Three decades in footwear, and I would not have it any other way. Liberty has grown into one of India’s most recognised footwear conglomerates with an annual turnover crossing Rs. 800 crore and a presence in over 30 countries.
450+ exclusive stores, 5,000+ multibrand outlets, e-commerce across Myntra, Flipkart, Nykaa Fashion and our own site. We manufacture close to 60,000 pairs daily at our HumanTech centres in Haryana and Uttarakhand, placing us among Asia’s largest footwear producers.
Daily Routine
No two days at Liberty are the same. Product reviews, design briefs, retail strategy, campaign planning, investor conversations. I also make it a point to visit stores regularly. No deck tells you as much as an hour on the shop floor.
Passions and Hobbies
Footwear is my work and my genuine passion. I notice everyone’s shoes before anything else in a room. I follow global trends closely and find the greatest joy in the product creation process: from initial sketch to a finished pair on a customer’s foot.
Travel, music, and cars round it out. Golf has become a genuine passion. The game mirrors business: strategy, patience, and discipline.
Travel and Exploration
Milan and Paris are obvious fashion pilgrimages, but increasingly I am drawn to less obvious places: the material culture of Morocco, the colour philosophy of Mexico, the restraint of Scandinavia. Each one recalibrates your eye. The most interesting design inspiration lives in places the fashion world has not yet commodified. Being among the first to absorb a culture is a creative advantage.
Superpower You Wish You Had
The ability to see where consumer desires are headed before they fully form. In retail and fashion, the gap between insight and action separates the leaders from the rest. On a personal note: bilocation. There are always more cities to visit, more customers to hear, more teams to be present for. Only so many hours in a day.
Thoughts on AI
As AI accelerates, I believe there will be a counter-wave, a return to tradition, to craft, to the touch and feel of things made with care. The brands that will win are those who use technology for the transactional and preserve the human for the experiential.
3 Must-Read Books
- The Innovator’s Dilemma – It asks uncomfortable questions about why successful companies fail, and the answers are deeply instructive for a brand like Liberty.
- Good to Great by Jim Collins – Because the gap between good and great is not talent or resources alone. It is discipline, culture, and clarity of purpose.
- The Bhagavad Gita – Every time I face a genuinely difficult decision, the Gita has something precise to say about it.
Advice to Young Professionals
Work hard, but work smart. Hard work is the price of entry; it is nonnegotiable. But effort without applied thinking is just noise. Develop that habit early.
Second: find mentors and be willing to be mentored properly. The fastest path to competence goes through genuine humility.
Third: do not optimise your early career for salary. Optimise for learning and for leaders who will invest in your growth.
