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OCTOBER 14-27, 2013

BUSI NESS I NDI A u THE MAGAZI NE OF THE CORPORATE WORLD Corporate Reports
B
esides his role as vice-chair-
man and managing director,
TAKE Solutions, a global tech-
nology solutions & services com-
pany, Srinivasan H.R., 49, is an
avid golf player, spending time on
the golf course at Cosmopolitan
Golf Club, Chennai, hitting strate-
gic shots to show his tactical prow-
ess. His approach is the same towards
golf as well as his business. The syn-
ergy between the two, he says, is in
excellence both sport and industry
need it.
These days, Srinivasan focusses
on putting the Indian corporate golf
on the global map. His company,
TAKE Solutions, with domain exper-
tise in Life Sciences (LS) and sup-
ply chain management (SCM) has
been supporting S.S.P. Chowrasia, a
professional Indian golfer,
who has won twice on the
European Tour and has tri-
umphed in notable tourna-
ments on the home turf for the last
one year. TAKE has also started sup-
porting Khalin Joshi, Indias number
one amateur who turned pro this year,
besides owning a three-member pro-
fessional Chennai team in the Louise
Philippe Cup.
From government service to an
entrepreneur is no small achieve-
ment for a man like Srinivasan. Fol-
lowing the footstep of his father,
who was a civil servant, he joined
the Indian Railways, but soon
moved into the private sector. Prior
to setting up TAKE, he headed the
South Asia operations at Semb-
Corp Logistics, a logistics company
headquartered in Singapore. Srini-
vasan started TAKE Solutions in
2000, with a group of 20 colleagues,
and has not looked back since.
Game changer
The move to start his own company
was no less a game changer for a man
who says he never dreamt of becom-
ing an entrepreneur. It was a deci-
sion taken at the spur of the moment
and I have never regretted it, admits
Srinivasan. All through his entrepre-
neurial journey, it was SembCorp
Chairman, R. Thyagarajan, who
encouraged and mentored him in
his transition.
TAKE has grown rapidly and has in
its rolls over 1,300 employees, cater-
ing to more than 400 clients across
eight countries. With its corporate
headquarters at Chennai, TAKE makes
its global presence felt through its
well-established ofces across North
America, the European Union, Asia
Pacic, the Middle-East and South-
East Asia. TAKEs consolidated total
revenue for 2013 was `838.6 crore,
with business from the US market
accounting for nearly 57 per cent of
it, followed by Asia (36 per cent) and
Europe (7 per cent).
If theres a secret to TAKEs sustain-
ability, its been to maintaining
adequate cash reserves, gener-
ating cash from operations
and having a low capital
base. In fact, the company
has been conservative in
raising capital. I think we
got this strategic piece right
in the rst place, besides the
fact that we have strong operations,
says Srinivasan. Furthermore, since
early days TAKE has focussed on fru-
gality, which has helped the com-
pany evade venture capital. This is
an outstanding factor that differenti-
ates us from other rms of our kind,
he remarks.
What also sets TAKE apart as a
distinct player is its focus in niche
areas of life sciences and sup-
ply chain management. Instead
of focussing on technology areas,
TAKE has domain expertise and our
business revolves around improv-
ing outcomes, he adds. The com-
pany has been persistent in building
Seeking relevance
TAKE Solutions
organises
Indias
biggest and
most coveted
corporate golf
tournaments
Srinivasan:
no mean
achievement
u87u
OCTOBER 14-27, 2013
BUSI NESS I NDI A u THE MAGAZI NE OF THE CORPORATE WORLD Corporate Reports
teams with long-term vision. We
are also creating an entrepreneur-
ial environment internally for the
management to ourish.
Fighting t
Srinivasan grew up in Rajasthan and
Delhi, because of his fathers job
postings there. Since his schooldays,
he has maintained high level of t-
ness and endurance. Srinivasan leads
life with a military-like regime be
it work, food or physical exercise.
It is important for me to have ade-
quate energy and channelise it well,
he says. Staying t, spending time
on exercise and being careful with
diet is a lifestyle choice for him. A
health zealot, he has around him a
smart snacks-box that contains nuts
and dried fruits that he nibbles on
to stay away from junk food.
Srinivasan believes if he has to
lead an intense life its important for
his core systems to function well.
He plays golf for 4-5 hours each day
on an average when hes not travel-
ling. He holds a USGA handicap index
record of 10.5, with his best score as
2 over the course.
Sure, there are those cynics who
might argue that Srinivasan spends
too much time on his hobbies
already. Well, I am a professional
businessman and that comes rst,
he explains. Moreover, he believes,
hes been fortunate in having effec-
tive teams that help manage work
well and delegate efciently. One
key lesson I learnt is to under-prom-
ise and over-deliver, never to get car-
ried away by market sentiments and
street expectations. Moreover, I have
gathered it is teams that succeed and
not individuals.
If TAKE has seen steady growth, its
because it has got its technology trick
right. It has opted for a unique model
that focusses more on intellectual
property (IP) and services based on
its core IP. In contrast, other IT rms
either choose technology or the ser-
vice tracks. A classic example is our
investment made towards develop-
ment of products like PharmaReady
that addresses regulatory submissions
and document management require-
ments, remarks Srinivasan. Its other
products include OneSCMsuite and
PharmaNetworks. With 20 prod-
ucts on offer across life sciences and
supply chain, we have invested more
than $50 million, he adds.
Srinivasan sees a bright future for
TAKE Solutions in the years ahead.
He expects to exploit the surfeit of
opportunities in the R&D areas, espe-
cially in clinical trials after the pat-
ent expiry of several blockbuster
drugs. This has put a lot of pres-
sure on pharma companies to bring
down their clinical trial cycles and
expedite new drug discoveries.
In effect, the new guidelines
imposed by agencies like USFDA (US
Food and Drug Administration) & the
EMA (European Medical Agency) have
increased the urgency for having in
place, compliances related to clinical
trial documentation. This makes us a
niche and attractive player and we see
great prospects in the areas of clinical,
regulatory and safety arenas, afrms
Srinivasan. In the supply chain space,
TAKE sees new opportunities opening
up in mobility, engineering services
and collaboration.
Most of TAKEs managerial talent,
Srinivasan adds is home grown, a
custom he follows to build effective
teams. I believe in strong mentoring
as a method of management excel-
lence, he states.
Making no promises
With a solid business model and
demonstrated ability to succeed, you
might expect Srinivasan to record
exponential growth this year. But
thats not happening at the moment,
he claries. The company has plans
to curtail certain business lines in
SCM, which we believe will not add
long term business value. As a result,
he cautions there will be a decline in
revenues and protability in the cur-
rent year, as compared to the previ-
ous year. He is, however, optimistic
of emerging as a global leader in life
sciences in the next three years.
If Srinivasan wants to achieve
something, hell probably go to any
extent to get it. Consider his deter-
mination to promote golf in India for
that matter. I believe that corporate
rms can support any sport in three
ways: develop sporting facilities,
grooming talent and helping gener-
ate corporate interest in the game.
Taking a realistic view of its strengths,
TAKE has focussed on generating more
awareness of golf.
For the past nine years now, the
company has been running the
Indian segment of the annual World
Corporate Golf Challenge that
involves 40 Commonwealth nations
and has been doing it successfully.
Golf means not only spending
time in pristine surroundings, but
it gets you in the company of like-
minded people, which has greatly
inspired me to come into the sport,
Srinivasan remarks. His memorable
moments on the golf eld include
games with sporting icons like Sir
Vivian Richards and Kapil Dev, to
name a few.
Given the passion and determi-
nation that Srinivasan and his lieu-
tenants bring to their work, TAKE has
become a classic case of if you want
something, you can have it anyway.
It has earned accolades for being a
dream company to work for at The
World HRD Congress 2013. The com-
pany has also emerged as Asias Sec-
ond Best Employer Brand at the
Asias Fourth Best Employer Brand
Award, Singapore, from among 30
companies across 33 countries.
Srinivasans love and encourage-
ment for golf is a way of giving back
to society what it gives you, he says.
Today, his single-minded push to pro-
mote the game has paid off when you
see TAKE Solutions World Corporate
Golf Challenge (TSWCGC) growing to
a 1,000 player championship, up from
an 80 player team and a single venue
tournament a few years back.
u S H A S HI B H AGNA R I
Rooting for golf