullas Trust’ to integrate Polaris employees
with the larger community. The Trust has awarded over 36,000
scholarships to students in Government and Corporation Schools in India.
Family Man
Always
the family man – the quality he inherited from his father- Jain prefers
relaxing with the family and kids during a day off, and spending the
time with his eleven-year-old son, Uday, and four-year-old daughter,
Aarushi by going on long drives, besides sometimes also go to a nice
restaurant chosen by the children choose and have a quiet dinner.
Other Affiliations:
|
| Member of National Association of Software and Service C o m p a n i e s (NASSCOM) |
| Member of the Board of Madras Stock Exchange Ltd. |
| Member of Advisory Council of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) |
| Member in the State Level IT Task Force in Tamil Nadu, India. |
| Member
of the Governing Council of the National Institute of Electronics and
Information Technology (NIELIT), Department of Electronics and
Information Technology, Govt. of India. |
| Served as Chairman of Tamil Nadu State Council, Confederation of Indian Industry – Southern Region during 2003 – 2004 |
| Served as Chairman of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce – Tamil Nadu Branch during 2001 – 2002 |
| Served on the Board of Xavier’s Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, India. |
Awards & Recognition:
|
| Conferred
the “ICICI Venture-CII Connect 2006 Entrepreneur Award” for his
significant contribution towards developing Tamil Nadu as a centre of
Information, Communications & Technology (ICT) Excellence. |
| Recipient
of ‘Indo- ASEAN Business Initiative Award-2008’, which was bestowed in
Singapore in recognition of his business initiative in the region for
the Information Technology category |
| Recognized
by the Times Group with an award and a feature in a book titled
'Pathfinders,' that lauds the achievements of extraordinary
personalities in the IT & ITES industry |
Quotes |
| 'Success
to me is the integrity of the purpose and contributing to it. When one
forgets the sense of time and gets fully immersed in contributing to
building high performance, it is a success |
| At
DCE, I learnt to make choices independently. The six-month training
programme was just wonderful. I learnt almost the entire computer
science curriculum in three months at National Informatics Centre under
Dr. Vijayaditya and three months at DCM data products. It was a
phenomenal work experience. |
| One with an ability to dream and to pursue the dream to an almost idiotic level.” -An entrepreneur according to Arun Jain |
| Intellect
Design Arena is like a start-up for me. Technology companies that
don’t reinvent themselves are doomed. We need to re-invent ourselves
constantly. And, that’s what we have done in the past and will continue
to do.” - After it was de-merged from Polaris |
| One with an ability to dream and to pursue the dream to an almost idiotic level.” – About entrepreneurship. |
| Entrepreneurship can be nurtured, trained. It is about shaping the mind and thinking very early. |
| Start
only when you are ready for it; start with a person who can be your
'true partner'; choose a small project in which you can be competitive;
learn communication and marketing; and planning, organising, &
inspiring people are crucial.” - Jain's advice to start-ups |