The sky is the limit,” believes Vinish Bawa, head of business development services and alliances at Alcatel-Lucent India. “This belief mirrors my childhood ambition since I wanted to become a pilot. In fact, I was also interested in becoming a hotel management professional. ”

However, as luck would have it, he ended up becoming an engineer. “I opted for engineering, as it promised me more opportunities in the future,” he says.

Thereafter, he joined AT&T. “Luckily, things fell into place and I am satisfied with the way my career has shaped up,” he says.

He is looking forward to bigger challenges and wants to convert them into opportunities. This confidence stems from his belief that luck is where opportunity meets preparation. He brings to Alcatel-Lucent over 15 years of experience in major global companies, which has given him an understanding of how various markets work.

In the past, he has worked with companies like AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Having played diverse roles in wireless network deployment, customer support, systems engineering, and product introduction for 2G and 3G in various companies, he has worked across India, Germany and the UK.  He has also led a research and development (R&D) team in global services.

Bawa’s current assignment requires him to expand the company’s business in the region, in addition to creating an ecosystem of partners that can be leveraged for business growth.

Leading the global services tools R&D team in India has been his most memorable assignment. “It was a very challenging task, as customer contracts were at stake when I took over. I was responsible for improving revenue generation from new tools and services from global projects, apart from stabilising the team, handling customer escalation and ensuring ongoing delivery commitments. We were one of the better performing teams and never missed deadlines, thereby leading to a more than 200 per cent increase in revenues,” he says.

An empowering management style has helped him meet daily deadlines. “My management style can be best described as one that believes in employee empowerment and making people enjoy their work. I like giving people freedom and flexibility as long as the result is achieved,” he says. 

While Bawa admits that maintaining a balance between work and play is hard, he devotes his leisure time to his family and watching Bollywood movies.