Introduction
There are those entrepreneurs who create firms and there are those entrepreneurs who create industries. Shiv Nadar undoubtedly belongs to the latter group. When India had not even begun to establish its reputation as a technological giant, Nadar was making a career out of the belief that computers will change the face of the earth and that India must be a part of this change. From a tiny operation set up in a rented factory in Delhi, HCL Technologies has emerged as a multi-billion dollar company working in more than 50 nations all over the world.
Early Life and Education
Shiv Nadar was born on July 14, 1945, in a small village called Moolaipozhi, which is situated in Tamil Nadu. From his school days till his college days, Shiv Nadar studied in various schools located in Kumbakonam, Madurai, and Trichy, and then went to PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore where he obtained his degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. In those student days, too, Shiv Nadar was recognized for his intelligence and innovativeness. His friends gave him the nickname Magus, which means wizard in Persian.
In various interviews, Shiv Nadar has often expressed that the exposure to education and scholarships changed his life path. This later turned into the philosophy behind his philanthropy, but it originated from his early life experiences in Tamil Nadu.
The Beginning of His Entrepreneurial Journey
Upon his graduation, Nadar started working at Delhi Cloth Mills Ltd., popularly known as DCM, which is famous for its management trainee program. It was there among the likes of other engineers that the idea of HCL was sown in Nadar’s mind. The belief shared by Nadar and his fellow engineers was revolutionary at that time – the microprocessor would bring about a revolution in the world.
Eventually, this belief led Nadar to venture out on his own. In partnership with some more engineers, Nadar tried designing calculators and teledigital machines under the name “Televista” in a small Delhi barsati that even the founders of this enterprise had referred to as a “garage start-up”. It was humble, under-capitalized, and in retrospect, the prototype of an Indian technological giant.
How HCL Was Founded
Nadar and his partners founded HCL in 1976 and gave a capital input of approximately 187,000 rupees. The vision of the founding team was very ambitious at that point of time. There were hardly any local companies in India which produced their own computers in the mid-1970s and even importing them was very difficult. HCL was planning to manufacture the first local computers in India, thereby creating a new market segment for themselves.
It was not just about manufacturing but showing to the world that the Indians can design and manufacture the same level of technology as those from the west.
Building HCL into a Technology Leader
In the years leading up to the liberalization of India’s economy, HCL gradually established itself as an innovator of hardware, making microcomputers and enhancing its R&D capabilities much before liberalization made it possible for companies in India to do so. Its initial successes in the field of technology provided HCL with an advantage that was unmatched by most other companies in India at that time.
With the changing technological environment moving from hardware towards software and services, Nadar steered the company through this transition without any struggle. This adaptability was one of the many hallmarks of his style of management.
Expanding HCL Across Global Markets
The internationalization path of HCL commenced in 1980 through the establishment of Far East Computers in Singapore where IT hardware was exported from India. This endeavor was quite profitable during the first year itself and marked one of the earliest indicators that Nadar had always been dreaming bigger than just India.
During the course of ensuing decades, HCL continued on this growth path and finally came to have offices, delivery centers, and innovation laboratories in numerous other countries around the globe. From being merely a manufacturer of IT hardware in India, HCL metamorphosed into a truly global IT services corporation.
Innovation That Shaped HCL’s Growth
HCL has made its biggest technical achievements by its openness to solving technically complex and difficult engineering tasks. HCL has been involved in the automation of the National Stock Exchange processes in several hundred cities in India, as well as in engineering development of the Dreamliner flight management systems of Boeing. The same tendency can be observed here: HCL tried to get technical challenges instead of safer and less-profitable business.
Later HCL’s expansion in the aerospace, military and engineering services sector once again confirmed this insight of Nadar.
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Leading Through Change and Competition
HCL has made its biggest technical achievements by its openness to solving technically complex and difficult engineering tasks. HCL has been involved in the automation of the National Stock Exchange processes in several hundred cities in India, as well as in engineering development of the Dreamliner flight management systems of Boeing. The same tendency can be observed here: HCL tried to get technical challenges instead of safer and less-profitable business.
Later HCL’s expansion in the aerospace, military and engineering services sector once again confirmed this insight of Nadar.
Shiv Nadar’s Leadership Style
Nadar’s style of leadership has been characterized by many as a combination of visionary perspective as well as practical engineering know-how. He has never just been a man in the boardroom; his engineering experience helped him understand the technology that the company was working on, which informed the decision making and investment strategy of the firm.
His leadership has also helped HCL develop a culture that values talent more than hierarchical management structure, thus helping the company keep its best engineers despite the availability of alternative opportunities for such employees in other countries.
Giving Back Through Education and Philanthropy
Scholarships and opportunities to study have transformed the life path of Nadar many times over the years, and this conviction eventually resulted in an institution for itself. The Shiv Nadar Foundation was founded by him in 1994; it is a non-profit entity that aims at providing better access to good quality education in India.
Several institutions have been established under the Shiv Nadar Foundation; one such institute is Shiv Nadar University located in Noida and consisting of institutes in engineering, humanities and social sciences, management and entrepreneurship, and natural sciences.
While his wife, Kiran Nadar, has taken her family’s commitment to public space in the sphere of arts by founding Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, their daughter, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, is the current chairperson of HCL Technologies.
Key Lessons from Shiv Nadar’s Success
There are several valuable lessons from the career of Narayana Murthy that could prove useful outside the realm of the technology industry as well.
The strength of conviction trumps consensus: HCL was started based on a vision for the future of the microprocessor despite the lack of widespread agreement about its potential. In technology, reinvention cannot be avoided; a firm that continues to bet on hardware when everyone around is moving towards software does not stand a chance, and Nadar’s ability to reinvent HCL’s core business kept him ahead through changing times. And with success comes responsibility, Nadar being no exception.
The Future of HCL Technologies
In today’s times, HCL Technologies is a global firm that spans its reach in almost sixty countries and employs in excess of 200,000 employees. With her leadership, the company is continuously growing into new domains like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital engineering, furthering the legacy that was laid by her father nearly five decades ago. While Shiv Nadar has withdrawn from active participation in running the firm and holds the position of an advisor as a chairman emeritus, the traits of technical zeal along with perpetual renewal that Shiv Nadar instilled in his firm are still driving the company ahead.
Conclusion
The life history of Shiv Nadar serves as an example to illustrate that transformational companies are usually not created by people following trends. Transformational companies are created by those who are ready to move according to their convictions before others become aware of what is going on. The evolution of HCL from a rented room in Delhi to a multinational company in the field of information technologies represents the success of India as such in becoming one of the most prominent technology countries in the world.