Harish Mehta
Founder & Executive Chairman
Onward Technologies
Author of the Year: The Maverick Effect
His book,'The Maverick Effect' provides unique insights into the tireless efforts it took to set up NASSCOM the not only enhanced India's global brand image but also helped create the great Indian middle class. Harish Mehta’s co-creation of NASSCOM changed the game for the IT industry, India Inc brand and the Indian business landscape forever.
Harish Mehta
Founder & Executive Chairman, Onward Technologies
Mr. Harish Mehta is the author of the national bestseller ‘The Maverick Effect’ and the driving force behind galvanizing the IT industry in India by co-founding NASSCOM, the IT industry’s association. He was elected as the first Chairman of NASSCOM and continues to be the Convener of NASSCOM’s Chairman’s Council.
Harish Mehta has a long history of success as an Indian entrepreneur, investor, and changemaker. Mr. Mehta has founded, led, grown & mentored the Onward Group. From 1993 to 2005 he served as the Deputy Chairman and MD of Onward Novell Software India Private Limited, a JV with the world's 2nd largest personal software company at the time. Prior to founding Onward, he was one of the chief architects of the Hinditron–Digital (DEC) JV in India in 1987.
He introduced Silicon Valley’s, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) to India and is the co-founder of the Indian Angel Network (IAN), one of the world's largest and most active angel investor groups. Harish Mehta is also a founding member of Infinity Venture Fund, India’s first corporate VC fund, and an active volunteer of Onward Foundation & Dewang Mehta Foundation.
For his contributions, he has been awarded:
- ‘CEO of the Year’, by NMIMS, Tata HRD Network, and World HRD Congress
- ‘25 years of Exemplary Contribution to Indian IT’, by PM Narendra Modi; and
- ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’, by the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
- 19:30-19:40 — The Maverick Effect – A Quick Chat with Mr Harish S Mehta, Founder and Executive Chairperson, Onward Technologies Ltd
The Maverick Effect | Book Blurb
In the late 1970s, a young Harish Mehta made a startling declaration - India’s software (IT) industry could fetch more net forex than India’s diamond industry. The problem? No one in the government even knew what ‘software’ was! Harish quickly realized that the software industry needed a unified voice that could speak to the government, change laws and harness the nation’s potential.
However, with India staring down the barrel of bankruptcy and the infamous license raj still subsisting, it seemed impossible to have a glorious vision for India. In an unlikely alliance between headstrong and competing IT entrepreneurs, NASSCOM, the Indian IT industry association, was born. NASSCOM would go on to revolutionize the industry and make it a multi-billion-dollar one.
The Maverick Effect is the extraordinary story of this band of dreamers who joined hands to transform an industry, a nation, and India’s global perception. While the story charts the journey of NASSCOM and Indian IT, the unique value and people-led flywheel it presents are truly universal and can be applied to any industry in any nation. Enterprise leaders can find within it tried & tested pathbreaking ideas about value creation, collaboration amongst competitors, crisis management, perception building, ethics & integrity, radical transparency, governance and more.
Now in its fourth reprint, the book has captured the attention of Indian business leaders like Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy (Co-founder, Infosys), Mr. N. Chandrasekaran (Chairman, Tata Sons and former chairperson of TCS), Mr. Deepak Parekh (Chairman, HDFC), Mr. Raamdeo Agrawal (Chairman, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd), Mr. Harsh Manglik (Former Chairman & Geography MD, Accenture India), and many more!
Reviews
The Maverick Effect has captured the attention and received acclaim from India’s top industry stalwarts & business leaders:
Narayana Murthy, Founder, Infosys
“Future historians will rely on this work when they do research on the role of NASSCOM in removing the bureaucratic hurdles during the initial years of the software services industry in India. The biggest challenge over the next few decades for our country is whether we, Indians, can develop a culture of aspiration, national pride, benchmarking with the global best, discipline, meritocracy, hard work, quality, productivity, honesty, open-mindedness, pluralism, humility, openness to learn from people better than us, and other attributes needed for India to join the group of developed countries. My belief and fond desire is that this book, The Maverick Effect, will serve as a searchlight in this seminal and arduous task.”
N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons
“Three decades ago, NASSCOM had a vision for India’s fledgling tech industry. In bringing it to fruition, the lives of millions were improved and the destiny of our country was transformed. Today, we need to create a new vision for the coming decades. Should anyone today want to learn how such a feat can be achieved, they will find no shortage of inspiration in the pages of this book.”
Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC Ltd.
“Harish Mehta has documented an important story on the inception and journey of NASSCOM. In this exceptionally written book, Harish provides his unique insights on the tireless efforts it took to setup NASSCOM. For many readers, it will be a revelation to discover the pivotal role of NASSCOM in enhancing the IT sector’s global brand image and in helping create the great Indian middle class. I highly recommend Maverick Effect particularly for the innumerable initiatives that the book talks about. Each of these make for wonderful business case studies.”
Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Sequioa Capital
“Engaging, informative and inspiring! This book has many lessons for our current generation of entrepreneurs, the most important of which is the need to always think beyond your own company and collaborate with others to shape an industry. This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the story of Indian Technology and the amazing things one can achieve when you set your mind to it.”
Harsh Manglik, Former Chairman & Geography Managing Director, Accenture India
“If we were to try and imagine the Indian IT industry without NASSCOM and the critical role it has played (and continues to play), the scenario would be bleak. Harish has written a highly readable and important book that will become an important historical document as it records the development of the Indian IT industry with fidelity. It offers important insights and obvious lessons learned that can help other emergent industries with a large future.”