Abhijit Mazumder, CIO, TCS calls himself a Kolkata boy. Except for being born there, Mazumder grew up and completed his schooling & graduation from Kolkata.“I’m a Kolkata boy through and through if you ask me, I’ve grown up there and it’s an integral part of who I am today,” said Abhijit Mazumder, CIO, TCS.
His father worked for Ordnance Factory Board (Ministry of Defence) and was posted at different locations across India. Mazumder grew up with his grandmother in a closely knit family.
Mazumder’s family now includes his wife and two daughters.
An engineering bachelor’s degree holder from Jadavpur University, Mazumder recalls his interesting journey of how he got into TCS.
Since he was a product engineer, his first job was with a manufacturing company. While working in the field, he realised the great potential of computers and IT.
“During my job I already had realized that the way a computer can capture and share information, eventually then probably making things better – that is when I fell in love with computers and IT”, he said.
After six months while working for the manufacturing firm, Mazumder saw an advertisement from TCS for recruiting individuals with manufacturing experience.
Mazumder took a leap of faith and applied for the job. His interview lasted for an hour and a half, and he was asked to wait. While waiting, Mazumder got anxious as other candidates’ were coming out of the room within 15 to 20 minutes.
“When I got called in again they told me that ‘you have the least amount of experience but we are very happy with the depth of the answers you have given. So we really want to offer you a job’. Cut to 26 years later I’m at TCS, doing what I love”, he added.
Looking at Failure as an opportunity to create success
According to Mazumder, failure is the best teacher, and it helps people pivot in ways they probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
He recalls one such incident when he used to head Oracle Practice at TCS that in a way transformed his entire career. Mazumder was handling his first large deal and things didn’t work out as planned.
Mazumder was taken aback by that incident and the failure he faced. He went to the CEO and told him about moving out from that role to create a new entity called ‘Strategic Solutions’. The new entity created a pipeline of large deals for TCS.
“And we did just that, we won the first deal that we went after”, he maintained.
Talking about success, the now TCS’ CIO believes that his biggest achievement is yet to come.
Learning that helped in life
In college, Mazumder had the opportunity of studying under Prof. Amitabh Bhattacharya who also mentored him and other students.
“The one thing he used to stay that stuck with me was: Always focus on solving the problem. He also inculcated that behavior in us because all his exams were open book tests. He used to say you bring all your books you can read, you can open all your books and study them while you are trying to answer the questions but I will give you problems which cannot be solved unless you know the subject well. So I think that was great mentorship from him which helped me a lot”, he averred.
Mazumder’s family has also taught him many values. His father taught him to always stay positive in every situation and his mother taught him tenacity.
Future Plans
Talking about future plans for his career, Mazumder said he doesn’t have a clear graph in mind but every few years he wants to solve new challenges.
“I believe that technology can make a major change and impact for organizations and for our society. I would look at these things as I progress in my career. There are new technologies coming in every day, with them new opportunities to leverage this new tech to find solutions to problems that we may not have today. This is what I’m looking forward to professionally,”
Personally, he wants to travel more and visit places like Tierra del Fuego, the Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu and Bora Bora.
Mazumder is passionate about reading and likes listening to podcasts. “Food also has a soft corner in my heart. I love trying new cuisines but also enjoy the leisure of simple home cooked food”, he added.
