Rustom Desai, MBA ’95:
Innovating India
Rustom Desai spent the first twenty-two years of his life in
India, but when he returned to the country last year to take
the position of president of Corning India, he was shocked
by how much it had changed. “It’s completely different,” he says, “Growth does strange things
to a country’s identity.” From a business standpoint, however, Desai is very excited about
India’s rapid growth, and what that growth might mean for Corning, the company he’s worked
for since being recruited right out of business school.
“Our heart and soul is in innovation,”
Desai says, “and it always has
been.” In 1879, the company manufactured
the bulbs Thomas Edison first
used for his newly invented incandescent
lamp. In the late forties, Corning
made televisions affordable to thousands
by creating a way to mass-produce
television tubes; and, for almost forty
years, the company has been at the
forefront of fiber-optic technology.
Today, Desai says, Corning is once
again at the forefront of communications
as it manufactures keystone
components for Liquid Crustal Displays
(LCD’s) — commonplace today in televisions,
computers, and mobile devices.
It is also a key player in the emission
control and life sciences industries.
Because India’s burgeoning economy
is producing both more air pollution and more cell phone users, Desai says a large part of his
focus is and will continue to be on developing the telecommunications and environmental
sectors into attractive long-term markets for Corning. He also hopes to start a technology
dialogue with large Indian multinational companies, to start to understand their needs, and
“point the Corning innovation engine towards those needs.”
A devoted amateur photographer, Desai talks about the importance of seeing what other
people miss or are simply unwilling to see. He attributes his success in this area to living and
working in many regions: Before taking the presidency at Corning India, he represented the
company in the U.S., China, and Taiwan, experiences that have enabled him to approach
challenges with at least three different sets of eyes. “Everyone has certain blinders,” Desai says,
“and as you travel the world, there are opportunities you see before others do. It’s my job to
quickly identify those opportunities, and to find a way to build them into real, tangible business
for Corning. So far, doing that has kept me happy.”
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