Gaurav Gupta

IBM Consulting's leadership is undergoing a change as John Granger hands over the reins to Mohamad Ali and Kelly Chambliss. While this news has left many with mixed feelings, let me take a moment to reflect on my three thoughtful interactions with John ... starting from the times when he had a brief stint living in India around 2016-17. This is my tribute to him. #1: John would review each Sector every quarter. My first review with him in 2016 was a disaster. The remote telepresence equipment failed for unknown reasons, the landline phone would not connect, and finally I had to present over a mobile phone speaker with poor audio. I ensured my next few reviews were f2f in Bengaluru, but more importantly, those reviews truly shaped me up for C-level story boarding and pitches. When John learnt I was traveling at my own cost to meet him f2f for the reviews, he immediately instructed that my travels be reimbursed ... very thoughtful of him. #2: John saw me in action in 2017 during a client's CIO meeting he and I had in Delhi for a new logo opportunity with a global enterprise. So, later when I met him at his NYC office late in 2018 and expressed my aspirations towards a leadership role in the US, he supported me wholeheartedly and entrusted our global HR leader Daniel Sturm to work this thru with the US market. While this opportunity progressed, my current role in the Philippines opened up suddenly and I immediately picked it up. Soon, John connected me to the US Sector leader of an account in trouble and asked him to work with me as ... (in his words) ... "Sanjiv can solve anything". That was truly inspiring. #3: There are two people I would openly credit for my progression to an IBM Senior Partner ... Amit Sharma and John Granger. When I met John f2f right after and thanked him, his reaction was like brushing it aside stating he hardly did anything and rather "I earned it" with what I had been doing for IBM's Center in the Philippines. Coming from someone of John's stature, these were truly defining moments of my IBM career. My best wishes to John for his next innings in life starting early 2025. #IBM #IBMConsulting #IBMPhilippines #CICPhilippines

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