He loves playing golf. She hates it; believes it’s a total waste of time. She loves books and music — often borrows heavy metal and hard rock stuff from her sons. He loves Tamil movies; she can’t stand them. He loves to talk at home; she prefers to do things. He loves to cook. She would rather spruce up the interiors of their home.
There’s one thing that they have in common though – the industry they work for. And this husband and wife head big companies, which make them a rare couple. Akila Krishnakumar is the India head of SunGard, a $5-billion US company that provides software to the education, financial services and public sector organizations. Krishnakumar Natarajan, or KK as he’s fondly known, is the CEO and MD of IT services firm Mindtree .
Managing extremely demanding global jobs – involving constant inter-continental travel — raising two kids, and supporting their extended families has not been easy for the couple. Ask them about the recipe for peace, happiness and success in life and work, Akila says: “We are sensitive to each other. We treat every day as a fresh day. We do not carry old baggage.”
Akila joined Wipro in 1982 as a marketing executive after passing out from BITS Pilani. KK was in Wipro then, heading a marketing function. Theirs was not a love marriage. It came as a surprise to them that their parents were seeking an alliance without realizing that their children were working in the same department at Wipro.
KK quit Wipro in 1999 to co-found Mindtree. He was asked to work out of North America , and he had to leave Akila and their sons behind in Bangalore. A decade before that, in 1989, Akila too had taken a similar career decision, when she was posted in London and had to leave her little son in the hands of her in-laws. “I was in a dilemma. But KK’s family was fully supportive,” Akila says.
On one occasion, she had to fly from Delhi to Pune to leave her son with her mother there before she could take a flight for Bhopal for a customer meet.
Akila quit Wipro to float an entrepreneurial venture in 1993. The firm, Exeter Systems, offered IT solutions for universities. In 1999, Exeter was acquired by Sallie Mae Solutions, which in turn was acquired by SCT Corporation. In 2004, SunGard acquired SCT. “So in a way I have been with the same company since 1993. I have seen it in various phases of growth and change.”
KK says it has been extremely challenging for the family. “But we have been adaptable, creative and been consciously finding ways to resolve every hurdle. We are also good at switching roles,” he says.
KK has been a large pillar of support, says Akila fondly. “He totally lived up to anything he was put into…be it looking after the kids, keeping the home clean or cooking for the family.”
KK and Akila are now busy creating an exclusive family hub. They are relocating both their parents and siblings from Chennai and Pune close to their weekend home on the outskirts of Bangalore. “We love our independence. At the same time we also want to be closer to our families when we grow older,” says Akila.
Travel is a common passion for the family. But aligning their calendars to vacation together is tough. “The last long vacation the four of us had was in 2007 in New Zealand. So instead of waiting and planning, we do quick, short and doable trips like the one we did recently to Chikmagalur,” says KK.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Bangalore / by Mini Joseph Tejaswi, TNN / January 14th, 2013