Ashwin's Blog

One year (already!) at Edwards

2011-07-16T15:34:00.001-07:00

Amazingly, it is OVER a year since I joined Edwards Lifesciences. In that timeframe, Edwards' market-cap has grown by a staggering 75%, revenue run-rates have increased by over 10%, number of pople employed by Edwards worldwide has increased by a few hundreds, a couple of Manufacturing facilities have com\fully on-line, so to speak; and the IT team - for which I have accountability - has both grown modestly and stabilized in operations....

The first 4 months went by as if I were in a dream. Immense learning, about the structure of the company and the various key product-lines offered by Edwards. We are a Med Device B2B (really, B2 Hospital systems) company. We go to market leveraging 4 Divisions or Business-Units. Our Chairman/CEO is relentlessly focused on Product Leadership as the chosen axis of competence.

To make it easier to address specific geographic markets, we also have a geo-centric organization, with 4 loci of operations: Irvine for N Am; Nyon (near Geneva) for EMEA; Tokyo for Japan; and Singapore for ROW. In the 2nd 4 month period, I visited many different locations - in fact, all but Tokyo. (I was in Tokyo even as I clocked the 1st anniversary!)

In the 3rd 4 month period, thanks to this very solid grounding in the needs of the enterprise, we were able to clarify the role of IT at Edwards; organize our activities to optimally leverage our capabilities and strengths; articulate a multi-year vision for IT; and gain feedback and concurrence from the senior leadership team.

Despite the short tenure, it feels good to say that our team has started to move some big boulders, so to speak, in terms of Enterprise-class systems. Doing so is acting as a strong confidence-booster to the team. A couple of very large initiatives are slated for completion in the next several months, which will only add to the team-confidence.

I am very enthused and encouraged by the early traction and progress of our team. And delighted to be a part of a growing, product leadership oriented company.

The fact that this is an Irvine-based company is the proverbial icing on th cake for Deepa and me. As we bundle-off the twins to Atlanta, we are concurrently looking forward to returning to our home in Vista Panorama.

All izzz well !!!!

God Bless!

Kids' school choices

2011-07-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

Talk about stress! After building a house and arranging for a wedding, kids' school choice-making has to be #3.

The process began in the Rangan outpost over 3 years ago - when the kids started to prepare for SATs and subject SATs. Dinner-table conversations started to lean towards expectations, cut-off scores, school criteria, likes and dislikes.

In Spring 2010, I wrote about a long car-ride with the 4 of u driving up and down the California coast. That trip opened all of our eyes to the great schools that this wonderful state has to offer. But....none of the schools stood-out for the kids as a primary choice. They just said that they would consider a couple of the Cali schools.

In Winter 2010, we decided to visit schools in the North East. We started in Pittsburg - with Carnegie Mellon - and worked our way to Brown U in Rhode Island, via Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. As luck would have it, that trip coincided with a day behind one of the two great blizzards in 2010. The kids enjoyed the snow - at least in the beginning, but soon tired of it. Something told me that the North East would NOT be where the kids would go....

Come November / December, both Taara and Soorya were busy with applications - and the tension in the Rangan outpost started to hit new highs! Thank God that Deepa plays point. Had it been me, I am not sure that I would have survived the experience without a serious health set-back.

The good news by January was that we - Deepa and I - were pretty sure about the lines of study that the kids were likely to pursue: Taara wants to major in Biology, with an open-option to pursue either Medicine of Vet Sciences; Soorya wants to pursue Bio Medical Engineering, with an open-option to pursue an MBA. That gave us a goal-post to anchor further thoughts.

In Spring, out of the blue, the kids wanted to visit schools in Atlanta. We immediately thought of our friends RN Singh and Rohit Lal in Atlanta. And arranged for the twins to fly to Atlanta. Rohit (who has his own G-B twins couple of years behind ours) escorted Soorya to Georgia Tech; and RN Singh (whose son is now in KSU and daughter, in Boston U) escorted Taara to Emory U.

Thanks to their reasonably good scores and grades, and by the grace of the good Lord, both Taara and Soorya were accepted into good schools in Atlanta. Taara is headed to "Oxford", as she puts it, which is a small-school campus of Emory U. Soorya is accepted into Georgia Tech. Both schools are "topper" in their chosen fields, albeit we keep arguing whether that makes any difference at all in this day and age of globally competitive schools.

So mid-August, Deepa and I will be escorting the twins to Atlanta.

God Bless!!!!

So much catching up...starting with Integrien

2011-06-17T05:31:00.000-07:00

Short takes, since there is so much catching up to do....

Integrien was transacted in Q4 last year. It was such a happening company with such compelling technology that it had to register on sme radar or the other. in this case, it was VMWare. Nice exit for Integrien....The Alive (TM) offering now gets the benefit of lots of marketing, and peerless channel access.

Looks like the post-acquisition integration is going well.

Go, team!!!!!!

5 more books in the last (Oh, oh!) 5 months

2010-10-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

Needless to say that I have been busy - what with travel and with the new job at Edwards. So my reading has declined somewhat....That said, I have managed to read 5 books in the last 5 months.

1 Nelson DeMille - The General's Daughter. John Travlota starred in the movie that was derived from this book. The book was as riveting, if not more so. Loved it. (You can tell that I am a Nelson DeMille fan, right?)

2 Nelson DeMille - Up Country. A well-written book aboutthe angst felt by so many veterans of the Vietnam era. Curious twist to the POV of the protagonist. Slow read, with lots of description about the country itself. I was told that it was remarkably true-to-fact. I wouldn't know, not hving traveled to that part of the world. Net-net, lumbered thru the book, but learned a lot.

3 Ayn Rand - Anthem. One of her earlier works dealing with the numbness of a totalitarian society. Quick read, but not very compelling. I could tell that she was still learning her skills as an author. Tha said, the starkness of such a society jumps out at you as you read the book.

4 Bob Burg - The Go-Giver. A gift from Edwards. Fast read. Very good pointers on things that work when people deal with people, regardless of the context. Some timeless pointers!

5 Zora Neale Hurston - Their Eyes Were Watching God. What a book! Stunningly well-written. From an African-American POV. In language that is so natural. The true flavor of the book haunts you days and weeks after finishing the book. Exactly what you would want from an excellent book.

Gotta read more....whenever I get time.

God Bless....Ash

Returning to live (and work) in the OC - After 6 + years!

2010-10-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

I started with Edwards Lifesciences (www.edwards.com) towards the end of May 2010. So it is now almost 5 moths since I moved back to the OC. A new rhythm to life has developed in that time-frame.

Late in May, I drove down. I had not taken the Merc CLS500 for a 400 mile drive before. It handles beautifully on long stretches. Not that I had had doubts, but....it almost made a 400 mile car-drive enjoyable, LA traffic notwithstanding!

Our friends, the Guptas, invited me to stay with them while I settled back in the OC. Right away, I felt at home! Over the next week or so, I hunted for a suitable apartment. Dee - my wife - visited wth me the following weekend. We picked a suitable apartment, just a few miles from Edwards. Furniture enough to furnish my 1 BR apartment arived a couple of days later. Within an hour, the pieces were assembled. With familiar furniture around, the new apartment quickly felt like a lived-in home.

Driving to work in the mornings is a breeze. It takes me all of 10 minutes. And if you know OC traffic, that - in itself - is a blessing! Work keeps me VERY busy - just the way I like it. Evenings....that's a story in itself.

There are many reasons I feel welcome back in the OC. Familiarity with the local people. The OC "norms". The roads. OC traffic. The pro-business sentiment in the air. Our network of close family friends. My network of business associates and contacts. The fact that we have a home here. That I was returning to my "professional roots" in Manufacturing - albeit in a new and different Industry.

On the business front, I reinstated several segments of my old network. Celeste Signorino now serves as VP of Biz Dev with the OC Business Council. She was very welcoming. And connected me with the local business community leaders. I had stayed in touch with friends and business associates over the years too. They were welcoming in their stance with me. Plus, I was delighted to learn that Edwards had a relationship with the UCI. That gave me an opportunity to reinstate my connections with the University, especially the Paul Merage School of Business. Net-net, the business network was rapidly re-established.

On the personal front, it was as quickly re-established too, if not sooner :-). Our friends were all so very welcoming. Many of them went to the extent of saying that they were sure that Dee and I "would never feel at home anywhere else but in the OC"!

If dinner-table companionship is a measure of feeling "at home", I should surely declare that I am HOME. Despite living away from family, I have had dinner with my own lonesome self just a handful of times inthe last 5 months or so. So....a heart-felt THANK YOU to all of our friends and my business associates for the warm welcome. You have made the return sooooo easy :-).

My week is measured in 2 separate segments: Monday AM thru Friday PM, while I am in the OC; and Friday PM through Monday AM, while I am with the family in the Bay Area.

Between work and dinner-time socializing etc, I have been so busy that - although I had had a 55-inch TV moved with the furniture - I have not had the time, need or - truthfully - the inclination to get TV-service in my apartment.

Southwest Airlines will probably do a profile of mine in their In-Flight magazine, based on the amount that I fly that blessed airline. I must say that my experience with SWA has been blemishless. With one or two exceptions, SWA service has been predictable, all the way from ticketing to gate-designation through on-time departures and arrivals. Sure makes life simpler.

Dee picks me up and drops me off from and to the San Jose airport. It is literally 20 minutes from home. At the OC end, Edwards is just 2 mile from the airport - literally a 5 minute cab ride away.

It is a good rhythm. The pace at work has been brisk to hectic. But that's a blog post for another day....

God Bless.

Joining Edwards Lifesciences as CIO

2010-06-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the year, I had put the word out that I was seeking new opportunities. To assess goodness-of-fit, I had created a multi-stage sieve:

Filter 1: Location - In the Bay Area, in the OC, outside the US, wherever.
Filter 2: Industry - Banking, Healthcare, Retail, whatever.
Filter 3: IT imperative - Transformative, Re-engineering, ho-hum BAU.

I reached-out to the usual networks to spread the word: Friends in the CIO circles, the Big 4 placement agencies, my own network of placement pros in 4 boutique agencies and a few good friends from prior working relationships.

2 opportunities simultaneously matured: One with BofA and the other, with Edwards.

The Bank is expanding rapidly, especially in promising new markets in the Far East. Filters-wise, this meant #3(1), #1(2) and #3(3). Very interesting, no doubt.

Edwards is growing rapidly. And is poised for even more growth in the near future. This meant #2(1), #2(2) AND #2(2). An even more interesting choice.

Edwards reached-out to me via an in-house recruiter - something that rarely happens at this level of search. Kudos to the recruiter for locating talent in this fashion! Her pitch was simple: We are a compelling business-story in the OC, look us up and study us, let me know if you are interested.

Her timing was perfect. I studied Edwards and really liked what I studied. A couple of "What do you think of Edwards?" calls returned compelling feedback. Our casual conversation progressed to a firm offer in less than 5 weeks. I look back at this with amazement!

Edwards Lifesciences (www.edwards.com) is a market-leader in Cardio-Vascular medical devices, both in-body implants and external pre- and post-op monitoring devices. Edwards closed 2009 with revenues of $1.3 Billion. It appeared poised for rapid growth, based on a very strong pipeline. IT focus had to be on solidifying the basics and building-out for scale.

Deepa and I discussed our options at some length. The Edwards option, for us, was "coming back home" in a number of ways: back to the OC, back to a circle of friends that know us, back to our home on Vista Panorama....

For me, on a professional footing too, it was "coming back home": back to building and strengthening basics, back to Manufacturing, back to a business that was investing in its future, back to addressing scaling issues....

I started with Edwards on May 27th. So far, so good. I like the leadership team. And I like the way the prospective work ahead is shaping-up.

God Bless....

Losing Bala - a close friend from NITIE

2010-06-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

It was 2 AM. I had just finished the stage-gig at the NITIE 25th re-union; and gotten back to the Hostel. In Mama's room, the party was still in full swing. Our "usual" gang was assembled. And talk turned to our 'Bucket List's.

Travel figured high on practically all bucket lists. Destinations ranged from the moon to much closer destinations, both in India and in the US.

Bala - our ever-smiling, always pleasant, gentle friend - shared his views. He wanted to travel to Leh and Ladhak in the contested regions of Kashmir. That figured high on his bucket list.

3 weeks back, we heard that Bala passed away. What?????? Evidently, Bala and his wife were part of a convoy of 30 Jeeps, traversing some mountainous terrain in the Leh area. The convoy was broadsided by a landslide. Bala jumped out to help; and was crushed to death. What a tragedy!

It is hard to imagine that Bala is no more. My last memory of him is that he stayed back to spend a whole day with Mama and me (and a few others) when we met at NITIE. Bala joined me on stage when - later in the evening on the day after - I met with the Entrepreneurship Club at NITIE. His perspectives added depth and "locality" from an Indian perspective.

Bala is the 3rd classmate that we have lost from our Batch of 48. It is difficult to come to terms with mortality, even at the best of times. When Death so abruptly takes away a dear one, the evanescence of life comes into sudden and sharp focus. It reinforces timeless wisdom - that NOW is all that we have.

May God rest Bala's soul in peace. May God grant his family with strength and courage as they grapple with such an untimely and unexpected loss.

Our good friend, R N Singh, assured me that he would join hands in helping organize a fund to further one of Bala's charities. I look forward to helping him to do so.

God Bless....

Humbling! I know SOOOO little....

2010-04-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Mid-February is when I last posted about my readings. I have since read 10 books - some casual reading and some, much more formal. Here's what I have been reading....

This post is in 2 sections: The first section accounts for 4 works of fiction. The second section accounts for 6 works of non-fiction. As I reviewed the list, it struck me that I am now beginning to enjoy non-fiction MUCH more than works of fiction. I remember my Grandpa - a prolific reader himself - saying that this would likely happen at around the age of 50. Man, was he right or what?!?

First, the works of fiction....

1 The Charm School, by Nelson DeMille - I said in an earlier post that Nelson DeMille is now firmly on my radar. Picked up this book. However, I (maybe) should have been warned by the publication-date that the material might be somewhat dated. In any case, the book is about a secret school in the middle of the old USSR, where spies are trained etc etc. Cloak-and-daggery from a by-gone era. It could not successfully hold my interest....

2 The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown - Talk about capitalizing on a good thing!!!! This is literally written for a movie, I thought. I could envision some of the key characters. Like the "older gentleman" - I can literally see Morgan Freeman enacting that role. Etc etc. The book is no doubt a page-turner, but the twists and turns were somewhat predictable. Good "pass time" book....

3 Plum Island by Nelson DeMille - More from my now new fav author. I liked this one. The principal character is just a caricature of himself. His lines are really funny. He comes across as a committed, yet very human, Cop. The plot itself starts out well, but the ending is rather tame. The book could have been cut in size by a hundred pages or more to make for a "tighter" book. That said, enjoyable book.

4 Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer - It has been decades since I last laid hands on this "oldie but goodie". This time around, I found an edition that translated the old prose on th eleft side to modern-day English on the right side. The net of it made it an easier work to read.

It again struck me that "cuckolding" was the primary pastime of medieval folks. Was it for lack of other interesting opportunities? Or was infidelity and bedroom-shenanigans the primary preoccupation in those times?

All that said, at the end of the book, it leaves you wanting more. I am sure that Chauder started out thinking of writing a series of 30-odd stories, but he must have become wearied by the time he got to the 7th or 8th....

Part II: The works of non-fiction now....

5 The Dramatic History of the Knights Templar, by Piers Paul Read - You know, the legend of the Knights Templar is one of the most persistent legends in Western lore. I stumbled across references to them twice in one week some time back. So I decided to read this scholarly work.

It surprised me that Europe in late 11th thru the early 14th centuries was so very much like Europe today - wherein every Kingdom (like every country today) looked out for its own self-interest, often without a clear view of how this might impact its relationships with its neighbors.

The Templar movement was closely intertwined with the Church, making for a volatile cocktail. Not to mention, the vast fortunes that were added over time to the Templars' war-chests - making the Templars the de facto Multinational Bankers of the time.

If you think of Chaucer's Tales and the reality of the Templars times, it paints a somewhat complete picture of European reality at the time. After reading more, I drew some additional lines, connecting Islam and the history of the Middle East (more later), with the Knights Templar. The result - A potent and fulminating Middle East, not unlike the Middle East of today. As the French say, "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose"!

Finally, it surprised me that there is such a widely-held view of the chivalry and success of the Knights Templar in the minds of the common folks. In fact, the Knights Templar were a severely compromised group of people, separated from their home-lands by time and space that could not be bridged with fast transportation or quick communication; and often fighting battles that had long since been resolved "back home", either through diplomacy or Papal intervension.

And it was their questionable behavior that finally undermined the very movement and brought it down in ignominy.

What an expensive and inglorious fiasco! Yet....the populist opinion of the Kinghts Templar persists, almost a millennium later. Wow!!!!

6 Come with me to India, by Sudha Koul - A lovingly written book by an Indian mother, with an eye on educating the next generation of Indian children born to the subcontinent's diaspora. Sweet in essence. An elegant compilation of facts and figures that reads smoothly and quickly, encompassing a wide variety of topics that - together - describe India. It was fun for me to regain my own perspective of my native land. Especially resonated with me, since it is written by a transplant, like myself.

7 Super Freakonomics, by Steven D Levitt - I love this new breed of authors, who use data and mathematical / econometric modeling to discern patterns that tell a story beyond the obvious. Malcolm Gladwell and Atul Gawande also fall into this category. Super Freakonomics takes off from where Freakonomics left off. Steven Levitt is in his element. His analyses and conclusions - while sometimes contrarial, as in the case of Global Warming, for instance - are always interesting and quite often, very funny. Thoroughly enjoyable!

8 Islam: Faith, Culture, History, by Paul Lunde - A scholarly work, I have always been interested in learning more about the genesis and evolution of Islam. This book helped me understand the nuances and differences between the Sunnis and the various Shia branches. About the Ummayyad, Fatimid and Abbasid Caliphates. About how these developments intersected the suicidal Middle-East forays of European Crusaders. About the Battle of Hattin - one of the most decisive battles in the history of the Crusades. About Saladin and the great friendship that developed between him and Richard the Lionhearted. And about the conquest and governance of Spain by the Moslems for 700 years! Fascinating book!

9 The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism, by Linda Johnsen - I loved this book. For its simplicity {afterall, it is for "the Complete Idiot"!}, brevity and clarity. Many of my own misconceptions about Hinduism were erased. Underscoring the lament in the subject line - I KNOW SOOOOOO LITTLE about so many things ....

10 The Next 100 Years, by George Friedman - Talk about rocking you back on your heels! This is a masterfully written book by a preeminent Futurist. I have now had the pleasure of meeting with Alvin Toffler and his associates. Friedman is in the same class. His weltanschauung (a very pithy German phrase, roughly meaning world-view) is terrific. And I emerged from this book a couple of days back, convinced that the USA will be THE dominant power on the world-stage in the 21st century, for demographic and geopolitical reasons. I can clearly see Friedman's POV. And my own thoughts - now so much better clarified - support his arguments. Loved it!

Hope that this makes some of you grab one of these books yourself. The journey of life continues.

God Bless....

Travels with our children

2010-04-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Deepa - my wife - and I have been planning how best to cover the vast territory of California, exposing both its beauty and its great Universities to our children. We started the process in December / January. Thanks to Deepa's relentless planning and attention to detail, our trip materialized over the kids' Spring Break '10 (Apr 10 - 18 2010).

Taara - our daughter - joined her Concert Choir friends from school for a road-trip to Disneyland in SoCal on Thursday April 8. Soorya - our son - took his ACT test on Saturday April 10. Deepa and I picked up Soorya from his ACT test and drove directly to Irvine in SoCal - a 6-hour road-trip. Around 11 PM on Saturday, Taara was done with her commitments at Disneyland. The family was once again 'complete'.

On Saturday evening, our friends - the Gramas - had invited a whole bunch of other Irvine-based friends. We loved being amidst such a close group of our friends from our earlier days in SoCal.

Sunday - we visited the Claremot McKenna campus. Small, private University, with 5 stellar colleges. I loved the campus, and so did Taara. Harvey Mudd is one of the 5 colleges - and appears very competitive. Taara seems inclined to apply. If she is able to geta scholarship that offsets expenses enough to approximate the UC fee-structure, I may be pursuaded to consider Harvey Mudd.

Late that evening, we moved-in with our friends - the Guptas. The party continued! Both Taara and Soorya have like-age friends at the Guptas (dating back to their early Balavihar days).

Monday - we covered UC San Diego in the morning and UC Irvine in the afternoon. Both - relatively modest-sized public Universities. Everyone liked UC SD. Of course, I LOVE UCI, having served as Chair for their Corporate Partner Program in the early 2000s. UCSD may become the target school for both Soorya and Taara, for their Biology undergraduate program?

Tuesday, we bid goodbye to the Guptas and started our North-ward journey. First stop was at UCLA. Large, public University. The kids attended a lecture in Genomics, in the Botany department. They were underwhelmed - but came out with a clear feeling that College-level courses were within their grasp, that Professors in Colleges were not brutally over-the-top, etc etc. Net-net, a positive experience for both of them. That said, neither of them was too impressed or interested in UCLA.

That afternoon, we visited USC. Taara loved this University, and so did I! Again, if Taara can snag a schol etc etc., I may be favorably inclined. Otherwise....UC it will be. Taara may be pursuaded to apply for the integrated 8-year MD program at USC. Let us see....

We drove to Santa Barbara and stayed at a Hotel that night. Wednesday, we saw the UC Santa Barbara campus. What a beauty! If campus looks were the determinant of decision-making, I would opt for UCSB. However, it has a fierce reputation for being a party-school. Oh well! The kids both thought that UCSB could a safety school.

Wednesday night, we were back at home. In fact, we returned with time enought to reclaim Crissy from her pet Hotel.

The kids have also seen UC Berkeley. And since Deepa and I have been deeply engaged with Stanford and the mentoring program over the last 5 years, they have been extensively exposed to Stanford - both to the campus and to a myriad of students from a variety of course-backgrounds.

Neither of them has shown any interest in either Berkeley or Stanford. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that both UCB and Stanford are literally in our backyard. Universities farther away seem more exotic. As the old saw goes, the grass always appars greener on the other side of the fence, right?!?

Bottom-line: Soorya seems inclined to join a larger, public University. Taara seems inclined to join a smaller, private University.

My bottom-line: I had hoped that they would both apply to the same University. Many Universities offer a 'twin tuition discount', ranging from 10 to 30% for tuition. Given how much a University education costs nowadays, this would materially help Deepa and me on the financial side.

In the final analysis, only UC San Diego came up as a possible choice on both their assessment radars. If they score well and are both accepted into UCSD, Deepa and I will pursue the twin tuition discount with the Admissions Office there. Scores and GPAs should be known by summer this year. Keeping our fingers crossed X :-)

All is well!!!!

Board work - Integrien

2010-03-21T18:22:00.001-07:00

Think gi-normous data center. Thousands of servers, hundreds of enclosures with countless spinning disks. God-knows-how-much RAM. Cables and wires snaking thru the data center. Labeling that requires a PhD in the Dewey decimal system to decipher what hooks up with what, where and why....the kind of stuff that you typically see in Sci-Fi or Star Wars movies....

When problems arise in such data centers, they can cascade fast. In fact, they typically cascade faster than the time it takes to intervene. So much so that these events are dreaded by Data Center operations teams.

Integrien offers a brilliantly architected solution to anticipate and resolve such situations - offering Data Center operations teams an opportunity to react and avoid catastrophic shut-downs.

Integrien's algorithms take in data from typical data center probes. From wherever / whatever probes are available. Using patented "finger-printing technology", very advanced algorithms kick-in and create unique finger-prints that define normalcy in operating terms. Rather than use static control-limits, these algorithms use patented dynamic thresholding. And these are self-learning algorithms. The more they are in-use, the better they can analyze and predict outcomes!

3-4 years ago, one of the Founders and I were introduced to each other by a mutual friend. Subsequently, Al Eisaian - the Founder/Chairman - invited me to serve on the Advisory Board. Adrian Tudor - Integrien's VP of Engineering - and I hit it off very nicely, right off the bat. We jammed a lot in the early days and conceptualized a compelling offering. Alive (TM), Integrien's solution, is the result of those early days of jamming.

I feel proud to say that the Integrien team took advise from me. And that some of my own finger-prints are on their offerings :-)

The Advisory Board now has some very heavy hitters - some of whom have been friends of mine for many, many years. When we meet, it feels like a jam-session with good (old) friends.

Net-net, this is a "happening" Company, with "happening" people and products in an increasingly compelling space. As I see their genius unfold, I am reminded of why Computers and Applications came into existence in the first place: To save time, to save money and/or to solve problems too complex for human minds.

Integrien is positioned in the middle of a space wherein they do all three - save Organizations time, money and solve problems that are too complex for the human brian - no matter how high the IQ.

Go, team!!!!

A few weeks, Lots of personal / family updates + 16 books

2010-02-17T10:04:00.000-08:00

Since my last post mid December, we have been thru up-times and down-times, both in terms of time available and in terms of emotional turmoil....

The anniversary of my parents' demise was a difficult reminder of the essential fraility and evanescence of life....a reminder that the joy of life is best enjoyed 'in the moment'. Without the cliched overtones associated with the phrase, I am now a convert and believer in 'The Power of Now!'. I vowed over the Christmas break / Holidays that I would re-invent myself. Being in and enjoying the moment - every moment - is now a part of that re-invented self. And for someone like me - who is constantly thinking and planning for the future - this is a MAJOR change. But....like all change, it began with a single step. I catch myself more and more in the moment. All good!

Our twins have begun to think of their future. It looks like Biology will play a big role in their life / career. God grant that they find their future-calling in an area wherein they have passion. It makes such a difference when that is the case: You wake up every day and you know that work is just passionate-play. It makes it so much easier to live 'in the moment' when you have this kind of alignment.

I have been reading a storm, so to speak, in the last 8-10 weeks. With travel, down-time during the Hols, stumbling upon an author whom I really like etc., my opportunities have been many.

1 I finally completed "A Treasury of Asian Short Stories". It really proved to be a treasure-trove. My favorites were a short-story from Iran (still Persia, when the story was written; lots of pathos in that story); and another from Japan (dated in the 'Age of the Samurai'; lots of raw, dark human emotions in that one).

2 I re-read the Upanishads, translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Fredrick S manchester. It is a compliation that was first given me by an Uncle (the one who visits every year from India - Sri S N Subba Rao, aka Bhaiji or Papu). Magnificent insights from the Rishis. It is a pleasure to - literally - discover the deepest meanings of life; and to discover that existential questions have been contemplated since the days of yore; and that the Rishis found closed-form, satisfactory answers by diving inward rather than seeking from the outside. Magnificent!

3 "A Spiritual Biography", by Sidney Poitier. I have long admired Sidney Poitier as an Actor. I was only 7 or 8 years old when first I saw "To Sir, With Love". It left a deep impression on me. Since then, I have seen him in a few other movies. I last saw him in a movie with Robert Redford called SNEAKERS. Lovely movie. In any case: It was a pleasure to read his autobiography. So up-lifting. He came from the humblest of backgrounds. And experienced some of the most heart-breaking situations, with dignity and strength. There were a few passages that were real tear-jerkers, in fact.

4 "Playing for Pizza", by John Grisham. You would think that a pot-bolier author would know nothing about Italy, Football, Italian cuisine, human emotions,....and you would be wrong. This is a delightfully written book about all of the above, and some. Thoroughly enjoyable.

5 "My Dateless Diary", by R K Narayan. A classic diary, as chronicled by a first-time visitor to the US. My own experiences resonated so loudly that I caught myself laughing and empathising every so often. My brother and sister-in-law visited the US for the first time some time back. I gifted them the book. I felt that they could just insert their names in some passages and it would suddenly be "their" dateless diary.

6 "The Helsinki Roccamatios", by Yann Martel. Disappointing :-( The less said, the better. I wonder about "The Life of Pi"....

7 "Better", by Atul Gawande. If you have not read Gawande, this is a great one to start with. He is a phenomenon. His direct and honest style is refreshing. He reduces Medical minutiae and Latin drivel to language that is easy for the lay person. I learned a lot; and am looking forward to reading his other works.

8 "A Prisoner of Birth", by Jeffrey Archer. I have been a fan of Mr Archer since he wrote "Shall we Tell the President" way back when....and on the heels of his 3 "Prison Diaries", this book is a very good one. His usual twists and turns....Definitely recommend it to Archer fans.

9 "The Bourne Sanction", by Eric von Lustbader. Ludlum had a unique style. Simultaneity and chaos best describe the manner in which his stories unfold - leading to unexpected twists and turns. By contrast, Lustbader's style is best described as 'parallel and orderly', with the resulting outcome being what it is. Lustbader's Bourne is believable, but not as enjoyable as the original. Caveat emptor.

10 "The Suspect", by John Lescroix. Good story-telling from a local San Franciscan. I liked the style. May read a few more, but will withhold judgement about the author until then.

11 "Wild Fire", by Nelson DeMille. I must first thank my friends Geetha and Mohan Sivashankar for gifting me the previous book and this one.

Now I confess....I am hooked on this author. Some 7-8 years ago, we saw a movie called "The General's Daughter", starring John Travlota. I am a Travlota fan as well. Liked the movie. It turns out that DeMille is the author of the book on which the movie-script was based.

In any case, I really like DeMille's style. Fast-paced action, credible plot-lines, good dialogue delivery, good and fast character development, and always - a wry humor. So - I bought a whole bunch of his books....

12 "Night Fall", by Nelson DeMille. Based on the ill-fated TWA flight that blew up over the Atlantic shortly after take-off....

13 "The Lion's Game", by Nelson DeMille. Based on a very plausible plot featuring a Libyan.

14 "Mayday", by Nelson DeMille. Aaaah! An early novel. Plausible, but rather ghoulish

15 "Treasure Hunt", by Michael Silverstein. Great work of non-fiction, in the same league as Paco Underhill's "Why We Buy". Silverstein takes a demo / psychographic approach to understanding why the neo-Consumer does what s/he does....

16 "The Mark of a Leader", by Doug Keeley. A compelling compilation of vignettes, of some of the best-known business leaders in the last 30-50 years. Loved it! I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Doug at an Evanta event in March of 09, when he handed a copy of the book to all attendees. Besides compiling these profiles, he is a terrific speaker. Great package!

The journey of life goes on....

NITIE 12th Batch Reunion - Sansmaran 09

2009-12-11T16:46:00.001-08:00

REUNION. Coming together again. Wow!

This was a much-awaited event. For almost 2 years, the 12th Batch NITIE-ans had been scrounging thru all sorts of sources to get the current coordinates of our Batch of 48 (The inveterate 1982 thru 84 batch that chose to defy and define so many norms for students at NITIE).

In locating our batch mates, we found out that 2 of our gang were no more. (So sad, that life should have been so abbreviated for them :-(). And of the remainder, we were successful in locating 38. Not bad, after all these many years, huh?!

Planning started as early as this January. Chandy and Mama (Oh the nick-names; and the ossified reasons behind them!) took up the challenge. Nemade joined hands with them soon after. And Mama reported back that he had "successfully outsourced the arrangements" to Sachin, currently a student.

Dates were picked, based on travel likelihood of the US-based batch mates. The weekend following Thanksgiving (Nov 28 and 29) seemed best. And we were off to the races!

States-side, Simha started the ball rolling by offering to create / stage a full-on Entertainment Production. He has really gotten into vocals, what with opening for the B52s and stuff like that. Yours truly - naturally - signed up to play his dutiful role as a vocalist. And surprise-surprise, CR Sreenivasa Rao, one of our batch mates, wanted to join us on stage. A late-bloomer, Rao has picked up Karnatik Classical Vocals in the last decade or so; and for fun, branches out into Bollywood music. Ram Narain Singh on the Drums. And Sanjay Jain on stage - occasional vocals, occasional dancing, occasional miming, always entertaining.

Besides prep States-side, there was the anticipation of seeing friends after a 25 year lapse in time. And apprehensions. Would my friends be bald? Overweight? Both? Will we recognize each other? Will we have changed? Will it be awkward? Will they be there with family? Will the lapse in time have changed relationships?

And NITIE? Will it have changed? Will the new generation of kids be different from us?

Prof Pundir, an Alum of the 10th Batch himself, is the Alumni activities coordinator. He organized a memorable 2 days for our benefit, assisted wonderfully by the current crop of youngsters studying at NITIE.

27 guys (all guys back then :-() signed up. 25 showed up....some with family. Not bad at all, considering that the entire batch was 48 and the fact that time has scattered us to the winds!

Many showed up on Friday the 27th of November. The party started right away, I am told. I no doubt got to Bombay from Bangalore on the 27th, but stayed with a Mentee of ours - Rajeev - that night. Rajeev dropped me at NITIE on Saturday around 11.

Bombay has changed so much! The Western Expressway moved fast - faster than the 405 in LA, for sure. And Gurgaon/Andheri is now connected directly Vikhroli via another Expressway. So much so that from (roughly) Shivaji Park, Rajeev was able to drive me to NITIE in under 30 minutes on a Saturday morning. Unimaginable in the old days.

As Rajeev exit the Expressway at the L&T corner, I quickly oriented myself. Not bad, I thought, for being back after 9 years. (I last visited NITIE in 2001). But....not so fast! As soon as we drove past the Chinmaya Mission and under the pipeline, it was a sight for sore eyes.

When we studied at NITIE, the hutments at the gate were few. The "village" was called Paspoli. Today, that "village" has grown into a very large collection of hutments, rivaling any shantytown anywhere in the world. SoWeTo comes to mind immediately! Rows upon rows of huts up the hill as far as the eye can see. And the road after turning right from the underpass is just squalid!

The front-gates of NITIE are gates only in name. There is no 'gate'. Just an entryway that proclaims NITIE. A furlong later, one enters the campus per se, via a guarded gate. The stretch of road between the front gates and the guard gates - the less said, the better!

But as soon as one enters the campus, it is a different world. NITIE itself looked as green and verdant as I ever remember. The locale is remarkable, overlooking Powai Lake on the one side and Vihar Lake on the other.

Within a couple of hours, our batch mates had assembled in numbers. We were hosted at the Management Development Program (MDP) Hostel. This used to be called the SCI (Shipping Corporation of India) Hostel when we were at NITIE. In any event, a pretty ho-hum facility.

To my amazement and relief, my apprehensions were unfounded. As I met other batch mates, it was as if a day had not lapsed - leave alone 25 years! No doubt time had taken its toll on some of us. Many of us were indeed bald and overweight. And a few - like Dabholkar - had preserved extrordinarily well.

When we got past the "You look...." phase, there was no literally awkwardness. If anything, time had smoothed-out the rough edges that had previously grated. This was just a raucous group that was sure of itself. We founds ourselves just having a great time!

The afternoon activities were well organized. From 2 30 to 4 30 - A guided tour of the campus. We had each been assigned a youngster as a "buddy". Then, Chai for 90 minutes. With the youngsters in their Hostel. Very chummy and informal. Formalities started around 6 - with students and the faculty gathered in the old Auditorium. Some Alumni Association official stuff for 15 minutes around 7 30 or so. And then....the stage was turned over to us.

Ram had organized a few local musicians (Tabla, Keyboard and Guitar) to be available. They compensated for what they lacked in talent with enthu. Net-net, we took the stage and took the crowd by storm. We literally ROCKED the place for the next several hours!

Somewhere in between, Dinner was served on the lawns.

It was a pleasure to perform among friends, for old friends, for the current students, for the current faculty, for some faculty members from back in our time; and an unexpected pleasure to see alumni of varying vintage - stretching all the way back to the 1st Batch.

The youngsters at NITIE contributed some. 3-4 singers. An outstanding mimic. A youngster who defied all odds and danced as though bones did not matter.

Simha and others were going strong some time after midnight, when I returned to the Hostel - only to find that the real Party was in Mama's room. Stayed on until 4-ish.

9 AM. Simha woke me up to join a dozen or so friends for Breakfast. Yeesh!

Capt Ankaiah is 10+ years my senior, and was a batch mate. He exemplifies grace. He was there amidst us for Breakfast. When asked what we could/should expect in the forthcoming decade, he imparted weighty wisdom. He said, "No one grows old in 24 hours, right? The key is to think of the next 10 years not as a decade, but as a string of 24 hours. That way, you are not older than you are today!" Wow!!!!

We re-assembled in Mama's room to restart the Party. Just as we did so, Sachin and a gang of youngsters came over and invited us to a game of cricket. We played a friendly game of cricket. Remarkably, there were no injuries, despite a slick lawn! And surprise-surprise, I took 4 wickets. Hello!!!!

Sunday evening, the Entrepreneurs Group invited some of us to address them. Bala, Mama and I did a 1-hour Q&A session with some 40 youngsters. I was keen to share my thoughts on the Elder-care business proposal - thinking that one of the students may be interested partnering with me as an Operator. Alas! I did not find any traction on that front.

PV Rao - one of our batch mates - joined us late. His business had called him away on Saturday. So only a few of us were able to see him.

Mid-night-ish, Rajeev was back to drop me at the airport for my flight back.

And the last surprise awaited me at the airport. My nephew Vinod - who is a budding young Sales exec with IBM India - was there to greet me! I am so proud of his accomplishments. He is an embodiment of Young India - energetic, restless, exploring possibilities, busy, seeking new pastures....

I was jubilant as I returned home to San Francisco, with a remarkable and memorable reunion behind me.

We promised to meet every 5 years. I have offered to arrange the next reunion on the West Coast. Looking forward to 2014!

God Bless....Ashwin

Concert for PRATHAM - August 29 2009

2009-08-31T18:05:00.000-07:00

Dateline Saratoga, CA

August 31 2009

It was an AMAZING evening.

Deepa - my wife - had divided the task at hand. Roughly speaking, she handled everything while I handled the music for the evening.

Deepa pulled-together a team of friends and family to help her with logistics - pre-, during- and post- the event. That team - comprised of the young and the not-so-young - poured HEART into the event.

They organized themselves into 4 teams - a Marketing Team, a Technical Team, a Food Team and an Event Management team. Between them, no detail was too small to be discussed. Nothing went unattended.

I pulled together a team of 7 other singers, all local talent. And they poured SOUL into the event.

And as the old saw goes, when you put HEART & SOUL into anything, the Universe supports your efforts.

And so it was....We set out with 3 objectives: (1) Create BUZZ for Pratham; (2) Raise $10K for Pratham; and (3) Have fun. In retrospect, I am proud, humbled and pleased to say that we did all three....proving yet again that you can do well and do good at the same time.

Deepa put it best when she was on the podium at the end of the event. "It takes a village". The Village of Saratoga came together for the event. Merchants were generous with donating their wares. Sponsors from far and near were generous with their wallets. Residents of Saratoga and the immediate next cities were generous with their time and purses. And the Volunteers - I can't say enough about them. Be it our friends, our Mentees or our children, everyone was enthusiastic and energetic in putting-forth their best.

I can safely say that the Pratham banner flies proud and high in Saratoga. We exceeded the target by ~40 to 50%. And Boy! Did we have fun or what?!

The singers were accompanied by multiple Dance Companies. 7 of the 21 songs had dancers for accompaniment. As I said before, we have a peerless orchestra. The singers practiced relentlessly for over 6 weeks.

The result was a SOLD-OUT hall with a capacity for ~400 people. Very supportive crowd, eager to participate and eager to be entertained.

The event started at 5 30 SHARP, as promised. Over the length of the 3-hour program, we "lost" 10 minutes. And so, we ended at 8 40-ish. Not bad, not bad at all! And by Desi-program standards, I am told that this is something of an exception....a miracle.

Deepa joins me in thanking all those who helped make this memorable. Your kindness, cooperation and generosity of spirit made all the difference. We regard ourselves as merely instruments that invoked and channeled your innate spirit.

Luckily for the kids, Grandma and Grandpa are visiting; or else, they would be sorta derelict! And D-Day MINUS one, Shobha Periamma came down from Pittsburgh, adding to the love and comfort at home.

Thank you all for making the 29th of August 2009 such an exceptional day. God grant that every day be such an exceptional day.

God Bless....Ashwin

...and of course, Elder-care

2009-07-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

Drat! Hit that enter key and the last post got published....

I was meaning to write an update on Elder-care, actually....

Deepa and I started to define and develop a plan for Elder-care, with a focus on Bangalore, but with themes that are more broadly applicable. To this end, several like-minded folks have banded together with us. We have all but fully defined what we wish to do.

The next step is to develop these ideas and take thought to action. Our intention is to do so in the next 6 months, being ready to 'pull-the-trigger' in Jan 2010.

So....life is beautiful....

God Bless....Ashwin

What's keeping me busy?

2009-07-19T16:33:00.000-07:00

Some time back, I asked myself this question. And decided to make a list of my active involvement so as to gain a perspective. It was revealing....

First, there are the so-called "givens": Being a spouse, being a parent, working for a living. In other words, the day-to-day commitments.

I authored a book - Tomorrow's CIO - which was published in January. This brings with it some speaking opportunities and book-signing opportunities. So, gotta do that.

For many years now, Deepa - my wife - and I have been enthusiastic supporters of Pratham, a charitable organization that supports primary education for slum-dwelling children in India. This year, we galvanized a group of our like-minded friends who are also talented singers, to band together for a Music Concert on August 29th at the West Valley College auditorium. So...music practice, organizing the show, raising funds...having fun along the way. Deepa is playing the role of overall Project Manager, I am handling the music end. I will be belting out 4 or 5 numbers, so busy with practicing duets etc.

My batch-mates from NITIE are planning a 25th re-union at the end of November in Mumbai. One of my class-mates - Simha - and I will be doing a 2-hour gig, along with a couple of others. So - practicing a dozen or so solos for that...

My Board positions: With HelpTone, 2CheckOut.com, RawSugar, CVRE - on the business side.

I was invited to serve on the Board of the Society for Information Management (SIM), in the SoCal chapter. Several good friends in the greater LA area are members and some of them are also on the Board. This was an unexpected privilege that was extended to me a couple of weeks back. I have since accepted.

I have been teaching at several UCs over the years - handling a spectrum from just a single guest lecture to a series. The UCI Merage School of Business invited me to deluver a series of 12 lectures next year, focusing the lectures on "The Strategic leverage of IT in organizations". The audience is their Exec MBA and Part-time MBA classes, typically held from 7 to 10 PM. I have verbally said YES, but have started to mentally prepare.

Our home in SoCal is on the market - for Sale or Lease. So some spruce-up work PLUS the usual concerns surrounding such an event / transaction.

Helping SIPA with their own branding and messaging, and their annual Conference....

And occasionally working with a young friend who wants to be an entrepreneur - all the way from conceptualizing an offer to the biz plan to partnering for development to finding angels for funding to....

So yeah...the plate is pretty full...

My most recent readings

2009-07-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

I recently finished reading The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chidbhavananda of the Ramakrishna Mission. About 1000 pages, with the original Sanskrit, transliterated into English and with explanatory notes in English. This is perhaps the 10th time that I have read this...

The Gita is best savored in short sips rather than in long drafts. It's beauty and meaning are meant to be taken-in slowly...It's depth is amazing and literally, bottom-less. And the breadth of vision is stunning...As I mentioned in a previous post, I read "The Palace of Illusions" while I was reading the Gita, so it was a double-pleasure.

I read the Gita at a rate of 2 stanzas a night....and reflect on its meaning typically as I fall asleep. Not only does that soothe me down from the day's hulla-balloo, but it also serves as food-for-thought to my subconscience while I rest.

In light of my parents' demise, The Gita was almost "required reading"...

1-20 ("No jayate mriyate va kadacin, na 'yam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah...") has been a touch-stone of spiritual belief for me. {Meaning: The Atman is neither born nor does It die. Coming into being and ceasing to be do not take place in It. Unborn, eternal, constant and ancient, It is not killed when the bosy is slain}.

This was an abstraction, until my parents' demise. Now, it is VERY real. They are ever just a thought away. Their shadow is long and strong. And our family members remember them all the time, in one connection or another. If the "It" in the above is nothing more than this, then "It" is very much alive, although "It"'s body has now been shed for more than 6 months! I know that "It" is more, much more....but "It" certainly came home when I lost my parents.

2-47 ("Karmany eva 'dhikarsa te....") was made famous by the TV-serial Mahabharata. {Meaning: Seek to perform your duty; but lay not claim to its fruits. Be you not the producer of the fruits of karma; neither shall you lean towards inaction}.

This stanza has special meaning for me. My Mother would recite that stanza even when I was a child. She lived the life of a karma-yogi, constantly thinking of - and in service of - her immediate family and other kith-and-kin. Her dreadful end is in no way just-reward, unless viewed from this stanza's POV.

Other readings....

In one of my posts last month, I said that I had picked-up "A Treasury of Modern Asian Stories", an anthology of short stories by authors from across Asia - from Turkey to Japan.

Fabulous collection, edited by Daniel Milton and William Clifford. I was able to read a few on just about every flight last month. And as you know, I fly at least once a week, sometimes more frequently. So....

My favorites were (1) That timeless classic from India - "Kabuliwala" by Tagore; (2) For sheer hilarity - "Sensations at the top of a coconut tree" by Achdiat K Mihardja, from Indonesia; and (3) "The spider's thread" - a classic from Japan by Ryonosuke Akutagawa. Ryonosuke-san has other timeless classics to his credit as well....Rashomon, Christ in Paradise, to name just two.

All in all....great reading. Thought-provoking in most cases, reflective of local mores and customs, reflective of bygone realities in those countries - several of which have advanced a lot since the authors' writings.

Other readings....I am somewhat towards the end of an old classic - "The Word" by Wallace. I expect to be done in a few days.

Stay tuned. God Bless....

Books read in the last few weeks

2009-06-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in a prior post that I was half way thru Divakaruni's latest book - "The Palace of Illusions". The Mahabharata from Draupadi's POV. Fascinatingly well-written. And yet another interpretation of a timeless classic. The POV is truly innovative. And the interpretation is both thought-provoking and edgy. (The only deviation from the 'original' was calling the Chakravuha formation - where Abhimanyu loses his life - the Lotus formation. I was like, "Errr....").

John Grisham's "The Associate". He successfully recaptured the breathlessness of his earlier books in this one - something that he seemed to have lost in the last 3-4 books. That said, the beginning and middle were really good, but the end was disappointing :-(

A long-term read (it took me more than a yaer to read; best savored in small doese) - Mike Myers on America. He is a Hungarian-born author who wrote satirical pieces for the London press in the 40s and 50s. The book is droll, but ponderous. I picked it up in Picadilly on one of my visits....

Ram Charan's latest book - Leadership in an Era of Economic Uncertainty, akin to Drucker's timeless classic "Managing in Uncertain Times"....At 125 pages, a fast read. The contents are succinct. The title says it all. Ram pulls no punches as he literally offers the readers a soundbite of advice against a long list of Dos and Donts. Good reminder on how best to attend to basics, no matter what.

Onward....I am reading a book on The World's Great Operas....And just picked up a book of short stories by authors from Asia - from Persia to Japan. Some great names in the table of contents.

More later....God Bless....Ashwin

Music Night - Now set for August 29

2009-06-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

So....some of you know that I enjoy singing. And some of you have heard me sing. And some of you know that Deepa and I are avid supporters of PRATHAM (www.prathamusa.org), an 501(c)3 organization focused on providing primary education to slum-dwelling children in India.

With the help of our extended circle of friends, Deepa and I are now committed to a Music Night on Saturday, August 29, at the West Valley College in Saratoga, CA. 6 friends (4 ladies and 2 gents) have agreed to join in and make this a memorable evening of music. All of them are excellent singers in their own right. And to see that they are willing to help with charity fund-raising is heartening.

Pratham's local Officers are quite excited to join forces with us. Their focus since inception in the Bay Area has been on the East Bay side. They have been seeking a way to get involved with people in the lower peninsula. And so, this comes as a welcome opportunity.

Given the short time, we are planning this as a Bollywood Karaoke evening. Needless to say that the orchestra will be flawless! So the challenge is for the singers to match their skills with a peerless orchestra.

Please help spread the word to your family and friends. The auditorium holds 375 people. We need a sell-out crowd so that we can hit our goal of $10K net of expenses.

God Bless....Ashwin

CIO Synergy

2009-06-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Nepal Patel and I crossed paths 4 or 5 years back. We have gone our separate ways since. Nepal is active in the CIO circles. And I....

He invited me to be a panelist with 4-5 other IT Pros at a recent event in San Jose. My fellow-panelists were distinguished IT practitioners, both past and present. And the audience was 50-60 professionals who leverage IT in their daily lives - IT Directors, IT Sales folks etc.

The panel was well orchestrated by Mark Egan, now with StrataFusion, a group of IT Pros in the Valley. Good format. He invited each table (of roughly 8 people) to formulate a question for the panel. And then, we were invited to wax eloquent. Invited (forced!) participation. And 2-way interactions.

Great job with the orchestrating, Nepal! I would love to remain connected with the other panelists. And of course, am always available to the audience as a resource.

God Bless....Ashwin

Elder-care - What we have started

2009-05-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

I made a commitment soon after my parents' demise that I would dedicate the rest of my life to provide Elder-care in India. While a sweeping vision, like all visions, it had to be broken down into bite-size chunks in order to become actionable.

My ever-supportive wife, Deepa, was ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder as I commenced this new journey.

As a first step, we - Deepa and I - decided to invite a few friends to constitute a Board of Advisors. Our newly created Board has 6 members:

Amlan Debnath (my friend of more than 2 decades and my room-mate when first I moved to the US in '84);
Mohan Kalkunte (my friend and classmate from the Mech Engg program at UVCE in Bangalore - wherein we both enrolled in '77);
Meera Chari (Deepa's friend from the "Muskuranis" group - a vivacious group of Saratoga Cougars :-));
BV Jagadeesh (my friend of a few years in the Valley; a serial entrepreneur; and coincidentally, also an alum of UVCE);
Deepa and me (Deepa is also an alum of UVCE :-))

To get this off-the-ground and to help gain momentum, we decided to meet twice a month. Our meetings are typically on Thursdays, at 8 PM, in Peet's Coffee and Tea, located at the corner of De Anza Blvd. and Prospect Ave. in Saratoga, CA. We have now met 6 times in the last 2-3 months.

Our initial focus is to gain a good understanding of the problems faced by Elders in Bangalore and other cities in India. To that end, we have been inviting visiting elders - parents and relatives of friends and family - to join us at our meetings. They share their thoughts and ideas when we get together. To us, this is like "primary market research". Over time, we are seeing common themes emerge.

Over the next 2-3 months, we will (1) conclude these 'intake' meetings; and (2) start formulating possibilities.

If you are interested in any of this stuff, please let me know. Love to get more people involved. Afterall, we will all find ourselves in the mold of 'elders' sooner or later!

White Tiger - by Aravind Adiga - My take on it....

2009-05-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

I am sure that you have figured out by now that I enjoy reading :-) Books (and music) play a central role in my life. They always have. I hope that they always will....

In early April, I kept hearing about Arvind Adiga and his debut book - White Tiger. It is a masterfully written novel - written as a series of autobiographical letters from a "nobody Indian" from a lower stratum of society to the Premier of China.

What was chilling for me was the insight into the mind of that character - at once human, gullible, foxy, manipulative, and cruel beyond comprehension. There were some unnatural parallels between the story and events in our recent past - with the murder of my parents, the location of the murder (India) and the theory that the daily hired-help had had a hand in the murders.

Net-net, a fast, entirely plausible and provocative read. I recommend it!

God Bless....Ashwin

Global CIO Summit, Ram Charan, Keynote

2009-05-23T12:33:00.001-07:00

In late April, I was invited by Evanta, an organization of CIOs for CIOs, to serve as the closing Keynote at the Global CIO Summit. It is always an honor to be invited to Keynote anything, and an especial honor, when it is to address one's peers at the highest level.

The event was held at the Phoenician, a resort located in Scottsdale, AZ. About 100 CIOs were assembled from all over the world. As a part of the Rockwell Senior Exec team, I had had the pleasure of staying at the Phoenician about 10 years ago. A year back, Evanta had invited Deepa and me to be at the same event, when I released a pre-pub edition of my book to that assemblage.

This year's other Keynote was Ram Charan. He is a "character", in that, he is literally on the move all theh time. (I understand that he never stays in one location for more than a couple of days. True to legend, he arrived at 4 PM and departed at 9 PM!)

But while we had Ram amidst us, he took the team thru a brilliant analysis of the Economy - what happened, where are we now, and what is the outlook. Ram's analysis was inclusive and incisive. He took a global POV and drilled-down into the minutiae that caused the fracture, literally one hairline-crack at a time. And then, laid out the structural changes that are already on their way or are still required to fix the problem, both here-and-now and for good.

Net-net, Ram's view was that the situation - while unprecedented - is not hopelessly broken. In fact, he sounded cautiously optimistic.

My Keynote focused on what CIOs should do "tomorrow". As you may recall, the title of my book is "Tomorrow's CIO". So....I am hyperlinking to a short clip of my Keynote below:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid24036492001

If you are interested in a full copy of my presentation, please let me know. I can be reached at thecio@hotmail.com.

God Bless....Ashwin

Passionate synthesis - Music and PRATHAM

2009-05-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Several friends and I in Saratoga are singers and stage-artists. We have been getting together to sing and entertain one another frequently over the years.

Concurrently, over the years, Deepa and I have been patrons of PRATHAM, an organization that is focused on providing primary education to the poorest-of-the-poor children who live in the slums of India.

We recently started to brain-strom how to bring these two vectors together.

Net-net, we are now planning a full-fledged "Evening of Entertainment" for PRATHAM's benefit. We are slating this for late August/early September, final date TBD based on the availability of an auditorium that can accommodate 400 to 500 people. Our goal is to raise at least $10K for PRATHAM this year.

Deepa and I are splitting the tasks for this undertaking along 2 lines:

Deepa - Will play point on the Admin front, liaising with the PRATHAM team as needed
and I - Will play point on the Creative front, liaising with fellow-performers

Once again, if you are interested in helping with this event in any way - from buying tickets to volunteering for PRATHAM to helping us on the day of the event to.... - please let me know.

My email ID is thecio@hotmail.com.

God Bless....Ashwin

Books that changed the World

2009-05-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

My "escape" continued thru April into the anthology of books that changed the world - by changing the way Man thinks of himself, his environment and the unique position that he enjoys in his environment.

My journey thru those 36 books was at once, exhilerating and exhausting. Like doing "the Pipe". Net-net, I am thrilled that Deepa and Taara gifted me the compilation. My own perspectives in many regards have been re-affirmed. And in others, I have developed a new sense of "how things fit".

Ask me for details if you are interested.

God Bless....Ashwin

Finally! My book sees the light of day....

2009-03-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

I recently authored a book. It is entitled "Tomorrow's CIO: Strategic Conversations that align IT with the Boardroom". I was pleased to get excellent pre-pub reviews. And now, the book is published. It is being offered EXCLUSIVELY by Atlas Books on-line (for 4 months - until July, when Amazon, B&N and Borders will carry it!).

I am writing to let you know that Atlas Books is offering it for $20 + S&H for a limited time - just for Friends and Family.

The link is: http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/02569.htm. Please click on this link. To place an order, to the right of the "splash page", you will see a "To Order" button. Please click on that. When you place the order, please remember to enter the coupon code "Just4Me". That will pull-in the bundle-price. Don't be alarmed when the last page displays $30 and change.

Evidently there is a secret behind first-time authoring. My successful author friends told me that they created buzz for their books by requesting each of their friends to recommend the book to 5 of "their friends". So could you please recommend my book to 5 others? This book would be appealing and useful to anyone in the IT field. I would appreciate your recommendation very much!!!

(First-time authors are like fruit-flies to publishers. So much so that publishers will barely give them time of day :-( That said, when once a new author proves that he can not only write but that his books sell, I am told that they are all over the author like fruit-flies!!).

Thanks, y'all. I look forward to your feedback after you read my book. God Bless....Ashwin

Books of distinction

2009-03-21T18:42:00.001-07:00

My kids and wife recently bought me a wonderful gift. It is an audio compilation of books that have changed lives....made history....that can shape your life, just as many of them have shaped mine. I am up to Lecture 24....and love the series enough that I look forward to driving nowadays!

Over the years, as my readings have meandered, Deepa has witnessed me getting impressed by a few authors. Only a few. Most authors leave me with a feeling that they write because they have to say something, rather than because they have something to say....(Sorry, Scott Fitz).

The selection that has been reviewed until date is just stupendous. I am so blessed to have had an opportunity to read so many of these books. The subject matter in each of these books is noble and thought-provoking. The language is divine (though dull, in some passages). But it reaches across the ages and grabs you by the throat. Just love it! For the record, the first 23 Lectures have been:

Plutarch - Lives
Homer - Iliad
Marcus Aurelius - Meditations
The Bhagavad Gita
Book of Exodus
Gospel of Mark
The Koran
Gilgamesh
Beowulf
Book of Job
Aeschylus - Oresteia
Euripides - Baccahe
Plato - Phaedo
Dante - The Divine Comedy
Shakespeare - Othello
Aeschylus - Prometheus Bound
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - The Gulag Archipelago
Shakespeare - Julius Caesar
Virgil - Aenid
George Orwell - 1984
Pericles - Orations
Lincoln - The Gettysburg Address
Erich Maria Remarque - All Quiet on the Western Front

God grant that such ambrosial learnings continually suffuse all our lives....Forever!

If you are like me, you will love these recommendations....

My book has been published!!!!

2009-03-17T22:05:00.001-07:00

Dear friends and family -

I am writing to let you know that Atlas Books has created a $20 bundle (All-in price - Book + S&H) for a limited time - just for Friends and Family.

The link is: http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/02569.htm. Please click on this link. To place an order, to the right of the "splash page", you will see a "To Order" button. Please click on that. When you place the order, please remember to enter the coupon code "Just4Me". That will pull-in the bundle-price. Don't be alarmed when the last page displays $30 and change. You will be charged only $20. I checked!

Evidently there is a secret behind first-time authoring. My successful author friends told me that they created buzz for their books by requesting each of their friends to recommend the book to 5 of "their friends". So could you please recommend my book to 5 others? This book would be appealing and useful to anyone in the IT field. I would appreciate your recommendation very much!!!

(First-time authors are like fruit-flies to publishers. So much so that publishers will barely give them time of day :-( That said, when once a new author proves that he can not only write but that his books sell, they are all over the author like a cheap-suit!!).

Thanks, y'all. I look forward to your feedback after you read my book. God Bless....Ashwin

This was JUST incredible....from Bangalore

2009-02-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

As you know, my parents - Smt Vasantha and Sri ASV Rangan – were murdered in Jayanagar, Bangalore on the 10th of January, 2009; that is, over 45 days ago. The Bangalore Police still have no clues as to the motive for the crime; or leads to possible suspects. In the early days, we were assured by the police rank-and-file - all the way up and down the hierarchy - that this "case will be cracked in 3 to 4 days". And here we are - 45+ days later and counting!

Against this backdrop, it was disheartening to read the following news item in a recent edition of The Times of India, Bangalore Edition:

BANGALORE: The recent spate of murders in the past fortnight in Bangalore may have sent shock waves across city, but it appears to have not disconcerted home minister V S Acharya. Acharya, in reply to charges made by the opposition, said the spate of murders in Bangalore is either "incidental or accidental". He said most murders happened due to personal rivalry or domestic violence and not because the police failed to take preventive measures. "How do you expect the police to keep an eye on each home and their internal conflicts?" he asked. Shocked by his remarks, opposition members staged a walkout.

Can you believe that?!

SIPA Conference in Silicon Valley

2009-02-28T13:45:00.001-08:00

Some of you may know that I served as President of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) SoCal Chapter in 2004. The following year, our family moved north - to be in the Bay Area.

Soon thereafter, I accepted an opportunity to serve on the Advisory Board of SIPA. SIPA is short for Silicon Valley Indian Professionals Association. I liked the team - their youth, spirit and 'can-do' attitude.

Late last year, I was requested to moderate a panel at the annual SIPA Conference. Just prior to that, I was video-interviewed for my thoughts and advice in light of the current economy - a topic that has recurred ever since. I will have a few more posts in that regard.

Here is the link to that interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR2Q-1cY7dU

Stay tuned....

A book by my namesake - The Rozabal Line

2009-02-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

On my way back from Bangalore, I picked up a fascinating book at the airport. A page-turner. Entitled "The Rozabal Line" by Ashwin Sanghvi.

Think Da Vinci Code meets Vedanta philosophy. The book is about 275 pages long in an easy-to-read typeset and book-size. It moves fast and is gripping until about the 200-page mark. Thereafter, the author is somewhat at a loss to close the book with a 'bang'. He has chosen, instead, to end it with a whimper. But....since he gripped you by the #$%^& initially, you find yourself reading thru the last 75 pages, just to see how it all ends.

All in all, a 7 out of 10. Good read!

From India - Writing about my parents

2009-02-13T15:34:00.001-08:00

Dateline: BANGALORE INDIA - January 2009

These last few days have been unlike any that I have ever known. It is difficult to think of the demise of anyone we know, leave alone the sudden and abrupt departure of both parents at once under tragic circumstances.

My parents, fondly known to the family as Taata and Paati (TnP), lived in 384 (our house number; and often the term of reference to our home) since 1976. We moved there when my grand-parents were still alive. My sisters, Usha and Uma, were not yet married. And I was in Grade 12.

At that time, my brother Prasad was long-since married. He was out and about. Lakshman - my more-than-brother-from-another-mother - had long since spread his wings and flown.

My sisters were married in 1978 and 79. My Grandpa died in 1980 and my Grandma in 1981. I was doing my Engineering at this time. In 1982, I moved to Bombay to do my Masters. So, in a few short years, my parents became the sole residents of 384. At the time, Dad was 55 and Mon was 50.

For the next several years, Dad continued to work. In 1987, Deepa and I were married - a major event in the family, since I was the last one in the brood to do so. For the first time, 20 years back, Dad thought of selling 384 and moving to an apartment.

Since then, the topic of selling 384 and moving has been a favorite topic of discussion with Dad. Dad finally retired in 1990 - at the age of 63. After retirement, Dad and Mom discussed the topic with all of us frequently. Concurrently, each of us - their children - had kids of our own. The extended family was growing. And the location around 384 began to be coveted as a commercial center. Daily conveniences for my parents were literally a stones throw away from 384. A dis-incentive to move, if ever there was one.

Our expanding family would gather in 384 often. My Dad was the ruling Patriarch. He loved to preside over the daily affairs at home from his "throne". And my Mom loved to socialize and be busy in the kitchen - constantly and lovingly feeding the welcome, but typically ravenous, hordes.

And literally within 2 minutes of walking from 384, everything my parents needed on a day to day basis was available. So there was no compelling reason to move out of the house.

Amidst this, my Mom's deteriorating health was an ongoing issue. She developed several semi-serious and chronic conditions. A weak digestion, diabetes, heart problems - to name a few. She was in and out of hospitals constantly.

Starting in 2000, her condition started to deteriorate more quickly. She was in hospitals more often, with more serious symptoms. Dad was 73 and Mom was 68 when this stage started. We - the kids - started to feel that they should move out of 384, preferably in with one of us, so that they had instant support in case of emergencies.

But why? And with whom? And when?

My parents were fiercely independent. They felt they should take care of their needs day to day. In emergencies, they reached out for help from my sister Usha and her husband Shekar. Or Uma would come over once or twice a week. She would get to 384 by 10 AM and leave by 4 PM, helping Mom with anything and everything. Or Lakshman, my more-than-brother. Or to SGR, my Dad's brother-in-law.

And concurrently, more and more retail establishments were getting set up around 384. The main road on which the house sat was zoned "commercial". As such, their daily needs were literally met at the door-step. And the value of 384 was sky-rocketing during this time.

From my parents POV, delaying came with NO down-side. In other words - except when there was a medical emergency - there was a strong practical, not to mention financial, incentive to stay in 384. But...the locality was now polluted - more noise, dust, pollution etc. Lots of strangers, a disappearing feeling of neighborhood, reduced familiarity with passers-by etc.

In the last 3 years, my Mom was in a medical care facility over 15 times! Bear in mind that my Dad was almost 80 three years back. Clearly, the situation could not persist too much longer. But...Prasad was in Ethiopia on an assignment. And I was in the US.

My Mom was hospitalized in Feb of 2007. She was in a coma. Prasad traveled to Bangalore from Ethiopia. I did the same from the US. We discissed what to do next as a family. We all agreed that it was time for my parents to move in with Prasad in Mysore. However, miraculously, my Mom recovered and moved home in a week's time! And she insisted that we should all go back and do whatever we were. Not to worry about her; and that she was alright!

Prasad and I returned, respectively, to Ethiopia and the US.

In July of 2008, Mom and Dad requested Prasad and me to come over to Bangalore. We did. They said that they were (finally) ready to move to Mysore. So in August, we informed people that TnP would sell 384.

There was an attractive offer that was mutually acceptable. Prasad and I met with the interested buyer. He asked for time to gather money to complete the purchase. And then, the markets crashed globally :-( Net-net, the transaction did not go thru.

My parents wanted to sell 384 before they moved to Mysore. So they stayed put in Bangalore.

December came. The markets had not improved. Money-supply in the market was (and still is) tight. No new buyers were forthcoming. And from Dec 15 to Jan 14 is considered a time wben real estate transactions are not made in South India.

So my parents put off all thoughts of moving etc until Jan 16 2009. Prasad was scheduled to visit 384 on the 16th of January to resume planning their move to Mysore.

On the morning of the 9th (Friday), one of my nephews stopped in at 384 at about 8 AM. He spoke with my Mom. He is the last family member to have seen her alive. At 10 45 on the same Friday, the owner of a Druggist store - Rajashekar - across the street saw my Mom with an unidentified lady at the front-door/gate. He is the last person to have seen her alive.

Between 10 45 and 11 45 on Friday, some intruder has entered the house thru the garage and the back door.

The mystery lady seen with Mom at 10 45 is most likely a maid-servant. She had started on Monday the 5th. And was reportedly absent on the 6th, 7th and 8th.

When my parents' bodies were discovered on the Friday, the 10th, it was also discovered that clothes had been washed and hung-out to dry. Dishes had been done. And a mop and broom were found abandoned at the doorway to one of the bedrooms...

The garage door and the rear door were open - the route usually taken by the maid into the house.

On Friday the 9th, at 11 45 AM, a lady who delivered food to my parents evidently came home as usual; with a tiffin-carrier of food. She has rung the door-bell and called-out several times. With no reply from within. She has waited around for 10 minutes, thinking that my parents may have gone to the market or to see the family Doctor just across the street. At the end of 10 minutes, she has departed....(and all of this can be corroborated).

My Mom's body was discovered in the kitchen; and my Dad's, in the front room. This was on Saturday, the 10th at roughly 9 AM.

Evidently, my one of my nieces had called 384 on Friday the 9th evening. Multiple times. But she assumed that the land-line was screwed-up, as it sometimes did. She did not bother trying my parents on their cell phones. They rarely kept their cell phones ON.

She tried them again on the morning of Saturday the 10th. When she could still not get an answer, she evidently called my sister Usha - who in turn tried to my parents. When no one would pick up, Usha called her hubby Shekar. He called the Drug Store owner, Rajashekar, from across the street and requested him to peep in. A few minutes later, Shekar drove over. Rajashekar and Shekar entered via the garage / back door. The front door was closed and on auto-latch. When they peeped-in, they saw the ghastly sight. Shekar called Lakshman - who arrived a few minutes later with Kindu.

And so began the ghastly saga....

Getting started with 2009

2009-01-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

So....it's time to set-aside 2008 and move on! There's a hint of optimism in the air. I know that the world's eagerly looking to Obama to make a difference early on. That said, the mess we are in was created over more than a decade. It will take "intestinal fortitude" and some reasonable amount of time to get out of this mess.

Like many others, I am sure, I have resolved in 2009 to keep my Blog clean, current and well-composed.

I intend to use my Blog this year to chronicle my readings, besides the usual professional and personal updates.

I picked up OUTLIERS by Malcolm Gladwell (of the BLINK fame). It is a page-turner. I am already 100+ pages thru it. Great read....in the same vein as Freakonomics. I would recommend this without question (so far, anyway :-)).