Career planning - Valenco case study #14 - Naresh - Continue in the USA or back to India

A good writer, Naresh scored very high marks in composition and essay writing during his school years.

He became the editor of the school magazine, did well in the high school exams, and got accepted into one of the top colleges in India.

Foundation in the media industry

Coming out of college, he was recruited by an advertising agency to win business with new and emerging industries. He identified online and organized retail as sunrise sectors and in the next few years became a top 5 revenue producer for his employer.

Naresh was promoted twice, was a regular recipient of the annual sales awards, and made two trips outside the country with his newlywed bride.

Migrating to tech

Content streaming was the growth industry of the new century.

A large Indian media house was building a streaming platform and recruiting for it.

Naresh signed up as a business architect for the advertising engine.

He took to the content streaming technologies like a duck to water. Drawing on his experience in the advertising industry, he led multiple successful releases of the online advertising module.

Filed for, and was awarded two patents.

Leadership

Soon thereafter Naresh took on a new challenge. A VC was investing in a streaming media venture and seeking a CTO to oversee the platform development and technology alliances.

For the next few years, the office was home for Naresh as he immersed in getting the platform up and running.

His family saw him on occasional weekends.

The launch was successful, and within a year the firm was purchased by one of the largest broadcasting companies in the country.

Naresh cashed out his stock options, moved on, and took a break from work.

He purchased a new home and the family spent three weeks of the school vacation on the Euro Rail, travelling through central Europe.

New shores

A leading technology services company had partnered with the startup where Naresh was the CTO.

They reached out, and Naresh spent the next year enhancing their media sector practice, identifying technology offerings and partnerships, and building a team which could propose, architect and lead solution development.

He found himself spending weeks in a month meeting with clients, especially in the USA.

One thing led to another and within a year Naresh relocated to a suburb near the media hub of New York.

His family loves the clean air, open spaces and absence of Bangalore traffic gridlock. The two children have settled into middle school and the older one will be going into high school next year.

Both Naresh and his wife miss their parents though and the frequency with which they could visit them or have them come over to Bangalore.

He has retained the house in Bangalore and leased it to his employer.

Bumps

In the recent two years, technology spend in the media sector has grown at a slow pace. Companies are looking to monetize the significant investments already made in their content platforms.

Naresh’s assessment is that the headwinds will continue at least for some quarters.

As the business leader for this sector, he is under significant pressure to deliver growth.

Only four years into the company, he does not have a long track record or deep relationships with the top leadership. He has already started to get signals that his place in the firm is at risk.

Future path?

Starting to explore alternatives, he has reached out to his network.

i.            Two small tech services companies are speaking with Naresh to help them build a practice and go to market engine for the media sector. He will engage as an advisor with the option of a full-time position if the business scales.

ii.            There are many startups in the metro New York and Silicon Valley regions building niche solutions in content delivery. New to the country, Naresh does not have a direct connect with these companies but is applying through job portals for a CTO position.

iii.            Having worked the recent years in a go to market role, Naresh is also thinking of pitching for client partner positions in the media sector with one of the larger IT services companies.

iv.            The founder of the startup he was part of is building a new AI enabled content delivery platform from Bangalore. With the success they had together, he is open to the idea of Naresh leading the platform development should he want to move back to India.

v.            A top advertising and media company in India is looking for a general manager in their business development function. Naresh knows one of the leaders there who is open to putting in a strong reference.

Your advice

Naresh reached out to you through a friend to ask if you can suggest any roles.

During the conversation, he also brought up the options which he was considering and asked for your advice.

What path should he should pursue?

i.            Work with the two small services companies till one has scale to bring him on full time.

ii.            Keep applying for a CTO role with a US based content/streaming startup

iii.            Aim for a media sector client partner role with one of the large IT services companies

iv.            Move to Bangalore and lead the platform development for the content delivery platform

v.            Move to India as a GM for the media and advertising firm

To make your recommendation, Click here