Ajay Harinath Singh Greatest Brand Leader 2018-2019

Ajay Harinath Singh
Diligently Carving a
Glorious Empire
An accomplished entrepreneur, a doting father, and above all a man with a heart of gold who is bent on
making a positive difference to the world; he is none other than Mr. Ajay Harinath Singh, the Chairman
of Darwin Platform Group of Companies. Despite hailing from a royal, business family of Uttar
Pradesh, he has always believed in carving his own destiny and has charted his unique path to success
Born and brought up in Mumbai,
Mr. Ajay Harinath Singh completed
his schooling from Sacred Heart
High School and obtained his Bachelor’s
and Master’s degrees from London, UK.
Thereafter, he joined the popular lifestyle
brand Kratos London, and eventually
worked at Cobra PLC, Aviva Life Insurance,
MetLife Insurance and Bharti AXA Life
Insurance.
He was lauded as a youth icon when he
launched Darwin Group, in the year 2010,
which now successfully operates in 11
countries of the world namely the UK, the
Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Russia, Germany,
Hong Kong, USA, UAE, China and India.
Mr. Singh’s unceasing determination,
relentless efforts, diligence, vision and zeal
to succeed has made the conglomerate
a force to reckon with in a very short
span of time. His vast business empire
encompasses a diverse range of areas
including finance, real estate, hospitality,
infrastructure, logistics, mining, power and
pharmaceuticals among others.
Chalking Out His unique Path to
Progress
It’s no secret that there is no shortcut to
success. In fact success is obtained with
concerted efforts involving dedication,
diligence, focus and perseverance. Sharing
his success story, Mr. Singh elaborates,
“Though I come from a royal family I have
not had it easy. My father wanted to make
me realise the value of life and success,
hence I was put through the grind. I have
washed cars in my young days to earn
my pocket money. I believe no matter
how much progress technology makes,
ultimately it is all about human interaction
that matters. If one understands the basics
and accepts them, it becomes easy to work
with the flow and reach a stage when you
become the flow for others to join.
Throwing light on his views about
success, he says, “Success demands
unconventional approaches with radical
thinking. The journey is opposed by people
who believe success isn’t possible a certain
way. But in my belief, it’s only their way of
saying that they can’t achieve it in a certain
way because of their short sightedness. I
believe in myself and my wisdom. I believe
in working smart not hard. If one has
patience, tenacity and sharp wisdom, then
everything else is achievable.”
The Harbinger of Change
Change is the law of nature and is very
important for each and every organisation
irrespective of the sector it operates in,
because without change, businesses would
lose their competitive edge and fail to meet
“We are jointly responsible for our
present condition. We need to overcome
the ‘chalta hai’ attitude. If we are
accountable & expect things to change, we
have to become the change we wish to see”
the ever-changing needs of customers. Mr.
Singh vehemently believes that change
needs to be brought about in people’s
perception. He asserts, “We are jointly
responsible for our present condition. We
need to overcome the ‘chalta hai’ attitude.
If we are accountable and expect things
to change, we have to become the change
we wish to see. It is all about the people’s
attitude unitedly that defines the nation.
People need to be motivated to think big,
to dream big, and to strive bigger to get out
of their comfort zone.”
The one significant thing which he
would like to change is “the people’s way
of thought – their goals, their ideas, and
their support.” He adds, “We all need to
take charge of our results. We don’t need
to work just for our salary and pay scale.
We need to work for our pride.”
Finding Joy in the Happiness of
Others
It is an indisputable fact that true happiness
consists in making others happy. In fact Mr.
Singh is at one with this notion. Sharing
his views on happiness, he delineates,
“Nothing gives me more happiness than
seeing my sons grow into well defined
human beings.” One of the major sources
of joy for him is his family. Attributing his
success and happiness to his family, he
adds, “My family has been very supportive
but radical and justifiable because my ways
have always been rebellious. Nonetheless,
they always stand by me.”
He further elaborates, “Being the reason
for people’s happiness, progress and
upliftment drives me in my professional
life. I have an army of 29000 and counting.
Seeing them happy is my happiness,
and causing them happiness gives me
satisfaction in my profession.”
Contributing to a Better World
The famous Chinese proverb, ‘If you want
happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you
want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you
want happiness for a month, get married.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit
a fortune. If you want happiness for a
lifetime, help somebody else’, holds true
in case of Mr. Singh who is bent on serving
the society through numerous socially
responsible and philanthropic initiatives.
Under his quintessential leadership,
the charitable trust Savitri Harinath
Foundation (SHF) is actively engaged in
food distribution and has been successfully
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