Robert Chandran

I had seen the interview of Robert Chandran on CNBC by Christine Tan. I was quite impressed with the interview.

Robert Chandran did his engineering from India followed by MBA from Philippines. He wanted to be an entrepreneur. His entry into the oil tanking business was the story of hitting an idea and following it up with dogged determination. It was captivating to know how he got his first break and how he grew the business.

Once, while in the US, he was making a presentation. His Japanese partners were attending the presentation. Bob was elaborating his idea when one of his staff blurted out. He said that the idea was stupid or that it did not make sense. Bob listened to him but went on to calmly defend his scheme.

After the meeting the Japaneses partner came unto to Bob and said " this would never happen in Japan". For the Japanese guy it was unthinkable that some body working for you could dare to ridicule your idea. Bob laughed it off. He in fact defended his employee. He said -the guy had company's interest in mind. Bob said that he did not take this personally.

Christine said that she had heard that Bob did not take "no" for an answer. Bob replied with a smile that it was true. He said I do not pay top salaries for being told why things could not be done. he said that he was paying top dollars to hear how things could be done.

I met him in the lift at Millenia Tower in Singapore. I told him about how impressed I was with the interview. He smiled back and thanked me. He seemed so friendly and approachable. I could not believe it. A man worth few hundred millions sounded like any other common man on the street. I fixed up an interview to meet and chat. it is quite rare that you meet somebody important without any road blocks.

I was quite excited on the day I was supposed to meet him. I opened my mail in the morning. there was a mail from Bob's secretary announcing his demise in a helicopter accident. out of the five people aboard the helicopter only Bob was killed. I was utterly shocked and distressed. Never in my life did I feel so bad about the death of a person who I barely met. I felt as if I had lost a friend.