Time Out

High on Life

From sitting on the floor in his village school to heading the largest diagnostic chain today, the journey of Dr OP Manchanda has been truly inspiring. Here's more on his climb to attain success and his love for adventure sports

It's a story of grit and determination. A story that would motivate many youngsters from humble background to pursue their dream of making it big. Hailing from a small village called Nagina near Gurgaon in Haryana, OP Manchanda (42) had faced many financial hardships in his childhood, as his family migrated from Pakistan to India during partition. His biggest inspiration has been the life and journey of his father, who started out by selling clothes on the roads of Haryana and then went on to have a clothes shop. "He taught me that hard work is the only key to success," he sums up. Though Manchanda was always conscious of his rural roots, he says, his will power to succeed motivated him to get over with any disadvantage. "I worked harder to achieve my goals," says he.

After completing his schooling from the village, it was only for graduation in veterinary sciences from Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar in Haryana that he moved out of his village. But the turning point in his life was when he pursued MBA from the prestigious institute IIM-Ahmedabad. In 1990, Manchanda started his career with Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) as a management trainee. Having worked for HLL for almost a decade, he cherishes memories of being associated with designing an array of innovative products, many of which went on to win awards. "I revel in coming up with out-of-the-box ideas," he opines. One such idea was to design 'white tea', which ruefully never saw the light of the day!

His next stint was with Monsanto, a biotech company, where he was part of a team that successfully launched their first ever biotech product Bt-Cotton as the head of Sales and Marketing. At this stage, he wanted to make a foray in healthcare. "Being a graduate in veterinary science, it made more sense working in healthcare," he reasons. In 2003, he thus joined Ranbaxy as Head - Marketing and later moved as Head-International and Innovation group, Consumer Healthcare Division. Ultimately, in 2005, he left it to join Dr Lal PathLabs Pvt Ltd as the COO. Today, he is the CEO of the company. "From just over 40-crore turnover when I joined, today I am proud to state that the company has a turnover of Rs 100 crore From 10 labs, today we have 30 labs," he beams.

This busy corporate is also focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He maintains the balance by practicing yoga and sweating it out at the gym. He is also particular of taking his annual fortnight-long sabbatical with his family, which consists of his wife Prerna (a montessori trainer) and daughters Umang (15) and Maanasi (9). He likes vacationing in the mountains. He is also high on adventure sports like river rafting and skiing. "Right from my college days, I have been trekking. I was a part of the trekking club in college," he recollects.

As far his hobby goes, he is an avid reader of management books with his favourite authors being Steven Covey, Jack Welsh, Peter M Senge and John Philip Jones. "I enjoy reading them as they teach me how to run an organisation efficiently and manage people effectively. The multitude experiences splashed in these books also help me become a better leader," he avers. As far his taste for music goes, he is into soft romantic numbers of Kishore Kumar.

And what more does he want to achieve in life? It's a simple wish-"I want to be associated with something where I would be able to explore my entrepreneurial skills, something that would allow me to innovate, as innovation and entrepreneurship go hand in hand."

The Mixed Bag

Your best prize in life so far

Between 1996-1999, as the Senior Brand Manager, Innovation I led the designing and launching of a tea-based beverage at HLL. I was ecstatic when the product won Unilever's Global Innovation Award.

Your first day in school

I studied in an Arya Samaj school in the village. We had to sit on the floor as there were no benches and chairs.

Your first ambition

Wanted to be in a profession where I would be allowed to do things which are out-of-the-box, where I could chart out my own path.

Your first day in work

That was with HLL, Bangalore working for Lipton as a management trainee. It was an exciting day as on the first day itself I was given an amount of Rs 1,000 as a stipend.

Your first promotion

When I was confirmed from being a trainee to being a regular at HLL. I was appraised by 12 people over a span of 18 months. Besides hike in the salary, I was also given the status of a manager.

The first time you fired somebody

That was in 2002. While working for Monsanto, I fired a person for financial irregularities. It was not an impulsive decision. We instituted a proper enquiry into the matter. Though there was not any concrete evidence, we had circumstantial evidence against the accused.

The toughest decision you have taken so far

To leave Ranbaxy and join Dr Lal PathLabs Pvt Ltd. Having worked in a large corporate set-up, it was a tough to join an unorganised and a highly fragmented diagnostic sector. Dr Lal Pathlabs was a small but growing organisation which has a heritage and strong brand equity, but was waiting to be scaled up and given a shape of a corporate.I was not sure how it was going to work out. But I always had the perseverance in pursuing a dream. Earlier in my life, I had taken a risk by not joining Institute of Rural Management, Anand and waited and studied for a year to get into IIM. This was after I could not clear IIM in my first attempt.

The best memory of your childhood

While I was learning to ride a cycle. As a 10-year-old, I learnt cycling on an adult bicycle that was much taller than me.

Your happiest moment

Getting in IIM- Ahmedabad. I was on cloud nine. I still remember a friend of mine, who was studying at the institute, wrote about my selection in a blue coloured Inland letter. I still treasure that letter.

Your funniest moment

That was around three years back, when I had gone to China. A Chinese couple, who were trying to learn English, took me to a Chinese tea ceremony so that they could spend some time trying to converse in English with me. The bill for three of us for three cups of tea came to a whopping $ 300 (Rs 15,000). They were shocked and embarrassed as they did not have that amount. All of us chipped in to foot the bill.

Three things that you cannot do without

Family, job that I enjoy and work atmosphere built on trust and respect.

One trait that you would like to change about yourself

I would like to manage my sensitive side a little more tactfully as I feel people (mainly my daughters) take advantage of this trait.

Your first vehicle

That was a Bajaj scooter, which I bought when I started working for HLL. I paid more than Rs 12,000 for it and at that time it seemed to be very expensive to me.

One parental advice that you remember

I remember quite a few. Don't harbour negative thoughts, be nice to people and people would in turn be nice to you. Work hard and persevere to attain your goals.

Rita Dutta