By Rasika DeshpandeAngshuman Roy, Head of IT at Yomoto India will soon complete 25 years in the automotive industry. From teaching ICSE students computers to working as a Head of IT in a reputed automotive company, Roy has seen many ups and downs in his career. He says compared to his early days, things are now more standardised.
Born in Arunachal Pradesh, Roy completed his education till 10th standard in a very remote area in Arunachal. Roy said because his father was working in the medical department in the central government, they have visited almost every part of India. For better opportunities, Roy shifted to Kolkata and completed his class 11th and 12th. Later he graduated from the University of Calcutta with a degree in Physics.
Roy says “That time I had no intention to be in computers. I completed my graduation in physics. I was interested in science and my dream was to go into research. That was the time when computers were emerging so I took admission to NIIT and completed the GNIIT course. And as I started doing small programming, it fascinated me and I grew interested in computers.”
Roy was always among the top 3 students in class and from 8th standard onwards he was always first. He said “After coming to Kolkata, I found more intelligent people. Because I came from Arunachal and the quality of education was lesser compared to metro cities like Kolkata where students were also more focused, it affected my studies. But I worked hard and was one of the top 10 students.”
Talking about his parents, he said that his parents never interfered in his career and always believed in him. They always supported him and gave him every opportunity possible.
Roy says he was fortunate to have really good teachers. Recalling his physics teachers advice, he said “When I was in class 12th, my physics teacher who was also studying computer science at that time assisted me and told me that a lot of people are doing physics but computers are something new and this is going to be the future. And he suggested that I take this up as a career. He was my mentor. He decided on that and I carried on.”
Roy says apart from work, he enjoys playing golf with his Japanese friends in his free time.
From teacher to working in an automotive company
Roy got his first job at a company called Informative Computer Systems which was into a lot of versatile businesses. First, he was into software development, but later he was given the opportunity to work as a faculty in Birla Vidya Mandir which is a very prestigious school in Nainital. He worked there for 1 and a half years and was in charge of the entire department and he used to teach ICSE students of class 11th and 12th. Remembering in teaching days he shared “When I started teaching, a group of students and I made a computer club and we started a computer journal for the school where we used to talk and share about upcoming events in computer, hacking, virus, etc.”
Roy recalls, “That time when we used to make a lot of project models like radio and other electric models, our teacher used to show them to other students. He inspired me to do a job where I find interest and choose what I want to do. He told me that my life should not be something that is insisted on by me. He gave me insights about finding your interest when something new comes up.”
In 2008, when Roy joined the Suzuki Motorcycle, he was recruited for the implementation of ARB. “We did the implementation but we faced a lot of issues because it was mid of a financial year. In October we had finished the implementation and we could not wait for another 6 months. If we would have waited, then the entire planning process would have gone the other way. That time we persuaded the CFO and we gave a lot of good models on how we can manage this situation. So ultimately, it was implemented.”
He suggests that people must select a particular branch and they should foster that field. Instead of exploring a lot of areas, concentrate on one field and keep experimenting.
Future Plans
Roy has been in the automotive industry for almost 25 years. He says he wants to do some new inventions in AI, Robotics and he wants to master these areas as these are going to be the new normals.
