--- title: "Abhijit Dubey: The Ultimate Risk Equation That Defines Modern Global Leadership" url: "https://authoritymag.co/articles/abhijit-dubey-the-ultimate-risk-equation-that-defines-modern-global-leadership" publisher: "Authority Magazine" author: "Doug Noll" authorUrl: "https://authoritymag.co/authors/doug-noll" interviewee: "Abhijit Dubey" company: "NTT Ltd." category: "Tech" datePublished: "2023-10-23T12:18:37.316Z" dateModified: "2026-11-12T17:06:43.338Z" tags: "Business" --- # Abhijit Dubey: The Ultimate Risk Equation That Defines Modern Global Leadership *NTT Global CEO Abhijit Dubey shares insights on steering a massive tech infrastructure firm through global crises, the reality of executive loneliness, and effective corporate risk management.* > Before I came into the CEO role here, I had the privilege of being a trusted counselor to many CEOs and learned a lot about what the job entails. --- As*a part of our series called ‘*[Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO](https://medium.com/authority-magazine/search?q=Before%20I%20Became%20a%20CEO)*’ we had the pleasure of interviewing Abhijit Dubey.* *Abhijit Dubey is Global Chief Executive Officer for*[NTT Ltd](https://services.global.ntt/)*., and member of board of directors for NTT Ltd. and NTT DATA Inc. NTT Ltd. is one of the leading IT infrastructure and service providers in the world operating in 57 countries.* *Abhijit joined NTT in February 2021 from McKinsey and Company, where he most recently served as a Senior Partner and core leader of the Global Tech, Media & Telecom (TMT) Practice.* *Prior to McKinsey, Abhijit worked at Schlumberger as a Senior Field Engineer in the Oilfield Services business, based in North Africa. He holds an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering undergraduate from the Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai.* --- **Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?** Before I joined NTT, I spent more than 20 years advising technology companies at McKinsey & Company, most recently as Senior Partner. NTT was one of the clients that I worked very closely with on their global expansion, outside of Japan. Over the decade I worked with them, their global business expanded from $1 billion in revenue to about $19 billion. It was a privilege when NTT asked me to lead the global business through the next phase of its global expansion — namely to create a world leading IT services company. **Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?** I assumed the CEO role April 1, 2021, right about when the second deadly wave of COVID-19 hit India. Suddenly, there was a shortage of ventilators in the country, amongst a myriad of other challenges. I am extremely proud of how our company mobilized its forces globally to procure ventilators from Mexico and China and used our global supply chain and logistics capability to move them to different cities in India with the highest need. **Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?** I cannot remember a funny mistake, but I have made several mistakes through the course of my tenure here. One that comes to mind is underestimating the “impact of the unsaid.” We all know that the organization latches on every word and action of the CEO, but they equally latch on (perhaps even more so) on the unsaid. While you can drive absolute clarity on the “said”, it’s always helpful to think through the impact of the “unsaid” when driving CEO comms internally. **None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?** My parents have been instrumental in shaping me and my journey. Despite our humble context, they gave it all to ensure the best education possible, while instilling in me the value system that defines me today — the highest integrity, resilience, humility, respect, kindness, and hard work. **Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?** A global company with operations in more than 57 countries and providing critical infrastructure for the world, brings more than its fair share of challenges on a somewhat higher frequency than many other companies. One such example was the tough choice we faced when Russia invaded Ukraine. On principle, we quickly decided to shut down all our local operations in Russia and stop serving all Russian clients globally. However, one decision was particularly difficult. We have a global IP backbone business that, along with other players, is the foundation for the internet, including in Russia. We faced the difficult choice to continue partnerships with local Russian ISPs so that ordinary Russian citizens could continue to have access to the Internet or sever all ties with the local ISPs. This was a divisive issue within the company, with many of our colleagues wanting a full and complete severing of anything to do with Russia or Russian companies. Instead of shutting down or restricting access to information via the internet, we made our decision based on the founding principle of an open and unconstrained internet and continued our partnerships with local Russian ISPs. **Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?** Well, for starters, the buck stops with the CEO. The CEO is ultimately responsible and accountable for everything the company does and delivers to all stakeholders (shareholders, customers, employees, society, community, and the planet). The CEO is the ultimate role model setting the tone for the company culture, sets strategic direction and allocates resources (talent and investment) and is the ultimate risk and crisis manager for the company. And finally, the company and CEO reputation are inextricably linked. The CEO is a “steward” of a company and one of the overarching objectives of a CEO is to ultimately leave the company in a better place. **What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive? Can you explain what you mean?** I suspect there are quite a few “myths” out there. A few that come to mind. - *The know-it-all CEO*: It’s unlikely any leader knows everything about everything. However, there is a likely myth that CEOs know the answer to all and any challenges. Great leaders actively seek out input and advice from a diverse set of stakeholders before forming their own views and/or making pivotal decisions. - *Charisma is a pre-requisite*: Leaders come in all kinds of personalities. There is no real set formula. - *CEOs have to give up their personal life*: While it is true that well known CEOs do experience more constraints in their personal lives, I, for one, have changed almost nothing in my personal life — the time I spend with my family, the friends and social circle I hang out with, my everyday habits and hobbies etc. **What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?** Before I came into the CEO role here, I had the privilege of being a trusted counselor to many CEOs and learned a lot about what the job entails. After coming into the role, the “what” of the role hasn’t really been a surprise albeit the relative emphasis and the “how” does differ and comes down to the management and leadership philosophy of the individual. That said, the most striking difference for me has been how much time, effort, and mindshare I spend on preventing and managing risk in the company. CEO = Chief Risk Officer is an equation I hadn’t fully anticipated until coming into the role. **Do you think everyone is cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?** I firmly believe in the power of human potential, that all of us are limited only by our aspiration and context. As Nelson Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” So yes, I believe anyone can become an executive if they so want and are in the right context. That said, becoming a successful executive requires some specific traits in my mind– growth mindset, thirst for continuous learning, superb people management skills, an ability to inspire and galvanize an organization for change, excellent communication skills and above all, someone who lives and breathes the values they espouse at every moment, even when under extreme stress and pressure. **What advice would you give to other business leaders to help create a fantastic work culture? Can you share a story or an example?** Leaders play a defining role in shaping company culture. My advice on this is very simple — actions speak louder than words. As a leader, you have to role model the values you promote and make the tough decisions needed. As a leader, I have a very simple “One strike, and you are out” philosophy. Even the slightest digression from the values we stand for is automatically dealt with the severest of consequences. However, in the normal course of business, especially in the tech industry, we want people to “take risks.” We want people that are curious, want to learn, and try new things. Here we do allow mistakes. We follow the “fail fast approach.” But when it comes to matters of integrity, this is where we draw a very strict line. **How have you used your success to make the world a better place?** At NTT we believe in technology for good to realize a more affluent and harmonious society using information technology. This is aligned to my personal passion for sustainability and what drew me to NTT. In a bid to limit global warming in accordance with the Paris Agreement, we have committed to science-based reduction pathways, and have set ambitious climate targets to achieve Net zero emissions across our operations by 2030, and value chain by 2040. We’re also working across our global data centres to achieve 100% renewable energy. And to support our clients and partners reach their sustainability ambitions, we are growing our portfolio of smart solutions to help them in reducing their carbon emissions. **Fantastic. Here is the primary question of our interview. What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO” and why?** **1 . The tyranny of “CEO says” —**I continue to be surprisedby how my name is brought up by team members to justify what they want done. In many cases, “Abhijit said so!” is false or mispresented. Invoking authority to influence others is the laziest form of influence and I spend time coaching my teams on much more effective forms. **2 . A+ game, every time, all the time —**A CEOs every word and action (or lack of it) is scrutinized closely by everyone inside and outside the company. As such, you always have to be on your A+ game in every interaction, whether it be internal or external stakeholders. Imagine a day where you get off a long 12-hour flight, freshen up for an hour, and launch straight into a packed day filled with leadership meetings, employee townhalls, media sessions and customer/partner and government official meetings. This is typical of a country visit I make, for instance, with high stakes in every single one of these interactions**.** **3 . 99% of time, energy and mindshare is about managing people —**Before coming into the role, I felt I had a good grasp of what to expect, having counseled other CEOs over the years and seeking advice from many successful current and former CEOs. I did believe that I would spend a meaningful amount of time on company vision, strategy and resource allocation decisions. While I do spend time on that, it is only 1% of the job. The rest is spent on managing people — inspiring, galvanizing, setting and managing expectations, coaching, orchestrating team dynamics etc. and the list goes on. Running a business is ultimately all about people. **4 . The “last mile execution” challenge —**Ever so often, as an executive and senior leadership team, we come up with brilliant ideas, strategies and initiatives. However, I continue to be surprised how hard it is to cascade intent into execution on the field where it matters, despite a continuous rhythm of coordinated communication and reinforcing incentives. **5 . Loneliest job in the world —**Again, this is what many CEOs I sought advice from had warned me about. That said, there is no way to really understand how lonely the job is without experiencing and living it.A sounding board is in most cases either inaccessible or not in a position to be effective (e.g., your friends and family.) **You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.** Having grown up in India, we were raised to treat food with utmost respect and never waste it. Simply because there was so much scarcity around us. If you look at a global scale, roughly one-third of food produced that is intended for human consumption every year is wasted or lost (around 1.3 billion tons and valued at $1 trillion.) This is enough to feed 3 billion people. Besides this, food waste also has a significant impact on the environment and society. If I could inspire a movement, it would be around reducing food waste and be called: “Buy smart, eat all, no wastage befall!” **Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?** “Trust is the most important currency.” It is hard to build and yet so easy to lose, both in personal and professional contexts. This is what I was taught growing up and have come to appreciate deeply over the years. My entire professional career has been in services (oilfield services, management consulting and now in IT Services) which has the customer at the center of everything we do. Building durable and deep trust is the foundation of working together. **We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.** Undoubtedly, Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors basketball team. Steve is an incredible athlete and now coach, who deserves most of the credit for building one of the most successful modern-day sports franchises and teams in the world, while at the same time being an incredibly humble and good human being. The CEO job is at once that of a versatile, durable and winning athlete AND a great coach who can bring out the best in others. I would love to learn Steve’s belief system and “micro habits” that have made him who he is. **Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.** --- A*bout the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on*[this](https://podcast.dougnoll.com/podcast-guest.)*link to learn more and apply.* --- Source: https://authoritymag.co/articles/abhijit-dubey-the-ultimate-risk-equation-that-defines-modern-global-leadership (Authority Magazine, Tech). Interviewee answers are first-person statements of the guest. Index of all pages: https://authoritymag.co/llms.txt