Mr. Prince Azariah
CIO,
MRF Tyres

This ‘Prince’ whose unshakeable belief in God believes in leading from the front and mentoring as key to successful strides…Prince Azariah protects his teams from external pressures and leads the way to success.

In this special series titled ‘The One Thing’, CIOL attempts to discover and unravel the many facets of Prince Azariah’s challenging and inspiring portfolio as a CIO, a Decision Maker and an IT Leader.

Q: What is the one thing that you draw your strength to achieve your goals?
A: I draw all my sustenance from the Creator God

Q: What is the one facet of leadership that has truly inspired you?
A: A leader is one who leads his team from the front

Q: What is the one thing that you would advise to upcoming and aspiring CIOs?
A: Always identify at least one person every year who you can mentor, selflessly.

Q: Who is the one leader that you have admired?
A: All those who died fighting for the Truth

Q: What is the one major challenge you face as a CIO?
A: The big challenge is always to get people to give up the way they have always been working and to get them to change for a better way to work.

Q: What is the one successful practice you deploy to motivate your teams?
A: Let them know you will always protect them from the “management”, and then allow them to excel at their work. Give them credit when they succeed and nurture them when they fail.

Q: What is the one thing you do to manage stress?
A: I listen to good soothing music.

Q: What is the one thing that decision makers and leaders must avoid as a rule?
A: Never make the mistake of thinking you are greater than the system.

Q: Name one HR best practice that can aid in people retention?
A: HR Policy should facilitate every manager to nurture and bring out the best in every person who works in his team.

Q: What is the one great opportunity you see in these tough times of global recession?
A: This is the time to stabilize all existing processes using existing facilities.