Naresh Khosla is a strong believer in experimenting and has a penchant for the trial-and-error method. He feels that without his risk-taking capabilities he would not have reached where he has. Currently serving Sahara Computers as its VP, he is quite optimistic of the growth trajectory the company is treading in the Indian domain.

Little is it known that Naresh Khosla once nurtured the desire to become a pilot, during his early school days. But after getting inspired by family elders he directed his ambitions towards the engineering field.

Hailing originally from the picturesque town of Jammu, Khosla completed his graduation in electronics and communication engineering. "I feel that I hit the right button by making headway into engineering as it has really helped me in proving my mettle while making a career in the IT industry," he says. Khosla also has a diploma in
international marketing.

Starting his career with a research and development company, Technia, in 1994, Khosla has traversed the corporate path with great fervor. He has also worked in ACi as head of its India operations before moving on to eSys. Khosla declares that the experience he gathered in ACi was both splendid and enriching.

Naresh Khosla, VP, Sahara Computers and Electronics

Education Graduate in electronics and communication engineering First job Technia, in 1994 Best-known qualities Risk taking and relationship management Immediate goal To make Sahara Computers the numero uno PC and components vendor Fond of Cooking Favourite adage Just do it; do your own thing

Experimenting to succeed
When Khosla got associated with eSys in December 2000 the biggest challenge was of establishing the distribution house in the presence of big daddies of the game. His acquaintances admire the role Khosla played, in conjunction with his colleagues, by instituting eSys' operations in
32 nations.

And this was possible because of his penchant for experimentation. At a time when every distribution company focused on local distribution, it was Khosla's decision to explore the potential of the export market.

There were times when his methods surprised everyone. One such incidence was of offering three years warranty on hard disk drives. Khosla still remembers how his decision of offering this comprehensive warranty invited criticism from industry players.

After successfully achieving the targets that Khosla had envisaged for eSys, he moved on to tackle more challenges by joining Sahara Computers. A venture between Sahara Computers of South Africa and India's Sahara India Pariwar, moving to this relatively new company was nothing less than a gamble for Khosla.

He says, "While assessing the option of joining Sahara Computers, initially I was a bit skeptical. But owing to my strong belief in risk taking and experimenting I grabbed the opportunity that came knocking on my door."

Plans for Sahara
Khosla says he yearns to replicate the success of eSys in Sahara Computers as well. As VP of Sahara Computers, he is responsible for working out the management strategy, based on global corporate vision, vendor development and management programs.

Amongst the many strategies that Khosla has devised for taking Sahara Computers to stellar heights, the most prominent is the move to taxonomically segregate the company's business into five focused verticals viz components, channel sales, corporate, retail and upcoming enterprises. Explaining the classification he says, "The innovative business model which we have laid down in Sahara Computers has not been tried out by any vendor company previously."

Khosla also does not undermine the role of channel partners in making the brand a hit in the market. He says, "The channel is an integral part of our ecosystem. They are the agents who make or break any brand."

One of the reasons behind Khosla receiving plenty of support from channel partners is his ability to maintain a personal rapport with them. Manoj Gupta of Fortune Marketing reminisces about an incident, which eventually led him to become friends with Khosla. "When I stared the hard disks business I used to deal with ACi, the previous employer of Khosla. As I was already unhappy with ACi, I dislodged my wrath on Khosla. Despite this he was not offended and he came to meet me again the next day. We have been friends since then."

Turned on by food
A lesser-known facet of Khosla's life is that he is an avid lover of Indian cuisine. He loves to cook for family and friends, and believes that cooking is a wholesome exercise where one makes use of every sense.

"I thoroughly enjoy cooking as it is an enriching experience for me. When you are cooking all your senses are heightened. Nothing in the world is as soothing as the smell of freshly ground spices and condiments.

He learned cooking while studing engineering in Karnataka. He reminisces time spent in the southern terrain of the country with a sense of abhorrence as far as availability of food is concerned.

He recalls, "Initially it was very exciting to gorge on South Indian delicacies but after some time it became deterring. It came to such that I started hating South Indian food completely. It was at that very moment I decided to take services of an experienced chef. I convinced one of my colleagues, who incidentally is also a close friend of mine, in the very next trip to Jammu to accompany me in Karnataka to assist in cooking." The first meal prepared by Khosla was rajma chawal and today he is most famous for his finger-licking pao-bhaji.

Among his friends, he is known for his good-humored nature. Rakesh Chopra, one of Khosla's close friends and his godfather in the industry says, "Khosla is a person who would always make others laugh. His relationship management quality is his biggest asset." And indeed, this asset will now come in handy as he tries to fulfill his new role in Sahara, to the hilt.

Anjali Choudhary

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