The 90s was a historic decade for India. As the government liberalized its policies, economic growth surged and the foundation was laid for India to become one of the fastest growing economies of the world. It was in this period that the country got noticed as a powerful destination for business services. Great minds across the world began to think of unorthodox and unconventional ways of tapping the tremendous potential that the people of India could provide. Harry Robertson, a bohemian trendsetter of sorts was amongst the pioneers of the services industry to recognize this potential and work tirelessly to make it happen – in the face of severe sceptics, at times.

Harry’s special skill was not only to understand and predict the complexity of a large corporate business in a new environment, but also to create an environment that was ready for the future without compromising on risk. It was also about building new capabilities in the people and consequently the organizations and the society as a whole.

In the 25 years since the setup of Harry’s FRC of American Express, the company has produced some of the most brilliant minds and leaders in the business services industry. The company also laid the foundation for several scientifically designed processes and measurement methodologies of business services.

For Harry personally, it must have been a daunting time – to fight relentlessly against scepticism, to lead an organization with a mandate like no other before it, to work under the gimlet eyes of world leadership, and to make personal choices to live in a hitherto unknown location along with his wife and two rapidly growing small kids. While he put is neck on the line for his passion, the FRC and the country has done him proud. He crossed the Rubicon and came out a well-deserved winner, and we salute him for it!

This session is largely an opportunity for us to listen to Harry talk about his personal challenges in life to follow his passion and for us to gain insights on how powerful minds work.

Since Harry’s crossing of the proverbial Rubicon, there have been many smaller “Rubicons” that have been crossed periodically and are yet to be crossed in the world of business services. Rapidly changing trends are setting new directions for the industry, while some of the old ones continue to stay vehemently dug-in.

At this session, SSF will also provide a ringside view on some of the trends recorded by us during our recent research – the details of which are provided in our full report. We hope that these trends can be brought to practical use by the industry practitioners to define their own as well as corporate goals.