India’s Most Trusted CEO 2018, Ashish Mehrotra, MD and CEO, Max Bupa Health Insurance

I have always striven to be a leader who leads by personal example and motivates people to achieve their goals. I strongly believe that being a good leader is both science and art, you have got to have all the time-tested traits of an effective leader such as communication, offering sufficient autonomy to employees, holding team members accountable but practicing and applying them is an art that requires time and patience.

MD & CEO, Max Bupa, Ashish Mehrotra, .

The Journey

I started my career with Citibank 20 years ago. In my last role as MD & Head – Retail Division of Citibank, have led portfolios like Consumer Assets, Business Banking, Mortgage Business, and Wealth Management. One of my key projects at Citibank was to reengineer ‘Citi at Work’ and emerging affluent segment businesses to attain higher profitability and operating efficiency.

The Change Agent

I believe change more often than not always brings with itself an opportunity. I firmly believe that one should always try to approach change with a positive mindset and focus on how to make the best of it.

What are you really into outside of work?

I am passionate about fitness and I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle by running and exercising. I also encourage my family and colleagues to have a healthier lifestyle and truly believe in the mantra of Max Bupa Walk for Health, ‘Walk for Good Health.’

5 key roles of a successful leader

The first and most important roles of a successful leader, according to me, is to create a vision for this employees, about where he wants to take the company and also tell his employees how they are going to achieve it. He has to ensure that there is a proper and open stream of communication between him and his team.

Employees will be able to achieve their tasks if they have sufficient resources and autonomy to complete the task at hand. Thus it is imperative for a leader to build a culture of self-efficacy within the organization. Team members must know that their leader absolutely believes in their ability to complete any task assigned to them. Hence the leader must give his team sufficient autonomy required to complete the task at hand. Last but not the least, it is the role of a leader to hold his team members accountable for the job assigned to them after they have been given sufficient resources and autonomy to complete it.

How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?

Our vision is to become India’s most admired Health Insurance company. We strive to be known and valued for providing the highest standard of customer services and be recognized as a true healthcare partner. My role at Max Bupa is to for fortify its portfolio, and creating long-term value in a high potential health insurance market.

What are your goals

My goal is that each and every Indian should get a health insurance cover.

Your 3 Biggest Accomplishments

My three biggest accomplishments have been

• Upscaling the brand positioning of Max Bupa Health Insurance in the market
• Expanding the product portfolio and including new and innovative products and services like Max Bupa GoActive and Max Bupa AnyTimeHealth
• Building a workforce comprising of self-driven and passionate go getters with a strong focus on customer centricity, starting with the recruitment of people for their attributes rather than technical skills

One word that describes you the best

Visionary

What’s your biggest Dream in life?

My biggest dream is to make Max Bupa India’s most admired and desired Health Insurance Company.

Would you rather be respected or feared and why?

I would rather be respected because if someone is respected it means that their opinion is valued and that they are approachable.