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It has been a decade since he moved to United States. And in this period he has risen from being a Practice Manager for one of India's largest Information Technology firms in the US to the Managing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) US, one of the big four consulting groups in the world. Meet thirty five year old Preet
Takkar.
Born and raised in the Indian capital, Preet did his schooling from Guru Harkrishan Public School and then went on to pursue an under-graduate degree in Economics from University of Delhi. Following his graduation, Preet got selected for a management programme at the Symbiosis University, Pune, one of the best privately-held management schools in India.
He started his career with a DCM Shriram, and then worked with a couple of other firms before joining Wipro, where he has had the longest stint so far. At Wipro, Preet was primarily responsible for the clients in the western markets, majorly the US. And around 2002, he shifted base and started managing operations on site. At the helm of his career in Wipro, he was leading a team of over 2000 people. And this year, he made his way into the leadership league at one of the world's biggest consultancy firms, PwC United States.
“I would say it is destiny and hard work. You have an opportunity and what you make of it, defines your success,” says Takkar on his journey. Today, Preet shuttles often between India and United States and overseas work across verticals. He sees India as the investment destination of the present and the future. “From a money market and a real estate market, personally I think India is the place to invest, for the next 5-10 years. Yes, the growth rate is not 8 per cent or 9 per cent, but then you have to look at what’s happening in other markets and you see that India’s performance is still way better than host of other countries. There are issues and challenges, but you have to look at the larger picture,” says Takkar.
Born in a simple middle class family (his father was working with the Meteorological department and mother being a school teacher), Preet Takkar is the first generation Indian American. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Mallika, who is also a working-women and 6-year old daughter, Meher. We caught up with Preet on his two-day trip to India for work. The jet lag wasn't really visible and his energy levels were high. "It's become part of the routine…the cross-continent meeting marathons," he says. His advice to young Indians planning to move to the United States? "Look at emerging markets. That is where the action lies," he concludes as he heads to the airport to catch a flight back to the US.
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