Autonomy to employees, nurturing relationships important: Ericsson's Amitabh Ray

Amitabh Ray, managing director of Ericsson Global Services India
Image: Debarshi Sarkar for Forbes India

For Amitabh Ray, managing director of Ericsson Global Services India, nurturing trust among employees and clients has been the most crucial aspect that has helped the company sail through the pandemic. “Building trust, as always, has been critical to our work culture during the pandemic where physical supervision is replaced with management by objectives. The cordial employee-employer relationship at Ericsson has helped it perform far better than others,” he says.

Ray points out that the increased dependence on digital technologies, creation of new business models and working formats have been the key changes brought in by the pandemic. “Overnight things changed. Ericsson’s response was equally quick. On an average, companies took 11 days to go fully remote. We did it even faster and helped our customers pivot as well,” claims Ray.

Before joining Ericsson, Ray worked as vice president of IBM, and was a partner at PwC. He credits his success to taking up challenges that others didn’t. “I have always volunteered to take up work that helps my organisation deliver value to our clients, regardless of how difficult or hopeless those appeared to be,” he says.

“We are mindful of the changing situation and have built different scenarios for all possible circumstances. For us, our employees’ work-life balance will continue to be a critical aspect of decision-making,” he says. “The pandemic has taught us to be fluid with our strategy and be prepared for every eventuality. It has created an opportunity for employers to help people figure out what really matters to them, and help them find purpose in what they do.”

“Amitabh has the ability to empower people. He encourages employees to be independent and creates an environment of self-motivation. He’s connected with his employees and takes feedback very seriously. Needless to say, people admire him and attribute a great portion of their success and learning to his leadership style,” says Abhay Vaish, global head of IT services & ADM delivery at Ericsson.