Debasish Mahapatro – CEO, Verve Consulting and MD at Eastbrook Landholdings, is an IIM Calcutta alumnus. He is also a Gurukul alumnus of the London school of Economics and Political Science. With a career spanning over 21 years, he has worked in govt. reforms, climate change, infrastructure development and technology transfers along with incubation services for start ups. He has been involved in a number of PPP projects of the Government of Odisha.
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Excerpts of his conversation with Sandeep Pattnaik and Tirtharupa Das of Ashapradeepnews on the sidelines of STRATONOMICS- the Consulting and Strategy Conclave of XIMB.
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1. You are one of the esteemed speakers at the XIMB annual conclave STRATONOMICS. What this conclave signifies?
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A. The main theme of the conclave was ‘Digitisation of value chain and Industry 4.0’. A paradigm shift in technology and metamorphosis of conventional methods has taken place over the years in respect to IT and Telecom. The latest E-Commerce boom, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence are the real examples. The conclave hosted by XIMB aims to add value to or enrich student’s knowledge.
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2. Please give us some brief about the strategic areas Verve Consulting is operating in. How it is working with the Govt. of Odisha?
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A. We are working in the area of Climate change, Infrastructure and Natural resource advisory services. We are into management consulting and advising on Govt. policies. We are the first company working with Odisha Government on carbon trading in respect to climate change. We are also among the top 5 companies in India in Carbon Trading field. We are also providing advisory services with respect to reforms in power sector especially in case of Public Sector Enterprises [PSEs]. In infrastructure, we are into development of real estate convention centres and social infrastructures. In natural resources we are providing advisory services in Forestry & Mining sector.
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3. How do you think the aspiring management professionals fit into your domain of expertise? What is your advice for them?
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A. Our team comprises of mostly Engineering / MBA professionals in different verticals like Marketing, Sales, and Business Procurement etc. Management grads should have curiosity to explore new ideas and knowledge, desire to listen and learn from successful case studies elsewhere.
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4. Being an entrepreneur, what is your view about start-ups in India? What are the challenges?
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A. India has seen many handholding start ups, incubation centres coming up. What we need the right talent to nurture innovative business ideas. There are few challenges like business feasibility, proper market, availability of resources and last but not the least the business environment to support. In the context of Odisha, I can say that, unlike Gujarat, Bombay (Maharashtra), the State has yet to offer a suitable climate for entrepreneurs in start ups. Last couple of years were the most difficult phases for the State economy due to Mining Scam et al. However, silver lining remains for aspiring entrepreneurs as new business prospects with proactive policies both at the Centre and State level continues to emerge.
