The American Express Man

In these times of hop-on, hop-off work culture, it's a rarity to come across someone who has been in one company for over 15 years. Jyoti Koul speaks to Manoj Adlakha, VP (Consumer Cards & Financial Services) of American Express, who has been instrumental in launching its credit cards in India.

Yard by yard, its hard. Inch by inch, it's a cinch,' goes the rhyme. And Adlakha has inched his way to the top, taking one day at a time. When he explains his career graph spanning 15 years in the first company he joined, you know that this man has patience. Patience and determination.

Beginning his stint in American Express from brisk operations in the March of 1990 in Delhi, he went on to work at its head office in Tokyo in capacity of a senior financial analyst. On his return after two years, he became the business planning head and in time, it's CFO. He continued in that capacity for five years until 2000, when he got an opportunity to take over as the acting country manager making him the face of the company.

Soon after the American Express merged its two businesses and Adlakha was promoted to head its credit card division. "A year later my responsibilities were enhanced to take on consumer business, which involved aspects like personal loan, retail, financial services, etc. and that is what I am currently doing," he says as he enters his 16th year with the multinational bank.

Opportunities, And Some More

In retrospect, Adlakha feels that his career would not have seen such fantastic and continuous growth had the company not shown enough confidence in his capabilities. He says, "I owe a lot to the company. It gave me the opportunities and the responsibilities even when I thought I was not ready. It taught me that competencies are portable and one can use them in a different, bigger role."

But despite the difficulties, he is glad that he did not let anyone down. "I guess that cross-functional role, moving from brisk operations into finance, sales and marketing, and from cards into retail banking, in fact even being responsible for things like administration, has made me a better professional. I have had an interesting gamut of experience," he says adding sheepishly, "Of course, my analytical abilities helped."

No wonder then, that he has been responsible for launching many successful products like the AmEx Platinum credit card and other co-branded credit cards. In fact, the reason he was sent to Tokyo was to learn everything there is to know about credit cards. "At that time, the Indian market did not have any credit cards so we launched the product here when I came back from Japan in 1993," he says.

But to be associated with a company for as long as Adlakha has, there needs to be something more than tangible returns. "What I am proud of is that American Express has always stood for values. It is important to have strong values because only then can you begin to lead others," he says.

Story So Far

According to Adlakha, fate too played a role in his professional life. "Had it not been for one single mark, I would have been sitting in some construction site and doing civil engineering, probably making some national highway and accounting for its delay," he quips in self-deprecating humour.

He is modest enough to reveal that he was just an average student who was very keen to go to Delhi College of Engineering but he missed it by one mark. And that has made all the difference. Again, when he could not get into Shri Ram College of Commerce because of the same one mark, he got the admissions through the college sports quota. He is an avid sports person and has played squash at the national level.

Like any other teenager at the time, Adlakha was keen on pursuing an MBA degree overseas after college. But since it was not financially viable, he decided to opt for CA instead. He later qualified from Ernst & Young and while "hanging around there" as a consultant he started to get the feel of corporate life.

And that is where his life with American Express began. Recalling his Tokyo experience, he says, "Tokyo was like an extended honeymoon as I went there a week after getting married. I would get to office by 8:00 am and leave by 8:30 pm and still I would be the first to leave work. The work culture, there, is very different from India. If you leave office early, people think that you are unsuccessful. So success there is defined by how late you work. But it was a great experience and I learned a lot."

Life Today

Today, Adlakha is the conventional family man and lives with his wife Priti Adlakha and two sons Aadit and Aman aged 11 and 8, respectively. He spends his weekends with his family and that is when "we bond". He says, "Once my kids grow up, they wont be able to spend as much time with me as I would want them to. So I am making the most of things right now."

His wife, previously a fashion designer, gave up her career to be with him in Tokyo. And while he was struggling with learning the language, she learnt Japanese and continues to do so even today. "Priti also does social work on my behalf so I feel less guilty," Adlakha jokes.

Adlakha says that he has always been a compulsive traveller since his dad was in the Air Force, which meant constant travelling to different cities and small towns within the country. He recalls his most memorable stay when as a child he lived in Srinagar while studying at Burn Hall School for three years. "I am in love with that place," he exclaims and says that he is extremely keen to go re-visit the place and rekindle old memories.

It is evident by now that Adlakha is a complete outdoor person. "We take a vacation once every year and most of them are outside the country. A holiday for me has got to be near a water body and the beaches. For me, just being around the sea is relaxing and therapeutic and that is what I miss in Delhi. But since I cant take long vacations, I generally try to get away for at least five to six days," he says.

Apart from being an avid traveller, he likes to hang around with friends. "I don't have a big circle of friends but I have few close buddies who are very important to me. I value their friendship that has strengthened over the years and the beauty of it is that even if we meet after six months, nothing really changes," he reveals.

At the end of the day, Adlakha likes to unwind by listening to music. "I am a big Bruce Springsteen fan. I also listen to a lot of jazz and, of course, Bollywood music," he says. He loves Italian food and stays away from cigarettes and alcohol. "There is a certain kind of lifestyle that I want to maintain. For me, health is important and all I wish for is good health for my family and everyone who is dear to me," Adlakha adds.

Philosophically Speaking

Adlakha offers a travel trip for anyone who wants to take it, "Travel light". His philosophy in life is to have a clean conscience and maintain certain values and principals for oneself. "Work with the highest level of integrity and everything else will follow," he adds.

He believes that life is a learning experience and one never really stops learning. That he lives this philosophy is evident by the way he got around to learning golf. "American Express used to organise golf tournaments for its clients. So one day, while a tournament was on, I decided to take a shot and learn how to tee. It took me just over an hour to learn the game and I have been hooked on to it ever since. Now, I try to play golf over the weekend and sometimes even take my kids along to the driving range. It is a great drive and I get to know so much more about my kids," he says.

And as he sits there dressed in comfortable casuals, one could almost catch the satisfaction in his eyes, the satisfaction of living life fully and completely.