CEO TALKS (no. 59)

TITLE:     Excellence in the face of Global Competition

SYNOPSIS This talk shall cover how a small company faces competition from the global giants as well as the local outfits, and how excellence is a way of life in the group of companies. They practice "One Company, One Voice" as a corporate mantra and Mr. Argarwalla will show how this helps to build a strong brand. Mr. Agarwalla will share some of his experiences - the good ones and the blunders!

SPEAKER Mr Arvind Agarwalla is the CEO and founder of Vedika Software Pvt Ltd in Calcutta , India , FACT Software International Pte Ltd of Singapore and FACT System Malaysia Sdn Bhd of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Mr Agarwalla was born in Calcutta , India .  He graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from St Xavier's College.  His first job was as manager of a gas station in Calcutta for four years.  Although he turned a money losing operation into a profit maker, he was not satisfied with the challenges that this occupation provided, so he founded Vedika Software in 1987.  As the prime mover behind the new company, he was responsible for the overall administration, vision, and management of Vedika.

The company is the developer of the revolutionary realtime accounting software called FACT. The application allows companies to manage virtually all of their accounting and inventory accounts on a “real-time” basis.

PERKS is another first in the Payroll and HR segment. Despite the complexities of payroll in each country, PERKS is used today by companies in several countries, without customisation.

Mr Agarwalla moved the international sales and support headquarters to Singapore in 1993 as part of an expansion plan for the company.  Today, FACT is sold and supported in 16 countries locally, with more than 100,000 companies depending on FACT to maintain their accounts. The FACT Group is on a rapid growth trajectory. Companies have been incorporated recently in Dubai , Nepal and the Philippines , making FACT's direct presence in six countries. Plans are afoot to open new markets.

In an effort to share his knowledge of the IT industry, Mr Agarwalla writes for well-known newspapers and magazines. Mr Agarwalla is frequently invited to speak on IT as well as entrepreneurship at diverse forums.

Mr Agarwalla is a member of inaugural Board of Advisors of the School of Information Systems at Singapore Management University .

Mr Agarwalla lives in Singapore with his wife Vandana and his two young daughters.  In his spare time, Mr Agarwalla enjoys photography, driving, reading and listening to music.

DATE: Thursday, 26 January 2006

TIME: 5.30 – 7pm

VENUE: LKCSB, NSR 1.2

Sign up at  CEOTALKS@SMU.EDU.SG   by 12pm noon , 19 January 2006 . If you are attending the

talks as part of your course, there is no need to register. Just sign in on the day of the talk.