Founder, Sampark Foundation & Former CEO of HCL Technologies | Author of 'Employees First, Customers Second'
Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
114K followers
500+ connections
About
Vineet Nayar is former CEO of HCL Technologies and Founder of Sampark Foundation. He is also author of the highly acclaimed management book “Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down” (Harvard Business Press, June 2010).
Vineet is an acknowledged management visionary and a radical thinker who architected HCLT’s transformation from $0.7 billion in 2005 to a $4.7 billion Global Technology Services Company with over 85,000 employees spread across 32 countries in 2013. This radical transformation led Fortune to recognize HCL as “the world’s most modern management” while BusinessWeek named HCLT as “one of the world’s most influential companies”; praise that has led HCL’s innovative management practices to be taught as a case study at both the Harvard Business School and London Business School.
Vineet was also recently chosen by Fortune Magazine for its first ever, global “Executive Dream Team” 2012 which has been described as an “all-star leadership” that “could coalesce and dominate in any industry”. This is in addition to his inclusion in the elite “Thinkers 50 List” in 2011-12 which is a definitive listing of the world’s top 50 business thinkers.
In 2005, he established Sampark Foundation (www.samparkfoundation.org) with the aim of enabling large scale innovation in education. His work in this area has seen Vineet being cited in Forbes magazine's prestigious '48 Heroes of philanthropy List 2016'.
Articles by Vineet
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114K followers
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Vineet Nayar shared thisOLD HABITS. NEW MASTERS. As children, we waited for stars and marks They decided how we felt about ourselves We grew older The system did not change Only the faces did Teachers became bosses Stars became ratings And once again, we wait to be told how we did Here is the uncomfortable truth Appraisals matter But not as much as you think What matters more is something no appraisal captures Are you even on the right path Because you can score well and still be stuck You can score average and still be moving forward An appraisal is a moment It is not momentum It is a gate Not the garden If your rating made you happy, anxious, or restless Pause and ask a harder question Am I building something that actually matters to me I wrote about this in my latest Mint article. Link in the first comment
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Vineet Nayar shared thisWHEN MACHINES DECIDE WHAT TO LEARN NEXT Let me say this bluntly. We are not prepared for what is coming, and while most of the attention today is focused on what these systems can do, that is not where the real issue lies. The real issue is that AI models may be starting to decide what they need to LEARN next, and that changes the nature of the relationship we have had with machines for decades. For a long time, we operated with a clear understanding that humans decided and machines executed, and that clarity gave us a sense of control and comfort, but that line is now beginning to blur in ways we do not fully understand. As that line weakens, the consequences are not gradual but immediate, because security becomes more fragile, behaviour becomes harder to predict, and the pace of progress becomes difficult to control. Even if one company chooses to slow down in the interest of safety, another will not, which means this capability will spread, and in all likelihood it already has begun to do so. This is not about fear or resistance to change, but about recognising the control we may be giving up by choosing to look the other way at a moment that demands far greater attention. Because the moment systems begin to decide what they want to learn, we are no longer leading the change, we are reacting to it. And the question that follows is uncomfortable, but necessary to ask. Will we even know when we LOST control?
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Vineet Nayar shared thisYOU CAN NEVER DO IT ALONE We like to believe impact comes from strategy. That scale comes from technology. That leadership comes from the top. It doesn’t. Real change is not designed. It is built. Slowly. Patiently. On the ground. In classrooms no one is tracking closely enough. In moments no dashboard will ever capture. At Sampark Foundation, whatever progress we see today across 8 states, reaching over 2 crore children, has very little to do with plans. It has everything to do with people. Our SPARKS. They show up when it is inconvenient. They stay when it is difficult. They solve what cannot be escalated. No spotlight. No noise. Just work that matters. This video is for them. Because behind every system that works… there are people who refuse to give up on it. You can never do it alone.
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Vineet Nayar shared thisThe future of Indian IT will not just be written in code. It will be written in how we prepare people for change.
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Vineet Nayar shared thisKEEPING HUMANS FIRST IN THE AGE OF AI For years, we told a generation: Work hard. Learn skills. Build a career in IT. And they did. They followed the path. They trusted the system. They delivered. Now the rules are changing. Not slowly. Not gently. But all at once. And the uncomfortable question is: Did we prepare them for this world? Because this shift is not just about technology. It is about identity. When what you have learnt all your life is no longer enough… where do you begin again? This is why the conversation on AI feels incomplete. We talk about productivity. We talk about companies. But we don’t talk enough about people. Behind every “efficiency gain” is someone trying to understand what it means for their future. If we get this moment right, we can create a generation that thinks, adapts, and leads. If we don’t, we risk leaving many behind who did everything we asked of them. The future of Indian IT will not just be written in code. It will be written in how we prepare people for change. I shared these thoughts with Nandagopal Rajan, The Indian Express Here: https://lnkd.in/gyGiF7vB‘Indian IT sector is not under threat’ |Our Own Devices with Nandagopal Rajan‘Indian IT sector is not under threat’ |Our Own Devices with Nandagopal Rajan
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Vineet Nayar reposted thisCheck out Chapter 11 of 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙎𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙚 to learn how Vineet Nayar and Sampark Foundation are driving innovation in Indian primary education! There are many highs and lows in writing a book, and whenever I hit a low, I always found myself coming back to Sampark for energy and inspiration. Working with this team even convinced me to pursue a PhD. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us, Vineet and the Sampark team 🙏 It’s been a true privilege learning from you! Rajan Adhikari Swati Lakhotia Nitesh Agarwal Ulhas Shah Arushi Sharma Priya Pandey
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Vineet Nayar reposted thisVineet Nayar reposted thisSo many important points made here by Vineet Nayar I was particularly fascinated when he said Indian IT sector is not in trouble, but Indian IT professionals are. Listen in. Clik here: https://lnkd.in/gZhppPpp
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Vineet Nayar shared thisMost people think appraisals decide careers. They don’t. Clarity does. Before you react this appraisal season, ask yourself three simple questions. You might discover the answer is already within YOU.
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Vineet Nayar shared thisWHY DO MOST INNOVATIONS NEVER SCALE? Organisations celebrate pilots. They reward new ideas. Yet very few innovations travel far enough to change a system. Because scaling innovation is not about the brilliance of an idea. It is about building the conditions where many people can contribute to it. That is the central theme of “Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation” by Linda Hill, Emily Tedards, and Jason Wild, published by Harvard Business Review. The authors describe three roles leaders must play if innovation is to scale. First. Design organisations where experimentation is possible, and people feel safe challenging the status quo. Second. Connect silos. Many good ideas die simply because they cannot travel across teams, partners, or institutions. Third. Mobilise an ecosystem so innovation moves beyond a project and becomes a movement. What struck me most while reading the book is this. We often look for individual genius. But the real challenge for leaders is enabling collective genius. The book illustrates this through examples from organisations around the world, including Sampark Foundation. A useful reminder. INNOVATION MAY START WITH AN IDEA. BUT IT SCALES ONLY WHEN MANY PEOPLE MAKE IT THEIR OWN. The real question for leaders is simple. Are we celebrating ideas, or building systems that allow ideas to scale?
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Vineet Nayar liked thisVineet Nayar liked thisThe Uttarakhand AI Impact Summit 2026 brought together voices from across the education ecosystem to explore how AI can meaningfully strengthen classrooms, support teachers, and improve learning outcomes at scale. From insightful keynote sessions to engaging panel discussions, the summit sparked important conversations around teacher empowerment, AI in classroom practice and the role of technology in enabling better classroom practices. This aftermovie captures moments of dialogue, collaboration, and a shared commitment to ensuring that innovation in education remains grounded in classroom realities and driven by impact. Thank you Government of Uttarakhand & SCERT Uttarakhand, for being part of this important step towards shaping the future of education. #AIinEducation #UttarPradeshSummit #TeachersFirst #SamparkFoundation MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA | National Council of Educational Research and Training ( NCERT ) | Indian Institute of Management Kashipur | Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee | Doon University, Dehradun | UCOST Dehradun | DIT UNIVERSITY | Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh (Retd.)🇮🇳 | Uttarakhand Technical University | Tripta Thakur | Safal Batra | Dr. Amit Kumar Mishra| Durgesh Pant
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Vineet Nayar liked thisVineet Nayar liked thisThe Uttarakhand AI Impact Summit 2026 brought together policymakers, educators, and innovators to explore a critical question that will AI replace traditional learning, or redefine how teachers teach? From insightful discussions to grounded perspectives, the summit reinforced a clear direction: AI is not the solution on its own, it is a tool that must strengthen teachers, and improve learning outcomes at scale. Key conversations focused on how AI can support foundational learning, enable data-driven decision-making, and most importantly, work alongside teachers not replace them. This summit marks another step in Sampark Foundation’s AI State Dialogue series bringing together states to collectively shape the future of education in India. #SamparkAI #AIinEducation #TeachersFirst #SamparkFoundation MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA | National Council of Educational Research and Training ( NCERT ) | SCERT Uttarakhand | Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh (Retd.)🇮🇳 | Uttarakhand Technical University | Tripta Thakur | Safal Batra | Dr. Amit Kumar Mishra | Doon University, Dehradun | Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee | Durgesh Pant
Experience
Education
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GB Pant University of Agriculture & Technology
Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) Mechanical Engineering
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Skills
Publications
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Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Wisdom Upside Down
Harvard Business Press
See publicationOne small idea can ignite a revolution just as a single matchstick can start a fire. One such idea - putting employees first and customers second - sparked a revolution at HCL Technologies, the IT services giant. In this candid and personal account, Vineet Nayar - HCLT's celebrated CEO - recounts how he defied the conventional wisdom that companies must put customers first, then turned the hierarchical pyramid upside down by making management accountable to the employees, and not the other way…
One small idea can ignite a revolution just as a single matchstick can start a fire. One such idea - putting employees first and customers second - sparked a revolution at HCL Technologies, the IT services giant. In this candid and personal account, Vineet Nayar - HCLT's celebrated CEO - recounts how he defied the conventional wisdom that companies must put customers first, then turned the hierarchical pyramid upside down by making management accountable to the employees, and not the other way around. By doing so, Nayar fired the imagination of both employees and customers and set HCLT on a journey of transformation that has made it one of the fastest-growing and profitable global IT services companies and, according to BusinessWeek, one of the twenty most influential companies in the world. Chapter by chapter, Nayar recounts the exciting journey of how he and his team implemented the employee first philosophy by: • Creating a sense of urgency by enabling the employees to see the truth of the company's current state as well as feel the "romance" of its possible future state • Creating a culture of trust by pushing the envelope of transparency in communication and information sharing • Inverting the organizational hierarchy by making the management and the enabling functions accountable to the employee in the value zone • Unlocking the potential of the employees by fostering an entrepreneurial mind-set, decentralizing decision making, and transferring the ownership of "change" to the employee in the value zone Refreshingly honest and practical, this book offers valuable insights for managers seeking to realize their aspirations to grow faster and become self-propelled engines of change.
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