publive-image

Incepted in 1976, Acer is dedicated to research, design and development of innovative products and services that enhance people's lives. Acer worldwide has approximately 95,000 retail locations spread across 160+ countries. Acer India was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Acer Inc. in 1999. Its mission in India is to translate the Group's goal of making technology easier to use and more affordable to everyone across the country. With a focused customer-centric approach, Acer in India offers an unmatched range of products and a vast network of service points to continuously lower the barriers that limit access to technology.

As Acer looks into the future, it is focused on enabling the world hardware, software, and services that will combine to open up new possibilities for consumers and businesses alike. From Service-oriented technologies to the Internet of Things to gaming and Virtual Reality, Acer is dedicated to break the barrier between people and technology. Acer's vast product offerings include PCs, laptops, gaming devices, accessories, VR devices, true wireless earbuds, display, projectors, servers, workstations, tablets, wearables and Air purifiers. The company is also developing cloud solutions to bring together the Internet of Things.

As Acer heads to 2021 the company is transforming itself as a PC plus lifestyle technology brand with new product lines which helps consumers in a healthier and smarter living.  With a network of over 2500+ partners and 100+ exclusive stores in over 370 cities and towns and over 1500+ Acer Customer Service Centers across India, the company caters to vast number of customers across consumer, enterprise, SMB, government, banking and education segments with leadership position in many.

A Dynamic and Experienced Leader

The President and Managing Director of Acer India, Harish Kohli has been working with Acer for more than two decades and has over 35 years of industry experience. He joined Acer in July 1999 as General Manager – Sales and was later promoted to lead the India Sales & Marketing function profitably to build Acer India's range in all market segments.

He was appointed as the Managing Director of Acer India in December 2011 & was promoted to 'President and Managing Director' in May 2016. Harish has nationwide accountability for revenues and profitability under his leadership. Acer India has been expanding to markets like Bangladesh and Bhutan. Since 2016, he has also been heading the Acer's Pan Asia Pacific (PAP) Regional Commercial Task Team which manages commercial strategy planning and implementation for the PAP region.

In his career span at Acer, Harish recalls having witnessed the company steadily grow and become one of India's largest and most respected technology brands. Acer's zeal for innovation and customer-centricity has taken the company to extraordinary levels, and the company is well poised to change growth orbits, and venture into new horizons in the coming years. Under his tenure, Acer has become the No.1 brand in multiple segments in the PC industry and he is now overseeing the transformation of Acer from a PC to a lifestyle brand.

Driving to New Horizons in the Regional Market

Harish reminisces that growing Acer from a PC-only brand to PC+ brand and now to a lifestyle brand has been a journey of changes and reorientation while constantly being on top customer trends. He acknowledges that today being a leader in PC gaming, government, education and more, Acer has been the digital infrastructure provider for some of the largest government, defense, and education projects.

Acer also was one of the first technology brands to set-up manufacturing plants in India and has been doing so for over a decade. As per Harish, one of the key lessons is change is the only constant and agility, curiosity trumps size when it comes to being at the forefront of new trends.

Scaling Beyond Industry Barriers

Speaking about key impediments, Harish reveals that when Acer began its operation in India, one of the major challenges was decoding how to grow and establish Acer as a brand and win market share across key market segments. Over the years Acer became one of the few companies to have such a breadth of portfolio of products and achieved no.1 brand status across multiple market segments.

The pandemic crisis was another challenge that Acer was able to overcome successfully. During such times as a leader, Harish affirms that it is equally important to incorporate plans on how to keep the business as usual and at the same time support the emotional and mental well-being of employees, who likely face new concerns, and demands brought on by the pandemic. In the last six months, the company has observed significant changes in consumer demand and purchase behavior. Harish shares that Acer has been quick to adapt to this change, and played an integral role in their customer's digital transformation as PCs became an essential item in the new normal.

Harish is a firm advocate of the adage that each challenge and crisis poses an opportunity and he is proud of the team at Acer who shown great resolve, agility and curiosity to drive change and capitalize the opportunities.

Talisman of a Transformative Thought Leader

Harish upholds the notion that Thought Leadership is a lot more than just having great ideas. In fact, it's being able to take those forward-looking thoughts and turn them into action and pushing results across the business.

Harish proposes the following five vital qualities that every thought leader should possess:

  •  Adaptability: Whether they focus on modernization, leadership, strategy, thought leaders can apply their proficiency to what's happening in the world today.
  •  Curiosity: Thought leaders are naturally intriguing and endeavor to find solutions to problems. They do not simply look to join the conversation; they pursue to transform it.
  •  Responsiveness: It is not adequate to just have an idea. Effective thought leaders can communicate their idea to an audience in a relevant way.
  •  Enthusiasm: If an individual is not enthusiastic enough about his idea, why should anyone else be? Harish mentions that top thought leaders are fascinating storytellers who can efficiently balance their idealistic ideas with everyday applications.
  • Verdict: Thought leaders and their ideas are continually questioned. To rise above the noise, thought leaders need to have the audacity to see them through, while being open-minded enough to see that their method probably isn't the only one.

Affinity for Data-Backed Research Helps

The development of successful new ideas is vital to a business being able to improve its processes, bring new and improved products and services to market, increase its efficiency and, most prominently, improve its productivity.

Hence, Harish says that there is no particular foolproof way for the sustained growth and success of any organization. While every company's circumstances are unique, he urges staying updated with customer trends and technology to nurture growth. According to him, research-led strategies help the company understand and drive innovations that will stay relevant in the future and will be an incremental advantage within the current competitive landscape.

Passion for Learning Sparks Great Leadership

Contemplating over attributes that make entrepreneurs and leaders so unique, Harish opines that they are passionate about pursuing their dreams. They do this by realizing that there is a greater possibility for failure than success, but they still move forward. 

He remarks that leadership qualities are learnable. If an individual practices consistently, he can be a great leader, too. For that, it is necessary to make changes to one's habits when working as a team player, wherever required. Harish points that as a leader your actions impact others and as long you are conscious of this and drive for a positive impact to the team and company, it is a start in the leadership journey.

 'Lead by Example' as Core Success Mantra

One piece of advice which Harish would like to share for aspiring leaders is that good leadership takes strength of character and a firm commitment to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. 

Leaders should lead by example. He exclaims, "When you hold yourself to a high benchmark, your team will look up to gain your support by doing the same. They will meet your expectations of excellence, integrity, and respect when you give them in return." He also recommends that a leader must enable his employees to access the right set of tools, training and give directions to be successful.

Ultimately a leader is successful only when the team is successful and this firm belief of Harish has helped nurture high-performing teams across the organisation who were able to be on top of the game for over two decades and driving the company towards numerous accolades and achievements.