A clear vision and precision implementation: Manish Kumar MD APAC Stratacache

Selected as Asia's Most Promising Leader 2021, Manish Kumar, Managing Director, APAC of Stratacache has transformed the industry with pristine vision and precision implementation

What makes a strong leader? What are your key leadership strengths?

A strong leader is a combination of many attributes – someone who possesses a clear vision, is courageous, has integrity, honesty, humility and clear focus. He or she is a strategic planner and believes in teamwork. Leadership is all about being passionate about what you do, and having confidence in yourself and your followers whom you have to motivate and inspire.

On a professional front, I am often described as a visionary, innovative and dynamic leader. I believe my strength lies in being passionate about what I do, particularly in establishing STRATACACHE in APAC and fortifying the brand as the pioneer and global leader in the digital signage industry.

On a personal front, I am known to be a personable, approachable and empathetic leader. Besides promoting teamwork and encouraging staff to collaborate to create synergies, I respect everyone as a unique individual with different working styles. The success of STRATACACHE APAC today is a result of everyone’s collective contribution and efforts. I try my best to make everyone feel valued and appreciated.

An accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career? What challenges did you face to reach this success.

An accomplishment which I consider to be the most significant in my career would be the establishment of STRATACACHE APAC headquarters in Singapore in 2019 and growing the business in Asia-Pacific.

This milestone was no easy feat and I faced many challenges at the beginning. Firstly, establishing a brand name in a new market requires the right marketing mix and brand-building strategies. Building up a brand takes time and much effort is needed in deploying the most effective methods to reach our target audience.

Secondly, prior to setting up a physical office and supporting infrastructure in a foreign country, a lot of background research is required, including understanding the local country laws and business legislations, engaging reliable service providers (eg contractors, property agents, recruitment specialists), understanding the local culture and hiring the right talents for the respective positions.

In addition, when I took over the role there were many management issues and significant concerns around ethical working standard. Trying to identify the rotten apples and re-engaging the staff who have been working with dedication and integrity meant that there was a lot of travel and one on one discussions to understand each employee and their role. I had to re-establish a new management team who understood the importance of conducting business ethically.

Kumar, Managing Director, APAC - Stratacache

What is the role of a leader in these challenging times. List 5 in order of priority.

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” ― Ronald Reagan, US President (1981 to 1989)

During these challenging times, the role of a leader in setting a clear vision for the organisation, motivating employees and building morale is more important than ever.