About Me
Quick facts
Born - 12 December 1980 in Dubai (UAE)
Location - Live and play in London
Job - Program Manager in telecommunications
Education - BCom (Intl Business) & BSc (Inf Systems).
Cultural identity - NZ Indian or Indian New Zealander (!)
Languages - English, Kannada (med), Hindi (med), French (basic)
Interests - Travel, fashion, design, cooking, international business
Favourite TV - The Apprentice, Amazing Race, Dragons Den, SATC
Here's a more detailed version, if you're interested.
The early years...
My parents are originally from Bangalore (India) and moved to Dubai (UAE) in the late 70's. I was born in Dubai on 12 December 1980 and lived there for the first 13 years of my life. I grew up learning to speak English, Arabic, Hindi, Kannada and French.
In 1994, we moved to Auckland (New Zealand) where I went to high school (Mt Albert Grammar School) and then onto the University of Auckland.
An interest in business...
It was while I was at Mt Albert Grammar School, that I got my first taste for business. In Form 7 (Year 12), I took part in a nationwide competition called the Young Enterprise Scheme and I ran a company that produced and sold gift towels. We came 4th in the country and won a prize for financial management - for every $1 that was invested in our company, we returned $4! I learnt a lot about business from this experience, especially the fact that I like being in charge!
I've always been driven and motivated and before I started university I decided I needed a part time job to get academic and practical learning simultaneously. I never wanted to work in a petrol station, cafe or supermarket, as most of my friends at the time. I wanted to get a head start in the corporate world. So I approached a temp agency and convinced them to add me to their books even though I had no real work experience.
At university, I enrolled for a conjoint programme which meant that I could do two degrees in parallel. The workload would be hell, but I could get both degrees in 4 years, rather than 6, had I done them consecutively. I'd always been interested in big business, so a Commerce degree in International Business was an easy choice. I'd also been interested in computers, so a Science degree in Information Systems seemed like a good compliment.
Career growth...
Meanwhile, after much persuasion, I got the temp agency to get me into a telecommunications company. My first real job! And the money $15/hour was amazing (most of my friends were at $6-7/hr). I turned up and to my dismay, I had to open and sort incoming mail! I lasted just 3 hrs in this job - it was WAY too boring! I think the agent was impressed with my go-get-em attitude and moved me into another role in the same company. Over the next 2 years, I progressed into different roles including Customer Services and Telephone Sales. I'm very competitive and set records for the most sales in one day while I was in the sales role.
Meanwhile, I was still at university working through both degrees and was easily experiencing 12-14hr days 7 days a week! But I was getting a lot out of the experience so I persevered. During the last 2 years at university, I changed to a different telecommunications company and quickly progressed through the ranks. In 6 1/2 years, I worked 5 jobs - Customer Services, Customer Services Team Leader, IT Analyst, Process Improvement Consultant and Senior Consultant - getting more accountability and responsibility in each progression.
Moving to London...
In 2005, I moved to London to expand my horizons and to experience life in Europe. I quickly found a job in a niche sector of the telecommunications industry as a Program Manager. In 2006, I applied to be on The Apprentice UK, Series 3 and was one of the 16 candidates chosen to be on the show! To find out what I've been upto since The Apprentice click here.
