Working with a Kenyan Asian CEO in Africa

 I first met Mr.Bharat Thakrar [BT] at the JWT Marriot in Juhu ,Mumbai in 2004 on a hot May Afternoon. The meeting was organized courtesy a former colleague of mine who had joined BT in March 2004. I was told to come with my Resume. I had a very basic resume with me as i was not really in the hunt for a job as I was happy with my organization that I was representing. I met BT ,my former colleague and one more person for whom they were looking for a replacement. 

BT asked me whether I was familiar with Modern Trade activation and Experiantial Marketing. I was candid enough to tell him that i was a Rural marketing person and did not much about the subjects that he asked me. However i told him that i can quickly learn what is needed and deliver on the parameters. I told him that delivering in Rural India was one of the biggest challenges and that i had successfully managed to make a name for myself despite competition from well established names in the industry. As i left the hotel room, i knew that i had managed only 45% . I told my wife on returning home that at least i got an exposure to speaking to a CEO of a company outside India. 

Next day in the afternoon, i got a call from my friend that BT wants to meet me for a 2nd round discussion. He also said that i should be very clear about my financial package. I was asked to meet BT on Sunday at the hotel. I told my wife ,let us go and have lunch at JWT. For some strange reason I decided that i will wear a Kurta Pyjama and meet BT. We reached the hotel a bit early and post roaming around had the buffet in the restaurant. BT had gone for shopping and was a bit late in returning. That gave  enough time for me & my wife to discuss pros and cons of the interview. It was for the 1st time that i became serious about getting the job.  BT was surprised to see me in Kurta Pyjama. I told him that being a sunday and being continuously on tour, it was my way of relaxing. I introduced my wife to him. Post that me and BT had a one on one meeting ,where BT explained the company structure to me and if selected where i will fit in. I kept pinching myself to ensure that it was all reality. Towards the end he asked me how quickly i can join and my expectations. I told him that i will require 3-4 days to revert as it was the first time that i would be taking up an assignment outside India.  i also informed him that the earliest i would be joining would be end august as i had to give 2 months notice period. 

BT told me that once i confirm my financial expectations to him, he will revert back with final offer.

As i left the hotel with my wife, the conversation in the car was should I accept the offer? New country, that too in Africa etc etc. We reached home and i called up my parents to tell them about the fast paced developments of last 72 hours. They thought i was joking. However my father on a serious note told me that if you want to take risk and grow in life, take it up. Worst case scenario ,you will fail but at least you will not regret the exposure. He then said he will speak to some of his friends in his previous company with experience in overseas market on pay scales . Next day he sent me a detailed working of my current salary vs what i should be asking. he had taken into account factors which i never would have thought about. 

I shared the same with my friend who asked me to revise it 20% upwards with no scope for any negos.

I sent my expectations to BT with the Aug end timeline. There was a complete silence for next 20 days. I thought the offer had gone out of my hand. On 12th June,i got a call from BT saying that he is okay with what i am asking but on one condition that i join ASAP. i told him not before August end. We then negotiated for a Aug 15th joining. I asked him to send me a formal letter for me to put in my papers.

The West Gate Mall attack on 21st Sep 2013

West Gate Mall was one of the upmarket malls of Nairobi situated at Westland. The Mall was opened in 2008. The Mall had some of the leading brands having their outlets there . The Mall also had a Cine complex which was a big draw for the Asian audience to watch the latest Bollywood movies. The main attraction however was the Nakumatt Supermarket Outlet and the food court with good Indian food on offer. 

My Saturday routine used to be visiting the SSD temple at 10am in the morning with my wife and kid and then get dropped at the Mall for my 4 year old son Sai to play in the kids play zone. The driver used to come back to pick us by 12.30pm. With my son in the play zone, i used to visit the brand promotions area in the mall to check out promotions being done by my division or competition.

On 21st September 2013, we left out house as per our routine and visited the temple. Post the visit as i was getting into my car , I realised that I had forgotten my Mobile at home. I was in half mind whether to go home or ask my wife to send the mobile through the driver. I told the driver to drive to the mall. Just as we were approaching the Mall, I told the driver to drive us home first. I told my wife that I will visit the mall in the 2nd half along with her as she was to attend a cooking competition to cheer some friends of hers. We reached home and as we entered the flat, our house help, Josephine picked up my son Sai and started crying. We did not understand why she was crying. She then told my wife to switch on the TV and came and gave me my mobile. I saw 25 missed calls and some 15 text messages. Most of the calls were from my Indian friends and office colleagues. Before calling them back, I went through some of the messages . Every message was -Srini, hope you are not in West gate, if yes, just get out.

By that time my wife had switched on the TV and we were shocked to see the images on the screen. 4 Islamic terrorist had entered the mall and were firing indiscriminately. There was a stampede in the mall.  People were trying to hide in all possible corners to escape the bullets. People inside Nakumatt had taken refuge inside the storeroom area and behind the giant deep freezers. One of the leading banks which had a branch in the mall had immediately pulled down their shutters. It took some 15 mins for me to realise the importance of number of missed calls and text messages. 

I then got a call from a colleague who first asked me whether I was at home or in West Gate. When I said Home, he first thanked the almighty and then royally abused me for not returning his missed call.

While I was telling him the reason for returning home, we saw images of the gunmen entering the food court area and firing at people who had gathered for the cooking competition. I just looked at my wife who was in a state of shock. Imagine we were to going there to cheer her friends. In our 9 years in Kenya, we had never encountered any bad experience like car jacking ,theft etc. This mall attack was a complete shock for us. West Gate was more than a mall for us. It was our 2nd home. We were regular visitors to the mall and with arrival of our son in 2009, we used to be in the mall daily to show him the lighting in the mall. 

By afternoon it was mostly bad news pouring in from the mall. The terrorist had started isolating Muslims and non Muslims . They had started killing the non Muslims. The worst were the people who had gathered for the cooking competition. 2 of my wife friends were shot through their head. A leading RJ of an Asian Radio station got hit in her leg.

The state of shock that self and wife were in , we could not even have our lunch. We asked the House help to give lunch to our son and keep him away from the TV room. In the afternoon, my son started to pester us to take him to Westgate for his weekend games quota. 

Westgate was approx 1.5 kms from my house. In the night time we could hear gun shots. The entire area was cordoned off. The SSD temple which was 1 km from Westgate was asked to close.

We were virtually under unofficial curfew. By 7pm, we heard helicopters moving towards the mall. The airpath was right above our flat. The helicopters were flying at low levels causing lot of noise and irritation. Through the night we could only hear gun shots and helicopter hovering in our area. This continued for 3 nights. There were rumours of some terrorist having escaped and wandering in the city.  

During our 9 years stay in Kenya , we were witness to post poll Violence in 2007. It was bad as the city was burning but a terrorist attack next to our house was worse. The terrorist attack in Westgate became a turning point of our long stay in Kenya . I had been contemplating leaving the country at the end of my work permit in March 2014. Preponed my decision and put in my papers with the organization I was working and left Nairobi on 2nd Dec 2013.

We have plans of visiting Kenya once this Covid scare is over and plan to show our son Sai, the city that he spent his initial years and of course take him to our 2nd home, Westgate which has now reopened.