NAVIN Manian is one of those guys you’d love to hate – if only he weren’t such a nice guy.
Here’s a guy who’s only 32, but already works at one of the largest telecommunications companies in the country, heading its biggest, most dynamic segment in terms of customer base. And he says things – without any airs at all – like: “I enjoy the pressure. I don’t even see it as pressure. It’s a challenge, an opportunity.”
Ugh. Over-achiever much? He even passed his grade eight piano exam when he was 14. No biggie.
But chatting with him at his office in Menara Maxis, Kuala Lumpur, where he works as Maxis’ Head of Prepaid, it’s hard to begrudge him his success. His down-to-earth manner belied a focus and determination that only showed ever so often when discussing what he does for a living.
“I like the nature of (the telco industry). It’s very fast-paced, very dynamic, and hyper-competitive,” he said. “Even after seven years of doing this, every day has been different.
“You have different technologies coming out, the competition is doing new stuff and customers expect more and more. I didn’t really know all this when I chose the job, but it was definitely the right choice.”
Navin grew up in Seremban, where his father is a lawyer and his mother a housewife. He studied at SMK King George V, and did his degree in international trade and marketing at Victoria University, Australia.
His first job in the telco industry was with one of Maxis’ rivals, where he rose swiftly through the ranks of its postpaid division until he was head of postpaid – and that was when Maxis came knocking.
“That was a huge jump for me. The postpaid business is very different from prepaid – the dynamics and consumers we’re selling to are different, and prepaid is also the biggest market in Malaysia. The prepaid to postpaid ratio here is 75% to 25%.
“So, it’s a bigger market, more dynamic, lower barrier to entry, fast delivery… Very exciting. Taking the job was a no-brainer,” he said.
Taking the job also meant having to keep up with young people, who make up a huge chunk of the prepaid market.
“I have to keep a finger on the pulse of the youth, who are the ones pushing the technological and Internet space forward. I can’t just look inward and discuss with my own team. I really need to be in tune with what young people are up to, especially on the Internet, where something can be a hit today, and a miss tomorrow. It’s just so dynamic.”
And exactly what are young people like these days? Navin believes they have big ambitions, want things fast, absorb information quickly and crave “visibility”; and Maxis is now evolving to accommodate that.
“We’ve ‘flattened’ the (organisational) structure,” he said. “Now it’s less hierarchical, and each individual has a wider scope, more end-to-end involvement, and more visibility and exposure – you get to present (ideas) more, meet the senior management team, etc.”
So, what does the forward-thinking, tech-savvy, mobile Internet championing head of Maxis prepaid do in his free time? He reads magazines. In hard copy.
“There’s just something about it!” he said with a laugh.
“I get bite-sized pieces of news on my phone through social media, but to get a wider and deeper perspective on what’s going on in the world, I sit at home during the weekend, and read magazines. Maybe it’s nostalgia.”
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