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“My job is to make sure that when you wake up in the morning and decide to spend some money, you'll like spend it on me.”
143 Plays1 year ago
s sana in corpore sano - it's been a great awakening, a scary awakening but now I'm in a good place.
With a corporate job and globe trotting, moving international, living life as we would have dreamt of at INSEAD, you also need to have certain discipline which I did not have. When I just moved to Bangkok in 2019, I was basically living between Paris and Bangkok for close to eight months and then traveling in different geographies. This took a toll where I was living out of a suitcase for eight months, eating, drinking whatever I could get, sleeping whenever I could, working my ass off. I think it reached a point where my body at a certain point said “Okay, enough”. That evening I got to sleep, I woke up in the middle of the night, I can't get out of bed, I can't move. That scared the hell out of me and forced me to do something.
20 YEARS IN PERSPECTIVE:
Professionally, I'm still on the journey to find exactly what I want to do.
I've been automotive throughout, 2 big groups, 4 different brands, Fiat, Alpha Romeo, Maserati and now in Nisan.
On the personal side, beautiful family, two kids, 5 cities, close to 11 apartments and potentially contemplating a new one.
I might be the most healthy over the last fifteen years at this point in time
Would have been nice If somebody had told me how much patience you need to work in Asia before I started the role here.
ON TOPIC: Data driven marketing, dynamic creative in automotive
When it comes to cars, [buying one] is the most irrational thing a person can do. You work your ass off to make some money and then the day you say “Okay, I want this car”, you sign a check, the day you sign the check it's not even dry, 30% of the value is gone, it's the only asset that depreciates.
We’re talking about [a purchase] in tens to hundred plus thousands of euros per car, so the minimum you would expect is to have a great customer journey, but it's shite.
Data driven marking - in automotive we were lagging compared to the rest of industries, especially when it comes to cars. It's a huge ticket item in terms of spend, people leave a lot of data points. We spend billions on creating the website and the only thing we do is use that as a showcase.
ON TOPIC: The Automotive industry, disruption, data driven marketing, Tesla, electric vehicles, Formula 1 and more
86 million people buy a new car every year.
Automotive is at a crossroad, a lot of changes happening, but what you will generally hear is, for some time we've be talking about this is the CASE - which is Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric.
The main thing now is the growth of China. This year is the first year when China is forecasted to overtake Japan in terms of CBU exports and most of that is electric.
Europe is moving to electrified and the Chinese are coming in at a different price point, so there could be big changes in the brands that we see on European roads in a short space of time.
Is Germany in trouble? Yeah, I don't know if it's in trouble or not, it's too hard to say but the domestic China sales used to be a big driver for all the brands in Germany. Domestic China sales are taking a toll, because the Chinese are really coming up, especially with electric.
What [Tesla] did good was throwing away all conventional ways of looking at things. It potentially could be 1 of the most vertically integrated companies, so it's much easier for them to grab the better, the bigger part of profit, or manage the cost.
All THINGS INSEAD AND GIVING BACK
INSEAD has been the first point of contact in any country I've tried to have landed at.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Republic of Insead Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
This is Republic of Insead, the 20 years later O3D podcast edition. I am Milena Ivanova and will be your host in this limited series. So, here we are, 20 years later, hopefully all the wiser, naturally smarter and as charming as ever. There were 432 of us in the O3D vintage.
00:00:25
Speaker
And certainly there are 432 unique and very interesting personal and professional stories to tell. While I cannot physically cover all, I have tried to make a selection of stories that will keep you interested and curious and will hopefully convince you to join us on campus for reunion. Welcome to the Republic of Insead Podcast Edition and enjoy the show.
Cultural Identity and Personal Transformation
00:00:55
Speaker
You think he's Indian? Think again. He lives under the misconception that he's actually Italian. It's all one big misunderstanding. But this past year he has been gradually replacing his Indian accent with a fabulous Italian one. He has mastered the art of gesticulation and is hooked onto clothes and perfumes.
00:01:21
Speaker
While he can take himself out of India, he cannot take India out of himself and is a perfect combination of spice and tranquility. He is the most cheerful person I have ever met. He is always laughing, though granted generally at his own jokes.
00:01:39
Speaker
But he also loves while making a class presentation and his outlook on life is contagious. He loves parties and is a wonderful friend, helpful and reliable. All this probably explains his capacity to find a daily victim, someone willing to freeze their derriere outside in the cold to keep him company while having a smoke. That is right. We used to smoke. I definitely was one of the daily victims.
00:02:06
Speaker
But victim is maybe the wrong word for that.
Life Changes and Career Reflections
00:02:10
Speaker
Welcome to the show. And as things stand, I must ask you, are you still smoking? No, I have stopped. There you go. Four years. I'm proud of it. That makes two of us. I owe it to my son. I don't know how you managed, but maybe it was a pregnancy song.
00:02:27
Speaker
Welcome, welcome, and let's begin. Where have been the last, where do I find you and where have been the last 20 years? Give us the snapshot in five minutes. Snapshot, so a snapshot, I'd start with saying, Savadikab, you find me in Thailand. I've been here, the land of smiles, aptly, for the last four years. So last 20 years, it's been a crazy ride on the personal side,
00:02:56
Speaker
Beautiful family, two kids, I guess, I don't know, five cities, close to 11 apartments, and potentially contemplating a new one. So that's where I am in my headspace. Professionally, again, I guess I've been automotive throughout. So two big groups, four different brands, working in, I don't know, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and now in Nissan.
00:03:27
Speaker
I think moved here different jobs across Europe in different countries and then moved to Bangkok as head of marketing for the APAC region in 2019. And then as we know, the world changed as we know. For me, I mean, I have to say it was a good moment in life. So yeah, so and then I changed, I changed roles again and started heading a business unit, looking at the sales and marketing for Nissan in this region. And now moving on to a different role.
00:03:57
Speaker
onboarding into a new role based out of Japan, but still still in Bangkok. That's where I am. There you
Marketing Strategies in the Automotive Industry
00:04:03
Speaker
go. So automotive. Well, that was a big part of why I wanted to get you on the show, because we don't have someone else in automotive. And we do, but in terms of me knowing them so well, that's right.
00:04:21
Speaker
So it's one industry that's been disrupted very nicely. So a lot of things have been disrupted very nicely, I must say, but yes, automotive. And the second one is last time I saw it in Bangkok, which was last November, we talked about marketing and you were talking about data-driven marketing. And I was, I've already spoken, I have Daniel Crook and
00:04:48
Speaker
Rob Chang on the record with the discussion on marketing, but I also wanted to get your your insights there so that's that and What did you say have been the biggest challenge or challenges in these last 20 years for you both personally and professionally whichever way I think Professionally, I think I'm still on the journey to find exactly what I want to do
00:05:13
Speaker
I think knowing me and you know me, you told me exactly.
Personal and Professional Challenges
00:05:18
Speaker
Exactly. So it's a journey. So I still, if you ask me, have I reached where I want, I mean, what I exactly want to do? No. So I think that's still, it's still, it's still a challenge there. But I, but I live life as, as, as, and when it comes, I grab it by the arms and I like change. So in a way it's, it's a good thing for me.
00:05:38
Speaker
Professionally, it's been a hell of a ride, but at the end of the day, it's good. And personally, I mean, I can't say much more. I've been lucky. I've found a good partner. She's, how do I say, changed my life. And my kids, I mean, you know them. So I can't say. I'm extremely, extremely happy, extremely humble to have this joy as part of my life. There are moments of tension, of course.
00:06:07
Speaker
But these two elements are going good, if I can say it like that. And then we spoke in Bangkok about health.
00:06:22
Speaker
So let's speak about health and you are telling me, cause I'm getting this from a lot of people as I've been catching up with people and recording. So give me your journey. You got into a bit of trouble and had to actually get back into. Yeah. Yes. So, so, I mean, I guess most of us would have gone through with a corporate job and glob protein, moving international living
00:06:51
Speaker
Living life as we would have, would be dreamt of an INSEAD. So getting into the life, I guess you also need to have certain discipline, which I did not have. So I was basically, when I just moved to Bangkok in 2019.
00:07:05
Speaker
Priyanka decided to stay back in Paris because she was expecting our daughter. She was more comfortable doing that. So I was basically living between Paris and Bangkok for close to eight months, two weeks here, two weeks there, and then traveling in different geographies. This took a toll where I was living out of a suitcase for eight months, eating, drinking, whatever I could get, sleeping whenever I could, working my ass off. So I think it reached a point where
00:07:33
Speaker
with my body at certain points, okay, enough. Yeah. System down. System down, yeah. I mean, in a way I didn't expect, I mean, I went to sleep one day and no, sorry, actually the day in the morning, my daughter was running around and she was looking at me and running. She would have banged against the wall. I just sleep down to hold her and did something on my back. And I thought, okay, that's, you know, aches happen. You're getting old now. That evening I go to sleep.
00:08:02
Speaker
I wake up in the middle of the night and I can't get out of bed. I'm like, I can't move. That kind of scared the hell out of me. And then being Bangkok and going to the doctor is very interesting. Because the first thing they ask you is, do you have insurance? And when you say yes, then suddenly you're put under surgery. So I was scared quite a bit. But luckily, I didn't jump to that. I started looking at reading up a bit more. And finally, I found out basically it was a muscular issue.
00:08:32
Speaker
where my body has enough of using certain set of muscles or certain that I had not used at all in my life, I guess. And that kind of blocked itself saying, okay, it's time you make a change and forced me to do that. So which has been, and luckily it happened to a certain extent during the COVID period where, so I guess all of us started getting a bit more healthy.
00:08:55
Speaker
Yeah, so it helped. At the time, I had the opportunity to focus a bit more on my health. Family had come, we were settled, travel was zero. So it kind of helped me get back into a certain rhythm. Not that I'm extremely healthy now and doing great stuff, but I think I might be the most healthy over the last 15 years at this point in time.
00:09:18
Speaker
So it's it's yeah, it's been it's been a great awakening and there's something I'm trying to get into my son now who is 11 That when I grew up this was not there. Yeah, I mean We could be eating whatever you want to do what we want, which is still good I still wanted to do that But at least get into his head in terms of weight training is not bad. You you need it For later on. Yeah, so that's that's the kind of thing I'm getting trying to get it into him. But yeah, it was a scary
00:09:47
Speaker
awakening but now I'm in a good place. Now all good, personal trainer, working out. Yeah, we do have to take care. Well, it's the yogis that say, you know, it's the temple, our bodies are temple. So we do need to take care of it because the physical body goes into the mental then as well. So everything is related. It's not just the yogis. I mean, this is Latin or the brand. It's Essex. Yeah.
00:10:17
Speaker
healthy mind and healthy body. I know of course, of course, of course, but healthy mind and healthy body. Absolutely. There you go. So,
Data-Driven Marketing at Nissan
00:10:28
Speaker
okay. So let's talk marketing, as I mentioned. So tell me your whole
00:10:36
Speaker
data-driven marketing because what surprised me is not I know and I remember someone had come to give us a lecture and it was I forget but and she was saying that it's all about data so we all know this but what surprised me when we talked about it is that you said hardly any company does it not hardly but in fact not so many companies do it so it's yeah I mean
00:11:05
Speaker
Let's say depending on industry changes a lot. So I guess FMC, your e-commerce firms are totally working on that, but automotive, you would expect, I mean, we are good at a lot of things, but this was at least we were lagging compared to the rest of the industries. And especially when it comes to cars, it's a huge ticket item in terms of spend. People leave a lot of data points.
00:11:31
Speaker
I mean, as an automotive company, we spent billions on creating the website and blah, blah, blah. And the only thing we do is use that as a showcase. And that was the case. If you would go and look at the car that you could have been interested in, configure it, choose the color, the combinations, the trim, everything, all the data is there. It's stored.
00:11:59
Speaker
But then I would come back to you with a generic ad. Yeah. Maybe potentially another car, right? So that was the thing. This is, again, extremely simplifying it. But this was the, this is, or it still is rather an issue to a certain extent, because you need to have a lot of tech in place, a lot of things connected, because we are good at legacy systems and building new all the time. Instead of trying to look at holistically and see how do we ensure
00:12:29
Speaker
a good journey. And I think COVID also there was a good impetus to try and see, OK, suddenly we found ourselves people couldn't go to places to buy cars. So we had to digitalize in a really fast pace to try and ensure that we can cope up with this change. So that kind of helped a lot. And so suddenly the board was, OK,
00:12:57
Speaker
Because you don't see it return straight away. You need to show it in investment required is quite big. So having this push thanks to the external environment change really helped us focus on to this. If I talk about Nissan and the key thing was also using the data to ensure a very seamless customer journey. Because again, you're talking about like from 10 to 100 plus thousands of cars, euros, a car, right?
00:13:25
Speaker
So the minimum you would expect is to have a great customer journey, but it's, it's shite. So there again, again was to see what is the data, what is the data telling us? How can we use it? Where do people drop off on the website? I mean, simple stuff, which earlier was we had, we were not using it as much. And then utilizing the data and the, and the, uh, from customer visits on our website, which was a platform on other touch points, trying to match all this together.
00:13:55
Speaker
to then go back. A simple thing would be like, we have data on the car, right? Which you buy a car, then you service the car. So all this data is there, but it's all in different systems. So maybe after three years, I would write to you saying, Milena, by the way, listen, buy a new car, give back the three-year-old car, get a new car. My colleague from the after sales will be writing to you at the same time saying, by the way, come to the service, I'll get you a better deal. Don't change the car. The bank will be telling you,
00:14:25
Speaker
refinance it and so everybody comes to you even though we all have the same data points there was nobody putting it all together trying to see how can we what is the best time to reach Milena what is the best message for Milena right and and and potentially which product is the right thing for Milena so that I can get her to stay with me and continue her journey for more so that was the impetus on which we were trying to do and get into data driven marketing
00:14:55
Speaker
At the end of the day, if I don't sell, it doesn't help. How far down the road are you on this journey? Since we started in 2019, again, I talk about us. It's progressed quite well. It's progressed quite well. Now, I think we've reached a point where we are... I'm talking about this part of the world again. We are into dynamic creative based on the data that we get.
00:15:20
Speaker
live and to a certain extent even looking at production planning, right? Because I know how many people are coming, what is the right people, what kind of specs and colors people are looking at, trims people are looking at, so I can plan even my supply chain based on that, not just customer facing. So it's in a good state at this point and time. Let's say I guess where
00:15:45
Speaker
The others would have been maybe four or five years ago. We are there now and then I'm going forward. So a lot of things are happening again within the industry. Did you say dynamic creative? Dynamic creative, yeah. How does that work? Dynamic creative. Again, you do an example would be, let's say the pack shot would be the same. Okay. The same car, but based on what you've chosen, I can come to you with the color you've chosen. Right.
00:16:12
Speaker
I can, I can look at the ads that I see online. The ad that comes to you online. Exactly. Exactly. The ad that comes to you online. Even the messaging can change depending on whether you were looking at financing or you're looking at a cash payment, where you're looking at something else, subscription. So based on that, I can come come to you with those messages. So it'll be much more tailored to you versus right.
00:16:39
Speaker
No, exactly. That's why I was telling you on Chrome earlier. Right. OK. All right. It opens up a world of possibilities. Scary sometimes, but it's interesting.
Future Trends in the Automotive Industry
00:16:53
Speaker
All right. And so if we talk automotive and the future of mobility, what do you see from where you stand, where you sit? And what do you expect to see?
00:17:06
Speaker
asked to see in the next decade, in the next five decades. I don't know. Oh my God. I knew that I think I'd be doing something else now. But I think automotive is at a crossroad. A lot of change is happening. I mean, what you will generally hear is, I guess for some time we've been talking about this, is the case at CAAC, which is Connected Autonomous Shared
00:17:35
Speaker
and electric. So this is where the industry is, at least for now, focusing towards. So everyone's talking on connected cars, because that's what also the new generation of customers are looking for, an extension of their private space, which is the phone, pads, whatever form factor could be autonomous. Now, it sounds very nice. You think you sit in a car and drive by itself, but
00:18:05
Speaker
I think the technology is there. It's a lot of things have to fall in place from regulation through to insurance. I mean, many things have to come in place, right? I mean, it's like in case of a potential accident, who does the car save and who is responsible for it? Who is liable for it? I mean, many things. Is it the street? Is it the customer? Is it the pedestrian? I don't know. So a lot of things around.
00:18:32
Speaker
So autonomous is one thing, but it can help a lot. Shared mobility, because people are moving away from owning cars to looking at how they can move again, the shared economy per se, especially for the youngsters coming in. Driven by a lot of things, yeah, also because they're not loyal to, they do not care about owning a car to potentially they cannot own a car because of the price of the cars have gone up so much. And that's also due to technology.
00:19:02
Speaker
So all these things are coming in and then the electric, which is regulation is driving a certain move towards electric cars for zero emissions and stuff. So that itself is driving up car costs like crazy. I mean, the entry level cars in Europe, like which we were used to, I guess the new generation of cars would be potentially two and a half or three times more expensive than what we were buying.
00:19:30
Speaker
So this kind of forces you to go into shared ownership to a certain extent. And the cost is driven by the batteries or? On an electric car, yes, but it's not just the batteries, it's also all the technologies that are coming in. So if you want a connector, autonomous electric car, it will cost you something, right? And so battery is a big cost to the car.
00:19:54
Speaker
So I think the next thing that you you'll read a lot about this and you hear a lot about people are working on solid state batteries which can give cheaper and more range. That could be a good deadline for the FT today. First time I heard about it was 10 minutes ago reading the FT so thank you. Now you can tell us all about it.
00:20:19
Speaker
Tom, I'm not the R&D guy. I just try to sell them. That's my... I mean, if you think about it, when it comes to cars, right? It is the most... I think I've told you this. It is the most irrational thing that a person can do. Oh, yeah? You work your ass off to make some money and then the day you say, okay, I want this car, you sign the check. The day you sign the check, it's not even dry. 30% of the value is gone. How about planes? It's the only asset that depreciates. Planes and yachts.
00:20:48
Speaker
I know, but not everybody. I mean, 86 million people buy it every year. Yeah. 86 million people buy a new car every year. Or more or less industry, T-I-V. Global. Right. So, so people. So it's, it's, it's, it's quite huge. So it's like, so my job is to make sure that when you wake up in the morning and decide to spend some money, you'll expand it on me. That's, that's what I, that's what I like to do.
00:21:15
Speaker
No, so coming back, a lot of things in the industry, it's a big customer of a lot of things. And I think the main thing now is also the growth of China, China going out. So till last year, Japan was the biggest export country in the world for automotive, CBU export. Because in the US, you produce locally. Most of it is local consumption.
00:21:45
Speaker
China was mostly local consumption and stuff. This year is the first year when China has become, or is forecasted to be, overtake Japan in terms of CBU exports. And most of that is electric. And you'll see that a lot in Europe, where the legacy European players, everybody's gone electric, but Europe is moving to electrified. And the Chinese are coming in at a different price point.
00:22:13
Speaker
So there could be big changes in how well the brands that we see on the European roads in a short space of time. Was the Chinese brand that I would be seeing soon? Which one? I think the most sold electric brand in the world now is called BYD. So build your dreams.
00:22:39
Speaker
Yeah, so they used to be a battery manufacturer in China, but now they're into electric cars. They sell more than Teslas. And they are globally expanding. And I think, I don't know if he still has some share in it, but Warren Buffett was a big fan of them. So that also kind of, there's a lot of spin on that. The BYD is big. There is, who else is there? There's MG, which is like a British brand, but owned by Chinese.
00:23:09
Speaker
And then there's Geely with Volvo, but Geely also has its own brand. And if you see, there was a Shanghai Motor Show, which is just finished recently. I could not go, but I saw a report that from there. I mean, it was just electric. It was electric. It was connected. It was crazy. And there are a lot of cars. There were a lot of brands in China, which we don't even know about.
00:23:38
Speaker
And if you don't know that it's a Chinese brand, it looks like a very premium car. And people are now losing this issue of buying into a Chinese brand because quality is improving. And BYD is a very good car. So it's a good competitor. Maybe 10 years ago you would say a Chinese brand is a cheap brand. You have cheap brands, of course, but the good ones are also very, very well done. So yeah.
00:24:08
Speaker
things watch the space. A lot of things are going to happen. So is Germany in trouble then? Is Germany in trouble? Automotive Germany. Yeah, I don't know if it's in trouble or not. It's too hard to say. But the China used to be the domestic China sales used to be a big driver for all the brands in Germany. And domestic China sales are taking a toll because the Chinese are really
00:24:35
Speaker
uh coming up especially with electric there's a lot of spending by the government on incentivizing it so that could have an impact but at this point i don't know what they have what plans they have but they're not they don't sit back yeah i mean like in europe tesla was number one but i think over the last couple of months or a couple of quarters fox wagon is the most sold electric brand in in in europe no so they're coming back the legacy brands are coming back
00:25:04
Speaker
at what cost and what profit God knows. And so since you've mentioned Tesla twice and then legacy versus disruptors, there's no dispute that Tesla is well disrupted the industry in terms of going electric. I think that's consensus or am I wrong? No, I mean, I think again, I'm not plugging in something here, but the first ones to do electric were
00:25:34
Speaker
Plus, it doesn't mean it's the best. The worst was Nissan in terms of selling electric cars, mass marketing electric cars. And everybody was moving hybrid. You were the only ones doing electric. Tesla saw that too and jumped on it. So much so that Tesla bought an old Toyota plant in the US. And that's how they started off in terms of manufacturing. What they did good was
00:26:02
Speaker
throwing away all conventional way of looking at things. Because we as legacy automakers have, I mean, everything is process driven. You can't change anything the way it is, because it was done 100 years ago. And that's the struggle. Tesla doesn't have that. It was a startup, could relook at everything so much so that it's, I think it potentially could be one of the most vertically integrated companies you would find. And they looked at engineering and processes to things like they have
00:26:33
Speaker
different how do I say the components used to create the body is much less than a Tesla versus normal and let's say standard legacy automakers. So they have created their own presses so they don't have to rely on suppliers they have many things which are vertically integrated where they manage the whole supply chain so it's much easier for them to grab the better the bigger part of profit or cost manage the cost that's what they have done and
00:27:00
Speaker
they have a good advantage. And even comes to battery, I think battery technology, they are currently have have an advantage, but it's, it's slowly being taken out by the legacy ones also by the Chinese for coming in. So when I think disruptors, I often think of it's, it's not a guarantee and being first mover is also not
00:27:22
Speaker
in this country. It's not an advantage, right? So I often think of the Palm Pilot or the Motorola Poland, which was a favorite of mine. And so what would be your, would you dare to make a forecast on is Tesla gonna be a market, not market leader, but have a big share 10 or 15 years from now, or is it going to?
00:27:52
Speaker
I think I think they will be there also because they've changed the way we look at cars, right? And things like now you hear a lot about software defined vehicles. So if you hear the Renault press conference, they say now we are
00:28:08
Speaker
working on software-defined vehicles, blah, blah, blah. It basically gives you a chance to, it's like becoming a phone where you have over-the-air updates and many things happening in that sense. So a lot of the configuration of the car can be changed, can be upgraded. So I think Tesla is leading on that. And so they will continue to be a force. And they're opening up. I mean, if you read the newspaper, Musk is going everywhere and saying, I'm going to open an India and China and Germany.
00:28:37
Speaker
At the same time, he's opening all over the place. He's opened in Thailand. So they are becoming big. But what you also see is now they are, to a certain extent, being forced to move to legacy practices. So Tesla had never advertised. Now he's open to advertising. They had never discounted. Now, since a year, Tesla has been discounting like nuts.
00:29:06
Speaker
Which is they can afford it I believe but which is kind of disrupting again the Like all these new cars coming in Suddenly all of us have to say how to how does he manage with that cost level? Right. So so but but it is going through to get volumes. He is discounting. Yeah Yeah, so he's moving to a legacy way of working But I think he's still be there. He'll still be there
00:29:31
Speaker
That's my sense of disappearing but in the sense of at some point it was like Tesla is taking over and all the dinosaurs are dying or gonna die and we are and now it's more like how much is gonna stay for Tesla and then the incumbents
00:29:50
Speaker
Yeah, no, I think automotive is it's very difficult for it to die like that because the social cost around is huge.
The Future of Automotive Fuels
00:29:58
Speaker
So there's the amount of between the OEMs and the tier suppliers plus everything there is crazy. You shut down. I don't know how much of GDP of a country if something big like that happened. So they are transitioning everyone is transitioning into new energy vehicles. So I mean, currently, I think in 20.
00:30:21
Speaker
calendar, let's say in 2022 of the TIV that I mentioned, 80 plus million, the new energy vehicles, which are electric, fully electric, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids account for around 20% of TIV, close to 20%. So it's slowly shifting because of regulation, because of whatever. So everyone will move to that. Then at the end, again, it becomes a customer choice of what they want.
00:30:49
Speaker
Because it is still a big ticket item, so people it's good that they can still choose. But there are a lot of countries and places where the regulation is at a different pace. So you need to have all options available. So Asia is still.
00:31:06
Speaker
what we call ICE, so combustion engines. It's slowly moving towards electric or even hybrid. Europe is going electric. The US currently now with the new taxation scheme in place is trying to move electric, but only if it is electric in the US, produced in the US. So those kind of regulations are there to help legacy and non-legacy. So we need to see how it goes. I don't know how 15 years from now, I have no idea.
00:31:33
Speaker
So is it electric? Is the future electric or is the hydro hydrogen? Yeah, I think at this point in time, it's it's everyone has jumped on to electric. Let's put it that way. Yeah. But it's distribution wise, it's easier. Grade wise need to be seen because a lot of grades, especially in also in Europe, are not very, I remember in Italy, there's a study where people, if the TIV changes to electric,
00:32:03
Speaker
the grid won't be able to support it, the electric grid in the country, right? So I think we need to see that, but hydrogen potentially could be a good fuel. I think it's more in terms of distribution as well as ensuring that you can package it in a safe environment as a fuel and the vehicle. So again, not being a R&D guy, I can't tell you. The key thing of electric, what I can say, irrespective of company is
00:32:33
Speaker
The tailpipe emission from the car is zero, right? But you need to look at the full life cycle in terms of how electricity is produced in the country. So if it is like China burning coal and mowing everyone into electric, you're not burning there, but you're burning somewhere else. And how the battery is produced again is a different thing. So now the industry is looking at the full life cycle to see how
00:32:58
Speaker
how much of, let's say, carbon neutrality we are promoting, to then say this car is more carbon neutral versus the other. And last one on this topic. Yeah, sure. Sports cars. Sports cars. And Formula One, the favorite of my son and my husband. Thank God they exist. Yes, OK, but what happens there? Are they going electric? No, there is already a Formula E.
00:33:28
Speaker
Yes, Formula One. No, Formula One is Formula One. Still guzzling, you need that. Forever. Forever, I don't know. I think it's always... You have, it's been going on for a long time. But Formula One, I think, the magic of Formula One is still there. It's revived again, so it's very nice to see. Will it change fully into Formula E? I think that was the thinking when the Formula E started.
00:33:56
Speaker
Also because Formula E you can take anywhere and again, it's a city circuit. You can drive it in a city. And the fact that there's no emission, it becomes much more, would it change? I don't know. I wouldn't want it to change. I still like the Formula 1, me personally. Formula E is nice, but I guess I'm from an older generation. I grew up loving Formula 1.
00:34:20
Speaker
and the rivalries. Today, if you ask me honestly, even though I'm in the industry, if you ask me a Formula E driver, I wouldn't know. Yeah. And... Go ahead. No, you mentioned something else, Formula One and something else. Sports cars. Sports cars. Boys and boys. Yeah, no, sports cars, you have both options. I mean, the electric car again, it's not a boring car. It's an awesome... I mean, the torque you get is great.
00:34:50
Speaker
You can zip because there is no mechanical loss and you touch it, you fly. So it's a great drive. But with the sports cars, the smell, the sound, that feel, rugged feel is what people like. There will always be people who want that. So there's always a place for those kinds of cars. But the mainstream will move, in my view, to more electric. Also because, as manufacturers, we'll move towards
00:35:20
Speaker
more electric so the choices you have will be very very limited but both cars thank god for you need the soul in cars yeah it could be it could be uh it could be defects whatever but that soul needs to be there that's what's your favorite but that's me what's your favorite car my favorite oh that's that's very difficult i think
00:35:45
Speaker
The car that I've enjoyed driving the most, again, not that I drive a lot of it, I just driven it once on the Nordschleife on Nürburgring, was the Porsche GT3. Porsche GT3 stick shift, that was amazing. I've never had the feeling with any other car.
Maintaining INSEAD Connections and Giving Back
00:36:04
Speaker
And then Insead, so we stay in touch the whole time, that's great. But tell me other ways other than friends that Insead has
00:36:13
Speaker
been with you through these years and then your way of thinking about staying in touch, giving back, all that. I have made lifelong friendships from 20 years ago. I think we are a good example of that. I've been moving around a bit, so anywhere I go,
00:36:42
Speaker
I've been trying to reach out to the community. I'm not a very, how do I say, social person. So I don't go out and start trying to contact every person possible, but INSEAD has been the first point of contact in any country I've tried to, I've landed at. Whether I've been good at keeping in touch, no. That's how I am because of
00:37:11
Speaker
whatever reason. But it's always been, always try to reach out and find some kind of connection with people, people from the school. So that's been great. In terms of giving back, again, my personal view is I've always had this cherish this thing of one final day going back to teaching to a certain extent. And not teaching as a professor kind of thing, but more giving back hopefully wisdom that I've accumulated.
00:37:39
Speaker
And that's something which I would like to do. I used to do that in school for my school or even my engineering college. So that's something which I'm going forward is something I'd like to look into, see how I can give back more to people coming in so that they don't come out just having the textbooks. Yeah, there we are inside the lifelong relationship, friendship. Oh yeah, totally, totally.
00:38:07
Speaker
Last bit is my quick round of questions. If you are ready, I go. Are you ready? Yeah.
Personal Insights and Philosophies
00:38:14
Speaker
Round test achievement. My kids, of course, the two proudest things I have, but also giving up smoking for 22 years, somewhere there. Success for you is? Mentally at peace and having time to do what I want. Happiness is? Good health and having a great family around. Biggest regret?
00:38:38
Speaker
I don't know if I have many regrets. There was one where I wanted to open an agritourism or in the state of Kerala, focused on Italians, didn't happen. Well, you can always do it in retirement, but Kerala is an amazing place to do this, actually. I fully am on board, welcome. What keeps you awake at night other than your back, hopefully now?
00:39:04
Speaker
Oh, no, no, my back is OK now. I think more now I think I've reached a point where the only thing that keeps you near is the latest movie offering on Netflix. What did you watch last? The last I mean, I saw extraction to I think three days ago. I just finished Kaleidoscope. Yeah, a very big suspense. But yes, I stay away from Netflix most of the year, but twice a year I end up in a
00:39:33
Speaker
binge situations. I totally hear you. Wish you had known or someone had told you. I think we touched on this earlier. It's the importance of weight training and good eating. Like irrespective of whatever you do and the harm of sugar. Yeah. And on a lighter note, I guess now after four years here, if somebody had told me how much patience you need to work in Asia, would have been nice before I started the role here. Patience.
00:40:01
Speaker
Patience, patience to work in Asia. Open bracket, what's the biggest frustration culturally or adjustment other than? I think feedback loops are very different. I think we are used to more direct feedbacks. People have understood, not understood. You can give. Here it's more a subtle nuance of maybe could be, you know, everybody is happy because everybody is understood what they want. So things take time.
00:40:31
Speaker
Mm-hmm. If you had to do it all over again, what would you change? Maybe I'd have kids earlier. Uh-huh. But then there would be the ones you have, so... No, of course, of course, of course. I would have had more time with them. Yeah. Well, well, I used to think like that, and then someone told me, because I was 40 when I had ASAN, so... And then someone told me, how do you know how long you will live?
00:40:58
Speaker
Therefore it's a top right. So retirement ever or never. Oh my God. I mean, it depends with a four year old. At this point, I'm not even thinking of retirement. But I mean, I'll always keep on I'll always keep on doing something. I don't think I'll ever if I stop, I die. I need to do something. The Kerala business. Oh, yeah. For Italians in Kerala.
00:41:26
Speaker
If you had to pick one book, everyone should read. That's tight. Actually, I used to read a lot, but now I've totally lost it. So I wouldn't know at this time. I'd say Asterix, the comic book. But that's what I would go for. Most admired public person. To me, as I said, it's very difficult to choose one. So I would go for Muhammad Ali. We just discussed it before we met. So because I've met the person,
00:41:56
Speaker
I've read a story and this is what he's gone through. So, incredible, incredible person. How much of that is the spin we see? I do not know, but my understanding is it's really genuine. So, I really admire it. And most despised public person? There's no specific person. I despise religious leaders who use their platform and teachings to divide and unite. Same could be said for politicians.
00:42:26
Speaker
Last one, I know it's tough there, but are you coming to Reunion? At this point, I do not know. I hope I can, but I don't know. As I said, I'm in the middle of a lot of changes. I don't know about this time. Otherwise, we'll come to Bangkok and then you're inside. Oh yeah, please do. You know the place. You know the room too. There we are.
Closing Remarks and Invitation
00:42:48
Speaker
So I can now officially say for those who didn't figure it out, this was a conversation with Nirmal Nair, who is vice president of marketing and sales, or maybe now you change job. So I don't know what your title is, but he's with Nissan Motor Asia Pacific. And thank you so much for your time. And I do hope you come to you somehow miraculously make it to fall. Let's see. Let's see.
00:43:15
Speaker
Thank you so much. Thanks a lot. Lovely speaking to you. You were listening to the Republic of Insead 20 years later or 3D podcast edition. It is my hope to remind everyone what an interesting and dare I say colorful bunch of people we are and how much we can contribute to each other, be it through ideas, knowledge or mere inspiration. The podcast is inspired by the original Republic of Insead yearbook
00:43:44
Speaker
Produced on paper 20 years ago by Oliver Bradley and team. Thank you, Ollie and team for this contribution to our classes memory and for letting me continue in the tradition title and inspiration included. Creator and author of the Republic of India, 20 years later, all three deep podcast edition. Am I Milena Ivanova original music by Peter Dondakoff with help from their films productions.
00:44:08
Speaker
Stay tuned for more and remember to book your tickets for the 20-year reunion in Fontainebleau October 6th, 8th, 2023. Thank you for listening.