His world acclaimed book, When You Are Sinking Become a Submarine expounds a new philosophy of power and success. It has crossed Indian shores and is becoming a reference text for leaders worldwide. It has already been translated in Hindi (Aisa Paal Taane ki Aandhi Urja Bane), in Marathi (Budu Naka Panbudi Bana) and other language editions are soon to hit the market.

Leading on the path of nation building Pavan Choudary has moved from strength to strength and today he is being viewed as the most promising socio-political thinker and management speaker shaping opinions on practically all aspects of governance, social reform and leadership. Not a pundit but a successful practitioner, Pavan Choudary, is the CEO and MD of Vygon, a leading French Multinational in the field of Healthcare.

Life Journey So Far

Through sensitivity and by hearing faint whispers of time, one moves from brilliance to genius’ is a philosophy that epitomizes Pavan Choudary. “Brilliance is when you can see what others can’t see. Genius is when you can fathom what others can’t even imagine, the unique ability to grasp the subtle and the hidden”, says he. Pavan, 45, was born in the sleepy town of Sagar which is located in India’s largest landmass state of Madhya Pradesh. He hailed from a rich and respectable clan of landlords. His grandfather, Surat Singh Sodhi, was a wise and kind personality who had a deep influence on him.

He studied in the same convent school as his mother, many years later. His mother was an intellectually evolved lady who indelibly imprinted his impressionable mind. The nuns often compared him to his mother and alas, found him wanting. Pavan was also a bright student but that is where the similarity ended. He was a hypersensitive yet naughty boy and a prankster to the core. Several times he was on the verge of being thrown out of the school. Once he was even caught cheating during an examination. The other miscreants were punished but he was let off due to his fervent plea, as well as his mother’s spotless record, with some enlightening advice from Sr. Philomena, a Welsh nun, ‘ Understand who you are and where you belong’. Pavan did understand but only much later. His mother’s unconditional nurturing and love fanned Pavan’s sensitivity which was making him a difficult child to handle. His mother even told his father once that if he wanted to reprimand Pavan, it was better to reprimand his younger brother for the same mistake! That would be enough for Pavan to catch on and learn. His further studies took him to Delhi and Simla.

He secured a successful MBA degree. But his career started on a rickety track. Post his MBA, he joined a small pharmaceutical company. He quickly switched to advertising and again came back to the pharmaceutical sector, this time to Cadila – the Indian pharma juggernaut. After Cadila, he joined Dabur, an Indian multinational, as Marketing Manager. Throughout his career his sensitive self was at work. He learnt to spot opportunity in every crisis and make castles with stones people hurled at him. In 1997, came his first book, ‘The Rx Factor’ published by Sage publications. Chance is the currency through which the universe shares its bounty. Soon ‘The Rx Factor’ became the most reviewed Pharma marketing book in the world and for the first three years, it stayed among the top three most sought after books worldwide, zipping ahead of almost 665 titles in the same genre. More path breaking books followed. When You are sinking become a submarine, A trilogy of Wisdom: On Chanakya's political wisdom, Confucius' social wisdom and Kabir's spiritual wisdom. Several language editions followed and these became equally popular.

With sensitivity, wisdom and with a knack of sniffing the spirit of the times, Pavan soon picked the fruits of his destiny. A little above thirty, he was selected the CEO of a highly respected French multinational, Vygon. He could now sense comfort as he got to know his colleagues at home and abroad. He found an echo of his own value system here. He was home. He discovered that his ideas on leadership, man management and social, political and spiritual wisdom get him much kudos from bureaucrats, police officers, CEOs and other leaders with whom he shared his thoughts at public speaking forums. These interactions, he found gave him a new surge of energy and he could pick up many ideas from these fields and cross fertilize these to Vygon's advantage. Fuelled by new energy and new ideas Vygon India strides ahead year after year. Says he, “ One of the most important tasks of a CEO is to coach”. He gets to practice and hone this art not only at Vygon but also outside in his spare time. He feels that the corporate sector and the field of espionage are two of the most competitive arenas. His insights on excelling draw liberally from these sectors and can be extremely useful to people in similarly competitive spheres like, sports, politics, films etc. Says Yann Morel, CEO – IMV India Pvt. Ltd. and the Counsellor for External Trade of France, “I have heard and read the greatest thinkers and practitioners from all over the world. But Pavan’s ideas have no match. His wisdom is unique and profound yet simple to practice. It stems from his sensitivity which has given him an experience of a lifetime in the short span of 45 years. It has already helped many like me. And it is now time for the world to hear him. You have in him an Indian world Guru. Mark my words.” For Pavan, who has believed in infinite patience bearing immediate results, fulfillment now is a way of life.