Rajesh Vedak: The satisfaction of creating

Rajesh Vedak, Körber site: Mumbai, India 

When I look back, one decision defines my journey more than any other: joining Körber.  

Until then, I had spent my entire career in large American corporations. 
Well-established brands. 
Clear structures. 
Predictable paths.  

In India, things were going extremely well for me. 
I was leading the business. 
I was successful – and objectively, I had every reason to stay. 

So when I announced that I was leaving, the reactions were immediate: 

Why leave that kind of security? 
Why give up a successful career? 
What was the reason behind this decision?  

But there was no single reason.  

What surprised people even more was where I was going: 
a company with no presence in India at all. 
No office. 
No infrastructure. 
Nothing built yet.  

And that was exactly the point. 

For me, it was never just a career move. 
It was something much more personal: 
the joy of creation.  

If we succeeded, I wouldn’t just be running an existing business. 
I would have helped build something from scratch. 
Even a team of ten people would have felt like an achievement: 
there was nothing — and now there is something. 

That thought alone unleashed an enormous amount of energy in me. 

The beginning was anything but smooth. 

At first, I was asked whether I would be willing to relocate – 
something I had never considered before. 
The professional and personal lives of my family were firmly rooted in India. 

And suddenly, there was a moment of uncertainty.  

For a brief moment, I thought: 
I had left my previous company – and now what?  

But instead of pressure, I experienced something else: 
support. 
Understanding. 
A solution. 

We created a makeshift arrangement: I initially worked from our site in Bangkok. 
Close enough to manage travel, far enough to remain anchored in India.  

That moment has stayed with me to this day.  

Because it showed something fundamental: 
challenges don’t end a story. 
They move it forward.  

What followed was the purest form of entrepreneurship I have ever experienced. 

Körber gave me the support I needed. What I made of it was up to me. 
In everyday work, it felt like building my own company: 
convincing customers. 
Building trust. 
Hiring people. 
Creating structures. 
Solving problems for which no local solutions existed. 

Every year brought a new challenge. 
No year was like the one before. 
And it was exactly this constant reinvention that made the journey so fulfilling. 
We were building momentum.  

From one person grew an organization 
that today numbers around 150 colleagues.  

That is the magic of creation: 
it’s not just about growth. 
It’s about developing something more. 
Identity. 
Capability. 
Confidence. 

Looking back, I sometimes ask myself: 
Did I fully understand the risks? 
What if investments had been stopped? 
What if strategies had changed? 
What if India had developed differently?  

Those questions were real at the time. 
But they never outweighed the core belief: 
growth requires the courage to let go of security. 

Brand recognition had to be built. 
Trust had to be earned. 
Presence had to be created.  

From scratch.