Follow your heart - My life synopsis

Passed out of IHMCT Kovalam in top grades with great aspirations to make it big in the hospitality industry in 1999. However, life had different plans. Got cheated in the Middle East on the first job as the Sponsor was a fraud and so had to come back to India within a year.

Life took a different turn as I came to know that the hotel industry in India was not my cup of tea in the hard way. My morale was going down and I know I have to leave the industry and find a path of my own. I got interested in computers and mainly in the graphic and design side while I was in Middle East and wanted to make a career in that. Money was needed as IT education was costly especially for a person from Non-IT background.

After looking for opportunities to make money for IT education, took up a job with a seller for Mitsubishi Cars in Trivandrum as a sales personnel. Salary was low but the incentives were great. Support from family and friends were always there with me, which helped me to change my career path.

Joined as a Junior Animator in an animation studio in Chennai and worked in a couple of animation movies. Later on in 2002, got an opportunity to work with Sherston Software who specialises in producing creative educational software for UK. This enabled me to move to Technopark, Trivandrum in my home town.

Work at Sherston was simply awesome, and I was able to be a Director of the Indian subsidiary within 10 years in the year 2012. Sherston got renamed as Digital Assess in between and our product development shifted to innovative assessment solution. Brexit affected the company badly and Digital Assess made plans to wind up the Indian operation. There was a long term urge to start something on my own and this was the best time to go ahead.

Started Cognitive Computing Services Pvt Ltd a start up in 2017 along with two of my best friends and colleagues Renju and Jayakumar. Our main focus was on next generation technologies like Machine Learning, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. Timing was just perfect as this was the time these technologies were getting global attention.

We started joint development in the R&D and innovative space for Kennedys Law a world class reputed law firm specialising in insurance and liability litigations. We were able to be part of the Kennedys Ideas Lab and work along with an international team creating some great products and prototypes for the Legal and Insure Techs. All these hard work was indeed worth when we were given the offer to merge with Kennedys Law.

We got re-branded as Kennedys Kognitive Computing Private Limited in 2018 and I continue with this fantastic team running the Indian Operations.

This is a small synopsis of my life journey till now, and I feel amazed at the twists and turns that happened all long in my career. I am happy that I took the right decisions and calculated risks which enabled me to attain this position in a span of 20 years after passing out of college. I don't take this journey as a credit due to my abilities alone. It was never planned. I believe that this was all scripted by the God almighty and he had scripted this even before I was born. I just had to do my role and I am grateful for being part of this fantastic script. Otherwise how a person who did not had much exposure to computers till graduation be able to head an IT company within a span of 20 years. I consider myself grateful to being connected with the right people at the right time.

Having said this all, I really want to say one last line. "Hoteliers are people who can adapt to any situation and they consider adverse situations as opportunities to change and grow."