Consolidating our presence in India: Introducing our new partners Accrete Executive Search
Accrete Executive Search is a boutique retained executive search firm specializing in CXO, niche / mission-critical roles and gender diversity roles across functions & levels spanning Technology, Industrial, Consumer and Pharma & Life science segments. ACCRETE is founded by senior leaders from a leading multinational HR conglomerate with a combined experience of over 100 years in appointing leaders in these segments.
Get to know more about them in this very inspiring interview with their Founder Director, Jay (GC Jayaprakash)!
- Namaste Jay! Welcome to Talentor! First things first, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
On the professional side, I have a bachelor’s degree in commerce and three decades of consulting, executive search & selection experience. I’m very happy to mention that I was one of the earliest professionals to offer Executive Search and Selection Consulting in the city of Bengaluru, India at the beginning as early as 1992. I specialize in leadership advisory & appointing key leaders for MNCs and Indian Corporates across functions and industry practices.
On the personal side, I am from Bangalore and I am 60 years young, married with two children. I am fortunate to share in the work environment with my wife, as she is one of Accrete’s Directors.
My son has a nice family, he’s married, and him and my daughter-in-law have a 3-year-old child and they are expecting a baby girl. My granddaughter will be born on 24th March 2024 (coinciding with the next Talentor Partner Meeting in Vienna).
My daughter is doing her master's in computer science – specialization in HCI (Human Computer Interface) in the US, at the Arizona State University, Phoenix.Do you have other hobbies or things you enjoy doing with your family that you would like to share?
I love long drives, watch Cricket, playing Shuttle Badminton, and going out for dinners with my family - but now the children are all grown up and outside India, so it’s me and my wife.
- We are curious Jay! Why did you name your company “Accrete” Executive Search?
“Accrete” means to bond and grow together. When Client, Candidate, Consultant Bond and Grow together achieving organizational success, we have achieved our company objective.
- What led you to found your company?
After building 3 successful Search & Selection companies in India for Global Brands from Scratch, it was time for us to build One on our Own with emphasis on sharing knowledge and wealth with the Team.
- What is your company´s USP for clients and candidates?
4C Principle : Client - Consultant - Candidate - Confidentiality, being on the same plane.
- What is a typical profile that you recruit?
Leadership roles, Critical roles, Niche, Gender Diversity roles.
- Who is a typical client for you?
We work with Global & Indian Conglomerates and Startups who have a Vision to Grow (More on Values of the Firm rather than Valuation).
- We see that your company is very active in India Media, can you tell us a little bit more about this?
As a company, we have been present and have been published in various local media in India, such as: ETPrime, Silicon India, The Economic Times – India Times, etc., because of our performance as a standout Executive Search company that promotes Business Development, Women Leadership and more, as these are topics of high interest to us, clients and candidates. To access them go here.
- What is one thing you would recommend to companies that not just want to recruit great talents, but also retain them?
Give them the authority with responsibility for both company and individual growth.
- What are the biggest learnings from your career?
Humility to Learn and Unlearn - as this Executive Search business teaches you a lot of new things in both industry and functions.
- What advice would you give your younger self or any young person when starting their career?
4Ps: Passionate - Perseverance - Persistence - Positive (Confidence).
Be Passionate in whatever you do, Be Positive to your job, Have Perseverance and be Persistent and don’t give up – the result will be always yours.
- You have spent your entire career in recruitment and executive search. What is your favorite thing about this industry?
To get to know about various industry trends and all kinds of people and learn a lot from them. After a day’s hard work, you get a call from a CxO and asks for your advice, and he succeeds through that – that’s the great feeling you get.
- What surprises foreign companies the most when they are recruiting specialists in India?
Culture, Diversity, Geography (law of the land).
Also, what surprises Foreign Companies is - While India has 22 separate official languages , it is home to a total of 121 languages and 270 mother tongues.
- What are the most frequent intercultural problems?
Language barriers, cultural barriers and stereotyping.
- What's the biggest cultural misunderstanding that you've seen?
We all have a natural tendency to look at other cultures through our own lenses. But things are changing for good in the last couple of years because of Digitalisation and Globalisation.
- What did you learn from working interculturally?
Educate Leaders how to address ambiguity, conflict, and antagonism with clarity, harmony, and cooperation.
- What is something that a foreign company would never guess about the Indian labour market?
Work culture, Labour laws, Political intervention.
- And finally, we would like to know about your connection with us. Why did you decide to join the Talentor network Jay?
Regional Knowledge – Global Expertise.
- And what do you think is great about being part of an international network / the Talentor network?
It is sheerly the Exchange Wealth of information, process, methodology, and approach adopted in Executive Search between Partners across the Globe.
We thank Jay for sharing with us about himself and his company. But most of all, we warmly welcome him and the Accrete Executive Search team to our Talentor community. We are sure it will be a wonderful experience to collaborate worldwide!
Learn more about Accrete Executive Search (Talentor India) here.
