A man who believes, ‘decision’ is the beginning of all things done to perfection! Mr. Sunil Puliyakot, Asst. Professor, Strategic Management at the Amrita School of Business is surely a man with solid teachings for a life at ease. Born to Late Sri T. Govindanunni Nair and Smt. K.P. Sreedevi Amma on 4th January 1967 in the Kavassery Village of Palakkad, Kerala, he has had a lower-middle strata upbringing along with three siblings. He is a postgraduate in Commerce from the University of Calicut, Kerala. The search for a post graduate degree in management and the promise of campus recruitment landed him in IRMA, Anand, in the year 1989.
Soon after, he started his career as Senior Officer in the Accounts and Finance Department of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited, Anand wherein he was also involved in functions like systems analysis, design and implementation. After completing three years with his first employer, he moved on to his area of interest - capital market related financial services in JM Morgan Stanley Retail Services Ltd where he interacted with entities like Banks, Mutual Funds, PF Trusts, Corporate and other institutions. His final years in the corporate sector were spent with the ICICI group as Regional head, Retail Banking.
Having gained 15 years of valuable work experience, rising from lower to middle management level in reputed organizations, he decided on fulfilling his long cherished career plan. Backed by his fascination for academics and stagnation in his corporate career ladder to an extent, he moved into full time academics his area of interest being the interface between economics and business strategy. The timing of his move into academics has been largely influenced by his securing admission into Executive Fellow programme in Management at XLRI, Jamshedpur. Before joining Amrita he also had a brief stint as an Assistant Professor at the School of Management, Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore
He attributes the successes in his life to the learnings from his background. “Most problems in life arise due to indecision. The sooner one plans and decides the better for his or her performance standards. It is not always easy to change the course of life as often as one wishes. Sometimes, it is more convenient to go with the flow and gain interest in whatever you have chosen. Compromising kills if it is not backed by a cultivated likeness. The pleasure of gaining by doing things which are difficult or you are not aware of is what keeps me motivated. One should never allow mental blocks like disinterest and a sense of failure to come in the path to achievement”, says Mr. Sunil.
Mr. Sunil believes in getting motivated from his own gains. He feels that ‘results’ should not be a reason to work for, rather a motivation to work. Largely an individualist and contentment-filled, few of the influencers in his life include professors like Mr. Madhav Rao (Economics), Mr. M.J. Arun (IRMAA, Mr. Krishnan (Accounts), Mr. Ravindran (Economics), Mr. Sabhyasachi Sengupta (Finance, XLRI), Mr. B. Verma (Finance) etc. He also drives his strength from the teachings of Bhagwad Gita as well.
On more general issues of India’s economic growth, Mr. Sunil comments “The day to day news which comes up about our country is a true reflection of the state of her economic affairs. The only area of uncertainty, I feel, lies in the claims of sustainability of the growth rate, which is not yet finely defined. Price stability is not completely under control and growth with equity has to be focused on”. Talking about ethics and dilemma at the workplace, he quotes it as a personal choice. “One of the main reasons for me moving from the corporate sector was the increased question of just and fair decision making as the manager of a company. A lot of times you are forced to overlook the efforts of individuals in a team because there is a provision for only ‘one-single best person’. Even though it all sums up to believing in what one does, still in the process an individual is compromised”.
A person with bare minimum interests and needs, his thoughts lie completely with the fact that if one is passionate about his or her career, there is hardly any time left to get bored. His favorite past-time is listening to music. He is also an extensive reader. Facing life at every turn as it comes; Mr. Sunil has a calm and comfortable personality. He also likes travelling and holidaying with his family of four.
Lastly, on being asked about his experience at Amrita, Mr. Sunil seems jolly well happy. “There’s immense potential in the students here. But sadly enough, looks like one thing is lacking – sense of stretching oneself to excel. We must understand that, seeking personal excellence through self-imposed targets is the ideal way of life. But seeking personal excellence without targets is dangerous”. He puts forward two of his principles in life for the students to follow – “don’t fall in the rat race” and “don’t look for comfort zones in life”. He reasons, “There is no such thing as ‘comfort’. The beauty of life is realized when you struggle for it. Hard work makes life worth treasuring”.
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