THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION - International Indian

[ FROM UK ]
of a Mumbai base with the occasional travel
to London. On future plans or aspirations for
DAWN, she shares, “Would I like to achieve
my five year plan in one? Yes, very much. But
DAWN has a pace and life of its own. My
vision is that DAWN will evolve along with
the needs and expectations of our members.”
Karl Pinto, 38, serves as Chairman of the
Board of Goodwin Biotechnology, Inc. (Wallace
Group) a Florida based biotherapeutics
contract manufacturing and services company.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and
a Masters in Business Management, Karl’s
career spans 15 years with active experience in
international business development, executive
management and Mergers & Acquisitions in
the USA and India.
He started his career with the Tata Group
and spent the next 10 years in the US with
Wipro Technologies, Infogain Corp and
Syntel, Inc. “I moved to the US in the mid
nineties long before the IT outsourcing
industry became the juggernaut it is today.
Sometimes we carried a map of the world
in our pockets to show American clients
where exactly India was, before convincing
them to send their mission-critical software
development and the IT business.”
Karl envisioned that the next big thing was
going to be Life Sciences, another industry
where India would play an important role.
And how right he was! With a clear vision
and determination, he set out to evaluate
investment options within the US. Having
family ties in the pharmaceutical industry
in India also helped. “In 2004, I put
together an advisory team and went around
the US scouting for opportunities in the
biotechnology business. This culminated in
us acquiring GBI,” says Karl.
As an Indian and having worked in the
US for most of his career, Karl found that
molding management styles was the biggest
challenge but also an opportunity. “The US
has a rich culture of innovation, risk taking
and scientific management techniques.
Indian business is characterized by relatively
cautious and measured aggression, cost led
innovation and steady if not spectacular
growth,” discovered Karl.
Karl has been instrumental in putting to
practice and amalgamating both these styles
at GBI and since the acquisition in 2004,
investments in the company’s infrastructure has
Vimmi Singh with her children in their holiday home in Portugal.
led to improved management and systems and
an increase in the employee base by 250%.
No wonder Indians are perceived as
good businessmen and in the international
marketplace, considered smart and
intellectually oriented. Earlier, this was
due to the multitude of IIT graduates that
moved to the US. In the nineties Indians got
the reputation of being IT Gurus. But it’s in
the last 10 years that Indian management
strengths and their capacity to invest in
global companies have begun to showcase
themselves on the world stage.
From a social perspective, the American
society is by and large inclusive making it
easy to be Indian and retain one’s Indianness.
“Americans know more about India and
Indians today than they did even a decade
ago. It’s simply because India has made
great strides in becoming America’s key geo
political and economic partner. Coming
from a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai, it was
never a problem for me. My family and I have
learned to imbibe the positives of American
society while maintaining the important
and sometimes conservative attitude of our
Indian-ness,” explains Karl.
Karl lives in sunny Florida with his wife,
Divya who is a practicing pediatrician and
a 21 month old daughter. With another one
on the way later this year, Karl believes
that family is important in order to perform
optimally in life. “Ever since Anya’s arrival,
family time revolves around her. From trips
to the park to watching her develop her skills,
Divya and I try hard to get involved in her
life knowing these days will not last.”
As for future plans, here’s another family
who are eagerly looking forward to their
move to India in 2009. “Professionally, we
want to be a part of the excitement in India
and ensure that we folks living overseas are
not left behind. India today is in the midst of
the optimism, euphoria and opportunity that
knocks once in a lifetime. On the personal
front we are looking forward to being closer
to our families,” concludes Karl.
All success stories start small. No wonder
Indian entrepreneurs like Karl, Asheesh,
Vimmi and many others are causing ripples
right across the globe. Be it the UK, Ireland,
US or any where else, this pinnacle of
success can only be reached by hard work,
vision, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Indian
businessmen will continue to spread their
tentacles in various corners of the world
and flourish under globalization.
Sarina Menezes is a free lance writer
based in the UK.
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THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN