“To make a successful decision, one should always consider the ramifications of the decision in terms of opportunity, value, and scope.”
Sanjay Dutt (MD & CEO, Tata Realty)
The moment you think that you want to achieve something big in life, you turn on the courage and determination to kick start your journey. Sanjay Dutt was a young dreamer like many youths in this country when he started his challenging yet exciting professional journey.
He developed his entrepreneurial foundation with his own business, learned to accept failure, overcome challenges but most importantly, noticed that he was able to build something that was self-motivated for a larger objective. He learned the importance of building a motivated agile team with a drive of a startup. The biggest lesson that he learned was “cash flow management”.
We connected with Sanjay Dutt, the MD and CEO of Tata Realty to gain more insights into his exhilarating journey, his brand, and future plans.
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What steps did you take to develop yourself as a CEO?
Right from an early age, I learned that one needs to excel at what they do and there is no shortcut in life. I chose to learn by studying hard and scoring good grades in college. I chose the services sector as a career-focused area and considered consulting to gain a complete perspective of the Real Estate industry. This was of paramount importance because I wanted to pursue that for the rest of my life.
I was amongst few to initiate “office brokerage” as a segment in India and then went to complete my 30-year journey as a pioneer in the consulting world to become the first one to start new service lines such as Land & Industrial, Corporate Monetization, Capital Markets, Retail, Landlord Representative and Strategic & Occupier Consulting. However, the key challenge was to launch and then mentor as a leader to take over each of these businesses.
My next emphasis was on how to turn around “weak” businesses like residential and elevate areas where I had no technical knowledge such as Project Management and Property Management. I soon realized that there was nothing else left to do in the sector. The management chose me as a natural fit for the CEO’s role. I also felt that I need to learn all key markets and therefore, decided to work in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai & Bengaluru, and the top 10 cities including a few international markets.
Over and above that, I strongly believe in performance culture and the growth of all those who work with me. I always follow the principles of Transparency, Trust, Hard work, and Integrity (TTHI).
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Share the lowest point in your life and how you defeated that situation to be where you are now?
All my career changes were at the time of recession. Stated with “dotcom” burst in 2000 followed by GFC in 2008 and subsequently real estate cyclical downturns of 2012, 2016, and 2018. I find myself home when it comes to the lowest point for the sector and the organization. This becomes my lowest point. I believe one can only be better by facing the worst and it makes it easier for me to earn respect and credibility from my colleagues, shareholders, and stakeholders. I never had it easy and loved every bit of it.
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What is your leadership philosophy? What factors do you keep in mind while taking business decisions?
I believe that business growth is always driven by people; business decisions bring their own set of challenges. To make a victorious decision, one should always keep in mind the consequences of the decision in terms of opportunity, value, and scope. Additionally, one must also ensure that it benefits every stakeholder of the company, from employees to investors and senior management.
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Briefly describe your company and the products or services you are offering?
Tata Realty and Infrastructure Limited (TRIL) is a Real Estate company – a 100% subsidiary of Tata and Sons Private Limited. The business is divided into two parts, residential and commercial. The residential aspects look into creating residential assets (Homes) for people across segments pan India. From studio apartments to penthouses, TRIL has been one of the leading developers in the country. From a commercial standpoint, TRIL has created game-changing commercial spaces that elevates India’s positioning for global companies.
Since its inception in 1984, TRIL is establishing itself as one of the key players in the Indian Real Estate Industry. The company’s operations span across different aspects of real estate development like land identification and acquisition, project planning, designing, execution, marketing & sales, property services, and estate management.
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Elaborate on the offerings of your company. What makes its products worth the investment?
TRIL has always been a people and employee-driven company, and it is always considered over traditional developers because of the quality and trust it has built over the years. The products are created after intense research to address the demand of the region TRIL expands in. These assets later offer better value on investment when compared to peers. From a commercial standpoint, the company has always been most awarded for critical thinking and end-to-end solutions for national and international brands. Our wellness-centric approach has always made TRIL’s commercial assets one of the most premium and preferred assets over traditional commercial properties.
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How important it is to keep an eye on one’s competitors? How do you assess and manage the competition around TRIL?
Innovation is the key to driving resilient business growth, which TRIL has successfully been doing for decades. Competition only makes you stronger and more efficient, eventually leading to an inclusive business growth and development. Furthermore, our research-driven approach helps us analyze the market sentiments, requirements, and solutions that could potentially bridge the gaps in the region.
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Shed light on the clientele of your firm? How do you develop strong & positive client relationships?
Global companies such as Amazon, AstraZeneca, Citi, TCS, Cognizant, HP, Infosys, Philips, Fidelity, Cisco, and many others are some of our esteemed clients. The approach has always been quality and value-driven. Without a doubt, it has worked for us.
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What are the core values of your company? How do you establish efficient coordination and meditate on the company’s values within all levels of the organization?
At Tata Realty, we are committed to delighting our customers by improving their quality of life. We commit to continuously improving our processes and adopting ethical practices by engaging our employees and stakeholders. We endeavor to surpass statutory and regulatory standards applicable to our industry.
Our values are as follows:
- Be Responsible: We are accountable for our actions. We empower people and practice sustainability.
- Unite to lead: We are the leaders in our industry by being an agile, innovative, and collaborative team.
- Inspire Trust: We are fair and transparent.
- Lead through excellence: Excellence is at the heart of everything we do.
- Delight Customers: We are highly empathetic to the needs of the customers and provide an exceptional customer experience.
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Shed light on the mission of the company. What is its long-term strategic vision?
Tata Realty works with a mission to improve the quality of life of the communities we serve globally through long-term stakeholder value creation based on Leadership with Trust. The company’s mission as a real estate development company is “to delight customers by providing quality life spaces through continuous innovations”.
The core objective of Tata Realty is to create a real estate development business that offers world-class property development skills while maximizing financial returns. The company is highly recognized for its quality construction, ethical and transparent business practices, and high standards of maintenance of properties. It has also partnered with internationally acclaimed architects & design consultants and pioneered the concept of property development by corporates in India.
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Mention the awards and milestones received by you so far?
Tata Realty has been one of the most awarded real estate companies in India. Some of the coveted honors achieved by the company are as follows:
Ramanujan IT Park
- CMO ASIA Award, Singapore – Environment-Friendly Project of the Year (Commercial), 2014
- Awarded with Platinum rating under LEED by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)
- CMO Asia Real Estate Award for India’s most admired IT Project for 2015 -16
- CNBC Real Estate Award for Best Commercial Property in Chennai, 2013
- Export Excellence Award from MEPZ
- WELL HSR certification
Intellion Edge Gurugram
- Awarded with Platinum rating under LEED by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)
- WELL HSR Certification
Intellion Park Gurugram
- Pre-certified LEED Platinum USGBC
Intellion Square Gurugram
- WELL HSR Certification
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In your opinion, what defines success? What is your secret to success?’
Success, in my perspective, is defined by the success of our employees, people, colleagues, and stakeholders. My emotional compass is to inspire each person to achieve their personal and professional goals by instilling confidence, dignity, and pride in them. According to me, the key to success is “people”.
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What has been the biggest motivating factor of your life? Any personality that inspires you the most?
I self-motivate through the success stories of stakeholders and my organization. The more difficult the challenge, the more excited I get. I always believe in finding solutions and moving forward. I have taken assignments in the worst of times and have been fortunate to deliver them successfully.
