Arvind Singhal, chairman of consulting company KSA Technopak, always knew he would become an entrepreneur one day. From his college days, therefore, he has been working towards that end.

?My father was in the civil services in the UP cadre,? says Singhal. ?His job was transferable. My schooling took place in six places. I went to the University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee) for a bachelors degree in electronics and communication engineering. I followed this up with an MBA in finance and marketing from the University of California, Los Angeles.

?My first job after IIT was as a management trainee with the DCM Shriram Group. I was seconded to Shriram Pistons & Rings in Ghaziabad where I went through a structured training programme spending time in various departments.

?Initially, I was worried as I was raring to go and felt that the training was not really giving me the challenge of doing anything specific. However, as the years have gone by, I realise the value of that exposure.

?After working for about 15 months at Shriram Pistons, I took study leave to do my MBA. I was very clear about making my career in India itself, and hence I put in extra effort to complete the MBA in about 15 months rather than the usual 21. I then took three months off to back pack through parts of the US, Canada, and Europe before returning to India.

?Within a week of returning, I started working with DCM Data Products, Delhi, in their marketing department as a sales executive. It was a very exciting job for me, especially as computers were still very new to India and most prospective clients had practically no understanding about the functioning or capabilities. In many ways, marketing an ?idea? or a ?benefit? rather than the product itself was the best thing that I learnt from my stint of about 42 months at Data Products.

?My next job was with the Birla Group. I joined in July 1985 to set up a chain of exclusive retail stores for three of their textile companies ? OCM, Digjam, and Jiyajee. Subsequently, I took over as head of marketing for the OCM division and relocated to Amritsar where I spent about three-and-a-half years. I had a brief stint with another company, Modern Suitings, for 18 months as their senior vice-president (marketing) before I started Technopak, the consulting company that is now KSA Technopak.

?I was quite clear from my Roorkee days that I would like to be an entrepreneur. Therefore, the career change that I did in 1992 (from a professional manager to an entrepreneur-manager) was a planned one. The thrill of being an entrepreneur these past 13 years has been an incredible one, and has fully vindicated my decision.

?The biggest challenge I have been facing is to ensure that KSA Technopak continues to grow, maintain profitability, and set benchmarks for innovation, professionalism and quality. Each year, the bar has to be raised higher, and therefore each year, the entire organisation has to perform better. So far, I have succeeded in a limited way, which provides the optimism and the confidence to continue to shoot for loftier targets.

?There are quite a few things that I would like to do. One is to experiment with different models of delivering consulting assistance to our clients wherein we can align ourselves even more closely with our clients' objectives, and link our own growth and profitability to the results we deliver for our clients. In the past few months, we have put a few pilots in place to check out some of these models.

?Another is to experiment with newer mechanisms of delivering consulting assistance to our clients, especially the international ones. Again, one such pilot should get underway in the next three months or so. There are a few others pertaining to ?corporatisation? of our consulting business ? now that we have a strength of 80 at two locations (Delhi and Bangalore), and are hoping to touch the 100 plus mark by the end of this year.

?Some other plans are to do with personal goals. I am currently 46, and have started thinking about my own future objectives after another 8-10 years. I would like to teach, write, do some farming, and generally get involved in ?education? on a non-profit basis.?

Singhal is well aware of the proverb ?He who can, does; he who cannot, teaches?. He will prove that he ?can? before donning a don?s mantle.