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Arun Sarin, the newly minted honorary knight of the British Empire who delivered the ending keynote, urged the Berkeley students to invest in Asia and work there to learn valuable entrepreneurial lessons.
Sharing his experiences as the chief executive officer of Vodaphone from where he retired in 2008, Sarin told the students that the systems in countries like China and India may not be as transparent as in the United States, but the experience will be worthwhile.
'Adaption and adoption are essential to doing business in these emerging markets,' he said. 'Be prepared for differences and suspend being judgmental.'
He added: 'I am very impressed with the vision of the leaders of China for China. They are focused on the goal of China getting one-third of the world's GDP. Notwithstanding China's social and political issues, the nation will do very well. Unlike the United States, China and India are very mobile phone-centric rather than PC [personal computer]-centric. The two neighbors are great destinations for innovation due to fewer institutional barriers and secondly due to the wonderful assets of a young populace -- mainly in India -- that knows how to tweak the Western product offerings for local conditions.'
Sarin, a senior advisor to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, is also an alumnus of Berkeley's prestigious Haas Business School.
He began his address by saying, 'I know many jokes and jibes will follow this honorary knighthood title and I hope to take all in the stride of a knight.' The audience cracked.
From the perspective of the business clime in the United States, he added, 'Silicon Valley is still the best in business and the state-of-art in technological innovation but we need to innovate harder in US and find ways to keep the brains from going back to sustain the cutting edge If you want to play at the pinnacle of your chosen path, remain here and lock horns with the best in the world to learn and grow.'
