Here's an Indian executive who rose to the top of one of Nepal's best-known business houses and has gone on to have a remarkable corporate career in South Asia.

On another note, not many may know that a number of smart young Indian MBAs
move to Nepal in their 30s, manage the country operations of their respective multi-nationals, hone their business skills . . . all these in preparation to go back to India
for the top jobs there in their 40s and 50s.

Enjoy, this piece on Amar Raj Singh, an Indian national and a former CEO of Soaltee Group -- the group that owns Soaltee Hotel, Surya Tobacco, Sipradi Trading a host of other business firms in Nepal.

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CAREERWISE
AMAR RAJ SINGH

?It was important to learn how to delegate?

PRIYA KANUNGO

He?s made a few career changes, but he sure is at the top. For the past three years, Amar Raj Singh has been the managing director, Guinness-UDV India. Prior to this, he did a six-year stint with Coca-Cola as director, corporate affairs for their India division.

Before joining Coke, Mr Singh was in Nepal for 14 years and rose to be the CEO of the Soaltee Group of Companies, one of the most prestigious business houses in the country. Mr Singh is a chartered accountant by training and he practiced in India for several years before moving to Nepal. He did his senior executive programme from the London Business School and specialised in strategy from Stanford Business School. Mr Singh speaks about his career moves and why he made them.

?I think my best career move was to take up the Soaltee Group offer in Nepal. Till then, I was a chartered accountant in private practice. In fact, both my wife and I are chartered accountants. In 1983, she was working for a firm when she became pregnant and had to give up her job.

It would have been difficult for us to carry on with just my private practice income at that time. So when the Soaltee Group, who were my clients till then, made me an offer to join them in Nepal as a financial adviser, I thought it was a good offer. Besides, in 1983, the Indian economy had not opened up and it was difficult to carry on any kind of business. Remuneration levels were also low. Moving to Nepal, therefore, was the best decision I took.

The Soaltee Group job was not only rewarding financially but also in terms of content. Till then, I had dealt with only financial matters. In Soaltee I saw far more aspects of running a business. I gained experience in setting up and running joint ventures, new projects and in corporate management. At the same time, I also learnt how to handle a family-owned business.

I am grateful to Prabhakar SJB Rana, the owner of the Soaltee Group for sponsoring my courses at both the London Business School and Stanford Business School. I think both these stints broadened my horizon greatly. The course introduced me to various aspects of business, how to manage a business and how to delegate work.

For me, as an accountant, it was important to learn how to delegate. Initially I found it difficult as till then, I had always handled accounts myself. But soon I realised that delegating will give me time to do bigger things.

Finally, after being made president and reaching the top of the ladder, I realised I needed to do something else. Besides, there were others whom I had trained who were now fit to move up to the position of president. So, with the blessings of Mr Rana, I moved to Coca-Cola. The other reasons I chose to work for Coke were better remuneration, the chance to come back to India where my parents were and to have the experience of working for a multinational. It was like being a medium fish in a large pond as against being a big fish in a small pond.

In fact, sometimes I think I came back to India a couple of years late. When I came back in 1996, the Indian economy had opened up substantially and it was a challenge to work for a world-class brand like Coca-Cola. Besides, it was a learning experience for me to look after things like government relations and corporate social responsibility. I also helped in setting up the first five Coca-Cola plants in India. The challenge of getting 43 government approvals to set up a plant was also enormous. After six years of proving my talent, I realised that my next move up would be out of the country and that was not something I wanted to do. So that?s when I moved to Guinness-UDV India.?

URL: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=85640