Aniket is a Manager at Konsert Strategy & IP, the IP consulting firm originally founded in Sweden and now part of Rouse. He has both business and technical expertise and works with global organisations on the development and implementation of their IP and technology strategies.
No matter how you measure it, the global impact of the Indian diaspora is extraordinary. Indians, or people of Indian origin, run some of the largest companies on the planet and hold leading positions in the governments of the world’s most powerful countries. Why this should be so has been the subject of much debate and discussion. The reasons given are many and complex, but almost everyone agrees that among the most important are linguistic, cultural and educational elements; in particular, the educational emphasis that is given to the STEM fields i.e. Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. So, in many ways Aniket is a perfect example of the successful Indian expat. Each of these factors has played an important role in getting him to where he is today.
He grew up in Mumbai with professional parents and an older sister: his mother taught Chemistry in a junior college and his father was an Electrical Engineer. They were both very conscious of the importance of academic rigour and encouraged their children to constantly strive to do well in school. They knew that this would give them the best chance of a good university education and, following that, access to a professional international career. This has stood Aniket and his sister in good stead. Both did degrees in Mumbai, went on to do post-graduate degrees in America, and are now working in the UK, Aniket with Konsert in London, and his sister as a research scientist with a biotechnology company in Oxford.
The importance of education, and the need to do well, was an essential part of the culture in which Aniket grew up. He knew that his future depended on good academic grades and his approach to education was disciplined from the outset. That was the way he was brought up. That is not to say it was all work – there was , for example, always time for cricket after school and Aniket was a very keen cricketer. Like most of his school friends, he idolised the legendary Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulker, who was then in his prime. Schoolwork was, however, never neglected and Aniket always did well, particularly in scientific subjects. In his case, that was probably due as much to natural inclination and parental influence as it was to the educational emphasis that schools placed on the STEM fields, although that certainly also existed. Given his scientific aptitude and good results, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that he would go on to university to study something technical, which is exactly what he did: he obtained a Bachelor of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Mumbai. He worked hard at university, although cricket was also a big part of his life there. For three years he was opening batsman for the University team and for some time he was also wicketkeeper.
After graduating, he left cricket behind and continued his studies in the United States, obtaining a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, a private research university in Pittsburgh. After that, he worked for two and a half years in California as a software engineer before returning to India, where he worked on an entrepreneurial project to develop a software platform for Indian venture capitalists. By this time, however, although his interest in engineering remained strong, he was becoming increasingly interested in business and strategy, and most of the engineering work he was doing involved only implementation - coding, testing, debugging, and building reliable systems. He decided to leave the engineering profession and focus on his developing interest in business and strategy. With that in mind, he enrolled in an MBA course specialising in strategy at HEC Paris, a prestigious business school located just outside Paris. After obtaining his MBA, he began looking for suitable work and was put in touch with Konsert Strategy & IP. This was the first time he had really thought about IP and, when he saw what Konsert was doing with its clients, he quickly saw that this would be a perfect way to combine his technical expertise and his interest in business and high-level strategy. He initially joined Konsert in Sweden, moving to London when it opened an office there in June this year.
Aniket and his wife Mayuri, who works in HR, are now living in Northwest London and so far enjoying the experience enormously. Aniket enjoys going to football matches on the weekends when he can. He also plays squash regularly. Professional life is obviously busy for both Aniket and Mayuri, but on weekends they enjoy exploring the city and everything it has to offer, from different cuisines and restaurants to all sorts of cultural events. In Sweden, they enjoyed travelling to different European countries and here they are particularly looking forward to exploring the English countryside as well as Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
Aniket, highly qualified professionally, and with extensive international experience, is a natural member, and perfect example, of the successful Indian diaspora.