FOLLOWING THE CULTURE TRAIL

Amitabh Dube, country president of Novartis India, has travelled extensively, but it is his stay in Vietnam that he most fondly remembers, not just for its food, people and landscape but also for the footprints of Indian culture in the southeast Asian country 

- Chitra Nair

He says he is not a hardcore history enthusiast, but that disclaimer appears misleading when Amitabh Dube, country president of pharmaceuticals major Novartis for India, starts talking about the influence of Indian and Chinese culture on the Vietnamese culture.

The southeast Asian country, where Dube was stationed for two years for work, is quite close to his heart—he is all praise for its people, landscape, culture and food. But what amazed him the most was the presence of footprints of the Indian culture in half of Vietnam. “I could find so much about our culture there. For instance, the Chola dynasty of south India has its footprints right up till Vietnam,” he points out enthusiastically.

As a leader, Dube is a strong proponent of open and transparent communication and believes in being authentic and being available for everyone.