Get to know – Ashish Bharti

zoom

Ashish Bharti, VP of PC and Components Division, Redington Gulf.

Redington Gulf is the largest IT distributor in the Middle East so it is important to recognise some of the key faces shaping its business. One such figure is Ashish Bharti, boss of its PC and components division...

What's your career history in the industry to date?

I did my MBA in Business Administration in Delhi, my specialisation was marketing. I started working with Jumbo Electronics in 1997 for about three years and started the consumer electronics team. Then in 2000 I joined a start-up firm for 18 months, but unfortunately the owner met with an accident. I started at Redington in 2002 and then left them in 2007 to join Dell as the consumer channel manager. | worked there for a year and then rejoined Redington.

What is the best deal you have ever closed?

Operationally, it would have to be Alghanim in Kuwait, which was an account that we desperately wanted at Redington. It took us about six months to crack.

How would you describe your management style?

Collaborative and consultative. The challenge in management is in being hands-on enough to know the on-the-ground realities and yet provide the necessary freedom and decision-making power to each team member. I always encourage staff to look at the big-picture and not get too bogged down by daily operational matters.

What do you enjoy most about working in the Middle East IT market?

It is extremely dynamic. I'm in the right job, at the right time. I came from a consumer electronics background which was maturing in the 90s and IT kick-started around 2002, so it's been a phenomenal market to be in.

How do you relax outside of the work environment?

I have got a daughter who is about four years-old and, to be perfectly honest, she is really the one that relaxes me the most. I am also into sports a little bit so over the weekend and on the holidays I really like to catch up with the cricket. I also find it very relaxing to read, and the type of books that I enjoy the most are books on historical subjects. I am also a real outdoor person so whenever possible I like to catch up with friends over a game of tennis or cricket.

What do you dislike most about working in the Middle East IT market?

I don't really dislike anything in particular about working in this market. But the only part where I would probably want to see it a little bit more structured is in terms of the credit rules and the recovery of cash.

Which individual in the IT industry do you most admire?

I will have to name two here. One is a direct influence, Mathew Thomas, who is actually at Dell Middle East now. And the other one would have to be Raj Shankar, who is the current boss at Redington Gulf.

What is the most valuable lesson that you have learnt from your time in the industry?

Actually there are two very important and valuable business lessons that I have learnt during my time in the IT channel. These are to communicate clearly and to always honour commitments. Both of these aspects help in the forging of long-standing business relations in the market. The Middle East IT community is a fairly small one and I have personally crossed paths with the same people, at different times, in different assignments, so those are important.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM