K T Rajan
Director – Operations , Information Services & Projects
Allergan India
InformationWeek
11/9/2011 11:46:44 AM
K T Rajan is well-known for his innovation and business initiatives, in both the IT and pharma industries. He’s also a risk taker and is known to embrace technologies that have not yet been proven. He can be regarded as the multi-specialty business leader. And that is backed by several industry awards tucked in his belt, for both his company and himself. He excels at both corporate strategy and technical operations, and handles multiple functions across the organization. Apart from that, he is at the Group CIO level and also has global exposure. He is a member of the management committee where he plays more of a general management role, influencing strategic decisions. As one jury member puts it, “Rajan represents a wellrounded
personality with on-the-ground approach to effectiveness of IT solutions. His initiatives have been wellreceived and have delivered the value. The focus on business first and IT next makes him a contemporary IT leader.”
Rajan has logged 24 years in the industry, including 16 years as an IT Head. Before Allergan, he served Hindustan
Unilever, and previously Sonata Software. He has an experience in commercial operations (including business development and general management), technical operations (including manufacturing and supply chain), scientific operations (including R & D, QA, regulatory, clinical and medical affairs), and Information Systems and Services (ISS).
At Allergan, Rajan plays a diverse role and some of his responsibilities are: establishing subsidiaries of Global MNCs in emerging markets, setting up and commissioning of manufacturing facilities and managing large supply chain networks with a global footprint. He is also involved in research and development including clinical trials, regulatory and scientific affairs, project management, and sales & marketing. And then of course, there’s information and communication technology. This is testimonial to his thorough understanding of the pharma industry, his intimate involvement in the business, and his contribution to strategic initiatives.
There are three key solutions to his credit that have propelled Allergan’s business performance, both in financial and qualitative terms. These are sales force automation, sales and supply chain management system, and enhancing employee engagement. These have helped to double sales revenue in three years, and made Allergan India one of the most preferred employers in its sector. He conceptualized, developed and implemented a sales force automation solution to facilitate effective operations for the field staff. And this was done about 10 years ago when PDAs and wireless communications were either non-existent or nascent. During the late 1990s, supply chain management solutions were slowly gaining ground in the industry. However, most applications were multi-centric, stock-point based and de-centralized. Rajan took a big risk of developing and implementing an online, real-time, integrated sales and supply chain solution on the Microsoft’s .Net platform, which at that time was still in its Beta version.
The pharma field force is highly dispersed and most individuals operate in isolation. So connectivity with the rest of the organization is relatively sparse and this affects employee morale. It was also observed that one of the causes of attrition was the lack of connect / engagement with the organization. Hence Rajan attempted to improve employee engagement though a suite of technology solutions. He implemented a value-added service for cellphones, which would route e-mail messages as SMSes.
And later his team deployed an employee portal that has now become a platform for professional discussions and personal sharing. That certainly turned things round and boosted employee morale.
In a tele-interview with a jury member, Rajan said, “Generally companies see IT as a technology function; IT should be seen as an enabler and business driver. For product innovation and efficiency, IT can contribute and become a business enabler. IT can deliver value and become a driver by providing end-to-end solutions, or bring down inventory or accounts receivables. When IT grows to driving business then it is aligned. It is a multiple step process before you reach a situation where you are leading.“
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