Ajay Harinath Singh Greatest Brand Leader 2018-2019

Harmeek Singh
Efficiently Executing
Every Plan with Élan
The Founder and Chairman of Plan b Group, Harmeek Singh is a multifaceted and
multitalented personality who has not only achieved tremendous success as an entrepreneur
but has also gained immense popularity as a global leader who is doing every bit to make a
positive difference in the world
A
self-made man, Harmeek Singh
has carved his own path to the
top. Over a decade of hard work,
smart ideas and some groundbreaking
achievements sum up his success saga.
His determination and relentless hard
work have paved the way for what is today
the eight-entity Plan b empire. Owing to
his unceasing dedication and passion,
he has driven Plan b Group to uncharted
territories of success and has earned the
good will and trust of his clients in the
process.
Hailing from Delhi, Harmeek is a
resplendent beacon of philanthropy, and a
strong upholder and promoter of the values
of Sikhism. From a young age, he is known
to have displayed unbiased generosity and
kindness to all. From sharing a meal with
a less fortunate schoolmate to finding the
means to help someone in need, Harmeek
has never hesitated in extending a helping
hand. In fact, his humility and service
towards society has brought him global
popularity and recognition.
Climbing the Success Ladder
Harmeek landed in the UAE in 2004 with
a dream and a job that paid him USD 800.
Today, his group of companies employs
over 500 employees across 8 companies.
He attributes his fairytale success to his
attitude towards life, “I make conscious
efforts everyday to ensure that I remain
grounded … in doing so I know that I can
never fall,” he asserts.
Year-on-year, Harmeek has been
delivering quality experience at landmark
events in all sectors as the forerunner of
Plan b team. He has personally overseen
start to end for events for Dubai and
Federal Government that have garnered
him laurels and appreciation. His forwardthinking
approach has been instrumental
in establishing successful partnerships
for clients both locally and internationally,
through platforms that complement each
other. Sharing his success mantra, he
declares, “I’m a firm believer that there
are no shortcuts in life. If you are working
hard, you are bound to get where you
want to be.” He further adds, “I’ve always
been honest with my clients. In an open
market, who would actually decide to work
with a single person when there were big
companies and big names?”
Facing Challenges Confidently
Harmeek’s unswerving commitment to his
clients not only led him to immense success
but also guided him through the difficult
economic downturn. He firmly asserts, “If
you have a backing in a strong client base,
you can’t do much wrong with or without
recession.” He further adds, “When the
recession happened I took the decision to
go to my existing clients. Letting a client go
during the recession was a crime.” Talking
about the specific strategy he employed
during recession, he elaborates, “I believe
that regardless of whether the market is
up or down, everything needs advertising,
and we were there. If you’re having a sale
or a crisis, you’ll still need advertising. I
told them, ‘give me the opportunity to be
a preferred supplier but if you get a quote
“I make conscious efforts everyday to
ensure that I remain grounded … in doing
so I know that I can never fall”
from outside that I cannot match, feel free
to go and I will give you back something
extra.’” Thus, he was able to retain his
clients even during the tough times of
recession, and declares with pride, “I
didn’t let my clients go.”
Contrary to the usual perception
during the financial crisis, he believed
that the market would recover and
started expanding his business although
big market players started downsizing.
Talking about his strategies during the
period of recession, he delineates, “My
objective was to keep my expectations in
check. I was looking for smaller events
and we went into the right direction. They
were still out there.” He adds, “I’ve been
logical but I’ve also followed my heart. I
still believe that if I have to do something
I will go with my gut rather than looking
at what the market tells me. I got rental
agreements for probably one third of the
price that was there six months back. It
was a gamble but I knew that I could take
this to the next level.”
Putting Employees First
Always striving for a positive workplace
culture, Harmeek has dedicatedly built a
unified team. “Hiring people is the easiest
part but managing them is like managing
300 different mentalities to go in one
single line. We have a good mix working for
us. My way of dealing with this is to make
each of them have a sense of belonging.
This company doesn’t belong to me, it
belongs to everyone,” he asserts.
The most amazing fact about him is
that he knows the names of 99 percent of
people in his team, which is composed of
28 nationalities.
Giving Huge Boost to Sports
A sports enthusiast, Harmeek has been
efficiently managing the entire event of
the Dubai Standard Chartered Marathon
for more than a decade, including the
production and branding the route of the
marathon all the way to the finish line.
As the Chairman of Dubai Women’s Run,
he supports women empowerment and
urges men to come forward to support the
women in their lives. He rightly asserts,
“The objectives of Dubai Women’s Run are
beyond sports with core objective to have
the initiative culminate into a celebration
of womanhood and everyone participating
to run for a reason – themselves.” Under
the capacity of Strategy Director for UAE
Athletic Federation, he not only motivates
the team but also connects with the
players emotionally and inspires them to
achieve laurels for the nation.
Garnering Glory
Being included in the Ahlan Hot 100 for 3
consecutive years, voted as an Indian Icon
of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, having
received the Esquire Man Best-innovative
Businessman of the Year title, NRI Achiever
of the Year, Pan Asian Young Leader,
Regional fastest growing businessman,
and having chapters dedicated in the
business bible ‘Learning from the Legends’
& “Indian Icons,” are a few of the many
accolades that Harmeek has received,
but he considers his ‘b with the Heart’
initiative to be his greatest prize.
A man with a heart of gold, Harmeek is
a keen believer in the Sikh philosophy of
‘Sarbat Da Bhala’ which means ‘blessings
for everyone’ or ‘may everyone prosper,’
and is involved in numerous philanthropic
endeavours for making this world a better
place. Harmeek’s story is testament to
how far earnest efforts, dedication and
passion can take you. However, there’s
certainly more in store for him as he has
just achieved what can be rightly described
as the tip of the iceberg.
42 | india’s greatest leaders 2019-20 |