Outsourcing: Jean Cholka, President and CEO Of Freeborders (Part 3)

By guest author Tony Scott

Winning Customers as a New Entrant in a Competitive Environment

Tony: When you talk about your customer base, what is your sweet spot?

Jean: We’ve worked with some big companies, but our sweet spot is the guys who have off-shored already or who are interested in China and want a connection to China. They need someone here in the U.S. who knows China so that they can work there more effectively. We’ve worked with some big companies on this and with some smaller ones that are just under the radar. >>>

Outsourcing: Jean Cholka, President And CEO Of Freeborders (Part 1)

By guest author Tony Scott

History of Freeborders

Earlier this year I interviewed Jean Cholka, president and CEO of Freeborders, an outsourcing company with most of its delivery team based in China. Jean joined Freeboarders in 2007 after seven years at Kanbay, where she held various executive positions including president – North America, executive vice president – global client relationships, and chief people officer. Her accomplishments at Kanbay included helping the company achieve a 200% increase in revenue within four years, while increasing profitability by 15%. Kanbay was named among the top 100 (55th) information technology employers in 2004 and top 10 IPOs in 2004. Prior to Kanbay, Jean held a variety of executive positions at Sears, Roebuck and Company and Ameritech (now part of AT&T).

Tony: Jean, can you start by give me a bit of your background in the outsourcing world?  How did you come to Kanbay, and what made you decide to join them – and then how did you get to Freeborders? >>>

Outsourcing: Raju Reddy, Chairman And CEO Of Sierra Atlantic (Part 9)

By guest author Tony Scott

The Value of a Global Business Mindset

Raju: You know, that’s the exciting thing about America isn’t it? It’s one of the few countries in the world I can think of that has these sorts of umbilical cord connections. I mean, Bangalore is probably more connected to Silicon Valley than to any other city in India.

Tony: Yes, in many ways.  But to make an operation work across thousands of miles, multiple time zones and different languages, you have to have people who understand both cultures. >>>

Outsourcing: Raju Reddy, Chairman And CEO Of Sierra Atlantic (Part 8)

By guest author Tony Scott

Business Cultures: Silicon Valley Redux?

Tony: Let’s talk a bit about business culture differences and work environments – how do you find those in India and China compared to the U.S.?

Raju: Surprisingly, I find the work culture in India and China to be much closer to what we have in Silicon Valley. People are pretty hard working and very vibrant. You may not have a deep pool of management talent though. Often for middle-level management there is a shortage of qualified people, but in terms of work ethic and everything else its, it’s encouraging. >>>

Outsourcing: Raju Reddy, Chairman And CEO Of Sierra Atlantic (Part 7)

By guest author Tony Scott

Challenges in Building a Global Management Team

Tony: If think about how you will grow your company and help software companies by partnering with them to go to China, India, and maybe other countries, do think your management team is up to the task? I look at your management team and it is Indian-centric, but it looks like it’s changing a bit with your CFO Bob Hersch, who is an American, and some of your services leaders.  But do you see the makeup of the top layer change over the next few years to meet the challenges of a truly global business and global customers? And for the next layer down, how do you see it shifting over time in terms of the skills people need to be able to manage and grow the company successfully? >>>

Outsourcing: Raju Reddy, Chairman And CEO Of Sierra Atlantic (Part 6)

By guest author Tony Scott

The Growth of India and China Domestic IT Markets

Tony: Are you seeing the growth of China and India domestically make an impact on your company, and how you are structured?

Raju: I must say that one thing that is very different today is that the China and India domestic markets are becoming very important markets for a lot of our customers. In fact, we recently reorganized our company along the lines of emerging markets and then the major markets, as we call them – North America and Europe. And then our outsourced product development services is set up as a third entity that crosses all geographies. Emerging markets today make up about 12% of our revenue, up from maybe 5% a couple of years ago. >>>

Outsourcing: Raju Reddy, Chairman And CEO Of Sierra Atlantic (Part 5)

By guest author Tony Scott

Managing Across Cultures

Tony: There are clearly some distinct cultural differences between the way people approach business, how they deal with customers, with each other, and with management in India and China, compared to, say, the United States.  What kinds of challenges does that present for you in terms of leading your company and developing approaches that can be implemented globally across the company?

Raju: At some level I will say, people are the same wherever they are. Sometimes I think we make too much of the differences in culture because maybe 80% of it is the same everywhere, and for the remaining 20% there will always be some important difference that you have to acknowledge, incorporate, and adjust for, but people essentially aspire to two things. One is success, being part of something successful, and the other is recognition. So, to be honest with you, I feel that aspect is same whether it is China or India. There are always nuances in each place. >>>

Outsourcing: Raju Reddy, Chairman And CEO Of Sierra Atlantic (Part 4)

By guest author Tony Scott

The Cloud-Enabled, Flattening World

Tony: So, let’s talk about this whole movement to the cloud. How does that impact you and enable you to provide services or technology in a different way from competitors, and what kind of people do you need to be effective in doing that? >>>