Nazneen Jehangir, Executive Director &CEO of NeST, nurtures the dream to take the tech giant to heights of glory through innovative techno initiatives. Please elaborate on your responsibilities as the Executive
Director and CEO of NeST?
I am responsible for driving growth and value-addition across all the software products and service-lines in all geographies at both NeST I and SFO Technologies, part of the US $ 500 m NeST Group. I oversee a facilitate strategy formulation, global delivery, quality, and productivity improvement initiatives. I have enabled NeST IT’s transitioning to its current role as a solutions provider of choice in the Automotive, Aerospace, BFSI, Healthcare, Communications, and GIS domains. I have attempted to harness the myriad skill-set available in Team NeST-research, design, engineering, hardware, software, and technology – to come up with a solution that addresses customer requirements and pain points, rather than remain a pure services player. I have handheld the team’s expedition into becoming a leading digital transformation player by adopting cutting-edge technologies. I oversee the closing of deals, building customer satisfaction and solving operational challenges.
Can you recollect your involvement in the success story of NeST?
I joined the NeST Group in 2009, after the birth of my first son Rihan, to maintain a work-life balance. And I decided to concentrate on software and training because it was my specialization. I realized immediately that the IT I learned in the classrooms was not the same in a business environment. For a software business to flourish, it took much more than mere architecting, coding or testing skills. Strategies had to be concocted and one had to keep up to date with the fast-changing technology trends. New cutting-edge technologies had to be adopted to keep progressing and remain competitive. Moreover, there was also the challenge of stepping into the shoes of the 1st generation founders who took the company from a single manufacturing facility in 1990 to the diversified transnational conglomerate, with a vision to achieve a turnover of 1 Billion Dollars in 2020. NeST has also proved its proficiency in emerging areas of technology such as SMAC, IOT, Automation and AI.
What are the milestones in your business life as a woman and the
challenges being faced by you?
Technology trends and business models are rapidly mutating and to keep up with the surge of the change, a lot more is needed to be done than what is written in business books. In my view, every good decision taken was a milestone as a businesswoman because every right step counts. I remember one particular instance when a development project for Kerala’s largest non-banking financial services company in the public sector almost went off the rails. This happened barely two years after I had joined the business, at a time when I believed senior Management should only be concerned with the big picture and not micromanage. It took Herculean effort to get the project back on course and in that process, I learned that a good manager had to both looks at the woods and the trees and not miss one for the other.
Share your ideology in business which has taken you to enviable
heights.
What I learned as a 25-year-old who joined the family business as CEO was that one had to listen – to what was said and unsaid – and ask questions and learn, rather than talk. In my opinion, when one talks, one only hears one’s own voice and perspective, but through listening, new windows open to one’s understanding and one learns new things.
How do you evaluate the support of your family at this juncture?
My father, N Jehangir, is the single most influential figure who shaped my personality and outlook. I continue to be inspired by the guts and raw entrepreneurship of my father, who set up a factory in the 90s when chances of a private enterprise flourishing here were slim, and still, turned the business into an empire a quarter-century later. I put myself into his shoes and thinks as he would, whenever faced with a crisis. Believe my mother, Mrs. Nishi Jehangir, has been the anchor for the whole family, keeping them together through thick and thin. My brother, Mr. Althaf Jehangir, always stands by me and is a pillar of support and understanding. I am also thankful to my husband Binub Azeez, a seasoned businessman himself, who has let me explore and discover my true potential. The joy of my kids, Rihan and Suhan provides me with the emotional release my hectic corporate life demands.
