At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring some of the meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community of business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, management students and aspiring entrepreneurs. As part of the endeavour, we invited Visionary Leader – Pramod Kumar Rajput for an interview with us.
First, more about Pramod Kumar Rajput
1) Pramod Kumar Rajput is a seasoned corporate professional with a rich experience of over 39 years in pharmaceutical & Healthcare sales & marketing while working as Sr. Vice President & Vertical Head.
2) He is a thought leader, active panellist, speaker on numerous forums, events, industry meets and seminars.
3) He is on a mission to lead by example and to create a healthier future and create future health leaders.
4) He is known as ‘The Rajput of Cadila’ within the healthcare fraternity
5) He is a mentor, change-maker, key-note speaker & motivational speaker with his talks in various institutions – mentoring both young and seasoned minds.
6) He started just journey as a Medical Representative and has risen to this position within the same organization. He never left learning and simultaneously completed his MBA Marketing & Executive Leadership Development Programme from IIM, Ahmedabad.
Additionally, he has also done 24 certification courses from all leading International Universities across the world like Leeds University, London, University of Michigan, (University of Queens land, Deakin University, CK University) Australia, College of Law, Samsung & Accenture on the various subject including Massachusetts Medical Society & Harvard Medical School USA.
1) He is frequently invited by major Universities and Institutions to help & Guide Young professional starting from NIPER, DNU, Amity, Chitkara, Jamia, Indrasheel, IIML, Poornima, Sree Venkateswara University, Atharwa Institute of Management & many more
2) His video series on Communication & Leadership is being very helpful to many professionals
3) He has a vision and a great passion to give back to society while keep working through various ways to enhance Learning, Unlearning & Relearning during this New Normal which is being filled with happiness & joy as well.
4) He has handled India’s largest knowledge conclave led by Cadila starting from 3 cities in 2013 to take it to 150 cities in India and also in Kathmandu by the year 2019 with an amalgamation of 30,000 eminent Doctors apart from more than 50 International facilities
5) He has been awarded as “Man of Excellence Award” for the Year 2020, by Indian Achiever’s forum for his outstanding Professional Achievement & Contribution in Nation Building
6) He has been recognised as one of the Global Mental Health leaders by World Congress of Mental Health Summit
7) In entire Cadila he has been recognised and awarded as Champion of Champions for the year 2019 and again 2020 as well due to his Vertical’s splendid performance.
8) He has been Chosen as Voice Leader by Voice of Healthcare Group in 2020
9) He has also been invited by various organizations to give his Keynote talk on multiple forums by various topics like Leadership, Talent & Opportunities in new normal and on multiple subjects.
10) He has been called as a guest to have his thought on Creative Society by Allatara TV which was aired in 100 countries
11) He is one among the 108 writers of the Book “Blessing of life in 2020” which is going to be released by 26th Jan by Edudrone
12) His motto is to “Give back his Learning to Society, as Sharing is Caring ” and for him, he believes that till his breath is Learning will continue and will be shared to build our Nation
Let’s learn more about his inspiring journey and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him:
We are aware of your contribution to the healthcare ecosystem and your achievements, talk us through your background and your journey as a leader, please;
Thank you! So my eventful journey started at Cadila laboratories in Gorakhpur and since then I have scaled multiple milestones: Area Manager (Agra, 1987), Regional Manager (Lucknow, 1992), Sr. Regional Manager (Bangalore, 1999), Business Development Manager (Mumbai, 2000) and Dy. General Manager (Ahmedabad, 2001). Then turned GM in 2005, Vice President in 2007, Executive Vice President in 2011, Sr. Vice President in 2012 and finally, my current responsibility of Vertical head and Sr. Vice President, in 2017.
“The journey continues with a clear motto to achieve targets, build teams and march ahead in this beautiful journey with new learnings and with never die & never stopping attitude”
My approach to life and vision of success is simple yet profound. I am now on a mission to do more and share more with others. The purpose now is to pass on the learning to the young generation.
“I want to have a life filled with happiness and gratitude. To be a leader ensuring the success of my team members with a passion towards achieving goals and objectives. My vision is to build a result-oriented and happy society while contributing to various forums to build the Future Young Generation & strengthen professionals. Every morning ignites me with several opportunities which can be explored, realized and shared with others to move forward in terms of personal & professional growth.”
What would you consider as a turning point or career-defining moment for you?
Mr Rajput reveals candidly, “The biggest setback in my life was in 1998. We had launched a product and invited Cardiologists and Physicians to attend. Although I did my homework, I did not have any acquaintances in these speciality fields.
On the day of the seminar, to my shock, only 4 doctors turned up. One of the reasons, I felt, was that my presence hadn’t motivated or inspired them sufficiently. I interpreted that as a personal failure, and it turned out to be the Turning Point in my life.
On that day, I made a promise to myself that there won’t be an encore. I took a pledge that a time will come when professionals and leaders in healthcare will equate the name RAJPUT with CADILA.
Today, I can say in all humility that more than 5000 doctors across a diverse range of specialities across the country know me as ‘the RAJPUT of CADILA’, and conversely, ‘CADILA’s RAJPUT’. The names have become synonyms with one another. I am deeply humbled by this recognition and acknowledgement, and can never express enough gratitude to everyone.
The forward goal is to honour the powerful foundation and platform that the industry has affectionately endowed upon me, by building new ideas and solutions that can take the entire community and fraternity forward.
How did you find your passion and purpose? Talk us through its genesis, please!
The passion behind my spectacular growth journey – that saw me climb the corporate ladder briskly from a medical representative to where I am today – lies in a heartfelt attachment to the pharmaceutical industry, one that began early in my life.
Indeed, had it not been for a fascination for this profession, I might well have chartered a different career course as an engineer. However, the prospect of interacting with learned doctors and professionals, earning their confidence and respect, and discussing strategies that would carry the potential to elevate the industry and make a difference to millions, held a magnetic pull for me.
Right after Engineering College, I decided to follow my heart. They say that aircraft don’t take-off with the wind, but against the current. I mustered the courage to go against the wishes of my parents and family. I took the leap of faith and joined the healthcare profession.”
The fateful decision proved to be a winning one – both for me, and the industry that I fondly love.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
It is my purpose and my passion that keeps me motivated all the time. My family which includes my wife, and two children who are postgraduates and leading fulfilling careers in their chosen streams of interest – also remain my enduring rocks of support.
What are the challenges and roadblocks you faced in your journey?
The greatness of a quest is often measured by the number of hurdles it has had to conquer. I always maintain a balanced view of adversity.
“Competition is a roadblock but it’s also an opportunity to overcome the same with strategic planning that can propel the team towards success with greater momentum, and motivate everyone with fresh impetus to look at new peaks”
LEGACY –
Today, Mr Rajput’s multidimensional persona means many things to many people – be it his peers, partners or clients. So how would he like to be remembered? How would he define his legacy? Mr Rajput ponders briefly before responding:
“As an achiever who built his divisions, brands and vertical with his own hands, and put them on the path to non-stop performance, growth and triumph. I will consider my work fulfilled if I have built enough future leaders who can take this dream forward. Most importantly, I would like to be remembered as a change agent who gave back to society through a model of knowledge enhancement and capability building that is now being imitated by several industry players. Of course, it is a work-in-progress, and the road ahead is long. But yes, that is the overarching target.”
What has been your biggest learnings and what’s your advice for the next generation?
My humble advice to aspirants in this industry and space would be to remain consistent, truthful, creative, innovative, adaptive, flexible and focussed at all times & keep contributing to Grow.
Create a career goal, stick to it through thick and thin, and keep contributing in all aspects and in every way.
The best way to stay on top of one’s efficiency & efficacy is to never ever stop learning. COVID 19 has given us a novel opportunity to learn, unlearn and relearn – an attitude which was missing earlier.
It has helped us in three ways: Reimagining cost optimization, reinventing talent grooming and rebooting relationships through technology. We are standing on the threshold of a new era where everyone has a chance to become a Changemaker. Just make sure you never give up, and the glory will come.”
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
