Journey of two decades

12th August 2024

Like millions of others, my daily routine starts with checking my emails on my mobile phone first thing in the morning. On this day, saw this email from our HR team with the subject: "Happy work anniversary" accompanied with this card.

Flashback to 10th July 2004

Gurgaon, as it was known then, used to be like any other tier-2 city in India. A colleague of mine in my previous organization had joined Nagarro few months back. I had just completed about 4 years at my last organization and like almost all the engineers in that experience bracket, was itching to try out something different. This ex-colleague said, "Why don't you join Nagarro?". I was fairly dismissive of the idea since it meant working in Gurgaon as opposed to being closer to my home in Delhi. Nonetheless, he convinced me to come over for an interview on this day to their office in Udyog Vihar, Gurgaon. Those were the days when we didn't have the luxury of Google Maps and people used to rely on each other to get the directions to reach their destinations. After managing to reach with some hits & trials and a grueling day of interviews with Deepak Gupta , Manmohan Gupta and Vikram Sehgal , I had the offer letter from Nagarro in the evening.

12th August 2004

While changing jobs, getting a job offer is not the hardest part. Deciding to take the plunge is. I had the classic dilemma - moving from a product-based organization to services-based consulting organization - should I or should I not? With thoughts of "Que sera, sera", I started my journey at Nagarro.

Present Day

Fast forward 20 years, I don't think there was ever a day when I ever repented on the decision that I made. The journey with Nagarro has been nothing short of phenomenal. Consider these:

• I have had the great fortune of getting the opportunity to play diverse roles. Be it the role of Technology Lead, Technology Architect, Technical Manager, Project Manager, Program Manager, Delivery Manager or Global Business Unit Head, I have thoroughly enjoyed playing each of these roles.
• We were about 100-120 colleagues, mostly within Gurgaon apart from couple of senior folks in US back then. Nagarro is now more than 18,000 strong, present in 36 countries stretching from US, Mexico, UK, Norway, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Romania, Poland, Turkey, UAE, India, Sri Lanka, China, Philippines, Singapore and so on. Listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Nagarro is poised to be a billion-euro company by the end of this year.
• I have made some really good friends in this journey - for life. I can't even think of tagging them here, LinkedIn would probably reach its limits :)
• Got a chance to work with some of the best clients who are leaders of their respective industries.
• Built Nagarro's business verticals in gaming, media and business information services industries.
• And I had the good fortune of meeting my better half, Neeru Walia at Nagarro as well.

What stands out at Nagarro is its culture. Friendly, collaborative, entrepreneurial and caring. And this is led by Manas Human who is fiercely protective of the culture, thus ensuring that while we grow to be a billion-euro company & beyond, we stay the same culturally.

A lot has changed in last two decades. Heck, the name of the city has changed from Gurgaon to Gurugram! But what hasn't changed is my belief in Nagarro's capabilities and its bright future. Marching on!