When I joined Diebold as a customer support executive in Delhi, India, in 1994, most banks were in the infancy stage of computerization and automation. Labor unions were not in favor of automating the teller lines. Driving the focus on self-service banking required effort and education, which Diebold provided plenty of customers. With the organization’s small size and less than 100 installations across the country, a new sales order for even one unit anywhere was a cause for celebration.

Throughout my almost 15 years with Diebold, I have been part of some important developments in the company, including the separation from IBM in 1999, the buyout of the Indian joint venture, the launch of Opteva® in 2003, the buyout of Tata Infotech's manufacturing plant in 2005 and the launch of the India-specific ATM in 2007.

I believe all of these steps led Diebold in the right direction. With the separation from IBM, which I believe to be the biggest change during my years with the company, Diebold was given the opportunity to expand internationally into a market now accounting for 50 percent of our revenue. The buyouts of the Indian joint venture and Tata plant allowed Diebold India to aggressively compete in the Indian market and grow the services businesses.

By launching the India-specific D450 ATM in 2007, Diebold India could optimize the cost of the terminal, giving it the opportunity to compete and win large bids for hardware business. During the launch, I was the project lead from the sales and marketing perspective. I was responsible for gathering the marketing requirements and putting functional specifications in place for the new terminal. Though it was a challenging project, it was also a great experience, as it was the first of its kind of fast track projects jointly executed by two countries, Brazil and India.

After spending 11 years in Delhi, I moved to Mumbai in 2005 as sales director for India operations. I took over the regional role as the marketing director for South Asia in 2007. In July 2008, I shifted my base to Jakarta, Indonesia, to be closer to the operations and grow the managed and integrated services business. I moved back into a direct sales role in January this year as sales director for the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) region and will continue to operate from Jakarta. When I moved to Mumbai in 2005, my family stayed back in Delhi, and I traveled to see them as much as possible. My wife and two daughters are going to join me in Jakarta.

As a Diebold associate, I am proud of my accomplishments and for being part of the company’s business in this part of the world. Diebold has truly become an international organization with U.S.-centric operations in 1999 to having a global presence in more than 90 countries today.