Unassuming champions like Buttler deserve bigger roles. Talking of Sanju, he is a talented batsman all right; but time and again, he has fallen short of the benchmark that prudent batting and captaincy demand by default. Last but not the least, high time the social media team of RR revisited their notions of wit and wisdom that may run the risk of proving counterproductive at times.
It took me only a couple of email exchanges to establish a rapport with Manoj. Needless to say, all credit goes to him for quickly absorbing the 'agenda-free' nature of my interest in his life and work, as also my heartfelt suggestion of an freewheeling conversation with him.
I left Dhule as a baby. My father was completing a masters at Imperial, and evetually got a job in the UK. My mum, aged 20, speaking no English, joined him and so did I. My sister stayed behind with my grandparents.
Was Economics your favourite subject? What was your childhood dream career?
I didn’t have any particular career ambitions, but I was, like all good Marwaris, pretty focused on making money! Economics seemed like a good choice to help kick start my ambition rooted in financial wisdom, but little did I know how little it actually teaches you about the ‘real world’!
How and when did you decide to move to the UK? Was it via the path of education or you already had a base there?
As mentioned earlier, it wasn’t my decision, but that of my parents. They, like all Indian parents, made huge sacrifices to provide the best possible education for my sister and I, but we ended up growing up in two different parts of the world, in two different cultures and in two different education systems. She was always more academically gifted, and more disciplined.
Could you share your memories as a student of the University of Cambridge?
University is a very formative period of any person’s life. You grow up a great deal! Cambridge, and Emmanuel College, was an amazing experience and a very rounded one; whereas now the focus is so much more academic. The most powerful aspect of the learning experience is unquestionably the diversity and quality of your peer group. It was a privilege to be in such enlightened company, and I am still in touch with many of my mates!
How was your career trajectory, in terms of the first job or venture and formative career switches?
I went into strategy consulting, a decision based on the experience of a peer of mine, as also the career prospects. It seemed like a great place to learn as it provided an astounding diversity of training. I was surrounded by incredible people of strategic acumen including bosses and peers. I was fortunate that Monitor Company was then in the growth phase, which gave me the opportunity to shoulder the highest responsibility very early in life, most significantly the chance to lead the company's strides in India in the year 1995. My first client was Indian Aluminium (Indal), and my wife, Katie, and I lived in Kolkatta, Mumbai and Delhi.
You have a super track record of grooming companies, taking them to scale, and making timely exits - Fluency, Eviivo, Steeltrace, Rights...
I have been very fortunate to strike up a good business partnership with Charles Mindenhall on the strong foundation of our complementary skills. I am not sure that we set about to be tech entrepreneurs, but 1998 was a fortunate time to start building internet-related companies. Timing is always important, and we have learnt and developed our own ‘venture building’ playbook over time. We haven’t changed much about what we do; it is just that the scale of many of these companies has swelled over time. With 4,000 people and 20 companies, we have a supple and scalable platform, and we continue to incubate and build new technology businesses.
How you do tread the different roles at Blenheim Chalcot, Emerging Media, The British Asian Trust, Prince’s Charities Events Ltd and Operation Smile UK.?
Charles and I have both been active with our respective charities for many years. The reality is that our ‘venture building’ skills are highly relevant to ‘charity building’ and it has been a privilege to get the chance to work with some of the best philanthropists in the world. People can always find time for charity work if they really want to, and I have learnt as much from charity work as from any other strand of our business activity.
How and when did you decide to acquire an IPL team? How has been the experience till date?
We had been investing in cricket since 2006 – acquiring the commercial rights to Leicestershire, launching the televised talent hunt 'Cricket Star', and staging the first Champions League of 2020. All of these ventures were far from success stories, but they helped us build relationships with key people at the BCCI. When the league was launched, we were invited to bid for a franchise, which we did after careful due diligence. It has been a fascinating roller coaster of a journey, with umpteen ‘highs’ and ‘lows’, but the learning has been immense. I am deeply involved and emotionally invested in the franchise, and we are also building an outstanding management team.
Despite your multiple interests, you seem to maintain a rather low profile by choice. How would you describe yourself as a person and a professional?
I don’t think you can make specific choices about your profile, and as a lead owner of an IPL team, it is impossible to avoid media exposure! We are always keen to promote the profile of our businesses, rather than the people that lead them. How I would describe me? Ambitious, and still learning new things every day.
What are the key plans and aspirations going forward?
It would be nice if our businesses fulfilled their potential. And it would be nice to win another IPL trophy!
Your hobbies, pastimes and passion areas...
With three kids, a busy work life and an equally busy social life, there isn’t much time for pastimes, although golfing and skiing are probably the two favourites.