Hanuman Tripathi:Director, InfrasoftTech

Hanuman Tripathi sells what he calls a “nose”. But it’s not something that any rhinologist would recognise. For Tripathi’s “nose” is a piece of software. It is an anti-money-laundering product which acts as a sniffer dog; it automatically spots bank accounts that show suspicious transactions.

Of course, that’s not the only thing Tripathi, the managing director of InfrasoftTech, hawks. His company is a highly innovative and competitive software house focused on serving global financial enterprises. Another feather in its cap is OMNI Enterprise. This Islamic banking initiative is a Shariah-compliant core banking solution that provides a total riba (usury) free solution to evolve complex financial products.

Trips, as Tripathi is better known, has the credentials for such success; he has 24 years’ experience in the IT and telecom industry, 15 of which he has devoted to the banking solutions business. He has worked with several global companies.

IT wasn’t really ordained as a career in his early days. Trips did most of his schooling in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh). However, his father was an IAS officer who was posted to different parts of the country. Thus, Trips also did stints at schools in Delhi, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. He topped it with a postgraduate degree in business management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai. “I had a very interesting school and college life,” he says. “It helped me evolve as a complete person.”

Trips’ first job was as a sales trainee in Bradma of India in Mumbai and he drew a salary of Rs 500 per month. That didn’t go too far in a big city. But Bradma and his next job were clearly career-building opportunities. “I owe a lot of my formal professional experience to Bradma and HCL. They taught me the nuances of being a focused salesperson and having unshakable faith in the sales cycle in order to attain sales targets,” he says.

After working for companies like Bradma, HCL, NELCO and a software solution company called Trilogy Software, he conceptualised InfrasoftTech in 1994. The company came into existence in 1995.

“I valued capital and skills, so I created a strong partnership between the top management and unrelated shareholders. We happily work for the common objective of building a brand called InfrasoftTech,” he says with pride.

When asked about his future plans and aspirations, he says that he intends to turn his firm into a $100 million turnover company with $20 million profits, and market leadership in at least two to five offerings. He also intends to attain the status of a respected supplier globally.

That’s business. Beyond that, Trips has on his drawing board a free medical health centre for the poor. And he also intends to start a Pace Academy, where 25 youngsters will be trained by world-class fast bowlers to change the face of Indian cricket. “As a student, I aspired to be a fighter jet pilot and an international level fast bowler, but couldn’t make it. That’s why I have this interest in cricket. But, seriously, we have had no fast bowlers in India to date. The closest was Kapil Dev.”

But what does this person with so many dreams to fulfil do in his spare time? Well, he cooks to de-stress himself. That apart, he meditates regularly and actively participates in marathons. “The first opportunity I get, I dive into a swimming pool. I am also a great believer in spa technology,” he chuckles.

Trips believes that India must have compulsory military secondment for all citizens in the 18-25 age bracket for two-five years’ duration. This will help curb corruption, he feels.

“At 46, I wouldn’t like to sound like a grandfather,” he says. “But that is my solution.”

Perhaps it could be as effective as the solutions he provides in the banking and finance arena.

Based on a conversation with Shabina Akhtar in Calcutta