Ravikant Shekar Anchan: Instrumental In Setting-Up The Best Debt Management Business With His Excellence
The NBFC business has expanded dramatically in response to the emerging needs of the present day. Following the devastating impact of the pandemic, the NBFC sector is likely to see loan growth of 7-8 percent in the current fiscal year which is rapid recovery from the situation. Shaha Finlease Pvt Ltd is a pioneer and one of the fastest growing NBFCs in the country, with an active portfolio of about 2,50,000 customers in the retail segment.The company was founded approximately two decades ago. Ravikant (COO of Shaha Finlease) is one of the instrumental members of the leadership team, who has contributed to Shaha Finlease's success in the NFBC sector.Here are the highlights from our exclusive interaction with Ravikant.
Elaborate on your professional background and experience. How has your journey with Shaha Finlease been thus far, and what drives you today?
The last two decades have provided the ideal learning environment, with the best people serving as my mentors &teammates. I began my career with ICICI Capitals in the distribution area and afterward shifted to the Debt Management Segment at ICICI Bank. After a brief stint with Cholamandalam DBS, I got an opportunity Business Manager with Serco PLC which changed the path of my career. The next move to Capital First, was a blessing which presented with the opportunity to be a part of a rising NBFC and a platform to improve myself by learning how to set processes, create policies & lay the groundwork.
Soon I found myself working with Yes Bank, with Yes Bank deciding to enter the Retail space in a big way, this move paved my road to being a part of the team instrumental in building their Retail setup. My Interest in understanding Asset Reconstruction business and an offer from Reliance Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd as. Head Collection was a boon and I took up the position. This adventure sparked a new passion in me & I
decided to go independent. Shaha Finlease was the ideal business for my dream project. A decade old company needed a facelift and I was successfully in positioning it as one of the most sought NBFC for NPA and Stressed asset Management. My ambition is to make it the best brand in the debt management industry, one that will be the first choice for any institution looking to unload its NPA book.
How did IIM Lucknow help you become a successful industry leader?Could you explain your IIM Lucknow learnings & experiences, how you utilize them in your current role?
Until I arrived on the IIM campus, I was always an individual contributor. While my ability to harness my technical expertise to get goals is critical, I didn't recognize that whenever I advanced to a leadership position, the toolset I had relied on to accomplish desired results rarely prepared me to succeed. I discovered that if I were to lead others, I must use a more powerful version of the same machinery and as well as learn various toolsets. The learning at IIM equipped me with some of these, particularly the ability to embark on a path of fearless introspection, feedback seeking, and dedicated attempts to behavioral change for improved effectiveness & a bigger positive impact on team members & management.
What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to its clients?
SFPL, in addition to banks and other significant asset recovery businesses, is one of the asset resolution complementary mechanisms. Only a well capitalized & well designed body such as SFPL with experienced staff who understands macro-financial conditions & the regulatory environment well, will be able to resolve disputes swiftly and expedite collection, further strengthening the asset resolution mechanism.
Reflect on some of the major challenges you have experienced in your journey so far. What did you learn from them and how did you overcome them?
I've traveled a difficult trail & each struggle has taught me some thing new. The pandemic was the most difficult of all challenges, as the
I believe that every challenge can be overcome with determination & perseverance
How did IIM Lucknow help you become a successful industry leader?Could you explain your IIM Lucknow learnings & experiences, how you utilize them in your current role?
Until I arrived on the IIM campus, I was always an individual contributor. While my ability to harness my technical expertise to get goals is critical, I didn't recognize that whenever I advanced to a leadership position, the toolset I had relied on to accomplish desired results rarely prepared me to succeed. I discovered that if I were to lead others, I must use a more powerful version of the same machinery and as well as learn various toolsets. The learning at IIM equipped me with some of these, particularly the ability to embark on a path of fearless introspection, feedback seeking, and dedicated attempts to behavioral change for improved effectiveness & a bigger positive impact on team members & management.
What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to its clients?
SFPL, in addition to banks and other significant asset recovery businesses, is one of the asset resolution complementary mechanisms. Only a well capitalized & well designed body such as SFPL with experienced staff who understands macro-financial conditions & the regulatory environment well, will be able to resolve disputes swiftly and expedite collection, further strengthening the asset resolution mechanism.
Reflect on some of the major challenges you have experienced in your journey so far. What did you learn from them and how did you overcome them?
I've traveled a difficult trail & each struggle has taught me some thing new. The pandemic was the most difficult of all challenges, as the
entire concept of work was affected. However financial institutions had to continue operating. The momentum had to be kept going while keeping sentiments and situations in mind. The difficult times taught me a lot of rigor and discipline around planning work. The last two years also taught me many new-age skills like digital marketing, creating AI, and data analytics. Learning them quickly I believe that every challenge can be overcome with determination and perseverance.
How do you maintain the perfect balance between your personal and professional life? What is your success mantra?
The entire schedule was haywire at the start of the business journey there was no balance between personal and professional life. However, over the last ten years, I've learned that maintaining a strong worklife balance is vital to keeping myself happy & productive. One thing I do is set my priorities for the day, keep track of my time delegate well & avoid spreading myself too thin. Being successful doesn't just mean making a lot of money. It means achieving success in all aspects of life.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, & what are the opportunities that you foresee?
At the outset let me tell you that the debt collections business is going to be robust in the times to come and primed for even greater transformation by the end of this year. As collection companies to be competitive in this changing environment and satisfy evolving customer expectations we need to embrace digital too. With digital lending on the rise, schemes like the Buy Now/Pay Later lending model will have a direct impact on debt repayment trends.
As a corporation, we will develop a customer engagement strategy that is both compassionate and commercially beneficial. This will improve our repayment time, liquidation rates, and customer satisfaction. We aim to get this right by utilizing artificial intelligence, machine learning and other cutting edge technology. The main idea is to combine multiple data sources to create a holistic picture of your client so that service & communication can be customized to each individual.
Ravikant Shekar Anchan, COO, Shaha Finlease
Ravikant is the COO of Shaha Finlease & has over two decades of experience in debt management firms. He is a people person who is completely focused on his career.
How do you maintain the perfect balance between your personal and professional life? What is your success mantra?
The entire schedule was haywire at the start of the business journey there was no balance between personal and professional life. However, over the last ten years, I've learned that maintaining a strong worklife balance is vital to keeping myself happy & productive. One thing I do is set my priorities for the day, keep track of my time delegate well & avoid spreading myself too thin. Being successful doesn't just mean making a lot of money. It means achieving success in all aspects of life.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate, & what are the opportunities that you foresee?
At the outset let me tell you that the debt collections business is going to be robust in the times to come and primed for even greater transformation by the end of this year. As collection companies to be competitive in this changing environment and satisfy evolving customer expectations we need to embrace digital too. With digital lending on the rise, schemes like the Buy Now/Pay Later lending model will have a direct impact on debt repayment trends.
As a corporation, we will develop a customer engagement strategy that is both compassionate and commercially beneficial. This will improve our repayment time, liquidation rates, and customer satisfaction. We aim to get this right by utilizing artificial intelligence, machine learning and other cutting edge technology. The main idea is to combine multiple data sources to create a holistic picture of your client so that service & communication can be customized to each individual.
Ravikant Shekar Anchan, COO, Shaha Finlease
Ravikant is the COO of Shaha Finlease & has over two decades of experience in debt management firms. He is a people person who is completely focused on his career.