GM India head Karl Slym says that he gets to hear the good, the bad and the ugly about Chevrolet when he travels
Karl Slym
Age: 49
Designation: Managing Director, General Motors, India
Past Career: Started at Toyota as a senior manager, moved to GM in 1995 and has held various roles across geographies like director of manufacturing in Gliwice, Poland. He then went to GM in the US and Canada and later became head of quality, APAC-Seoul
Future Strategy: To exceed customers’ expectations
Interests: Music, Bollywood, cricket and traveling
I came here four years ago from South Korea. In my old job, I was in charge of quality for the APAC [Asia Pacific] region, which included India and that meant a visit for the first time [to India] during that job. However, when we visit on business, it is very different from living in the place. We go from airport, hotel, factory, and that’s it. Whereas, it is very different when you are living here.
Four years ago is when I first arrived with my household goods and my wife and started living here. Both my wife and I have said that India is the most difficult country to get used to. There are some things you fight and you don’t accept when you get here.
For example, just getting something fixed in the house. ‘What time will you be here? I will be there at 10 a.m.’ So then I wait till 10 a.m. Then we realise 10 could be 4 o’clock, four days later as opposed to 10 a.m. on that day. We waste so much time waiting for people and that is very frustrating. Eventually, you stop believing that if someone says 10, it does mean 10, and you arrange it around when it can really happen so you can enjoy the rest of your life. That’s one small example of things you decide to work around.
Normally, it takes two to three weeks to set up our house and start living a normal life. But here it took probably two months before our setup became okay.
However, the opposite end of that is, this would be the most difficult country to leave now.
We do immerse ourselves. We have one house in the world and that’s in India. We don’t have my wife going to her hometown every six months.
As far as timing is concerned, I’m still the first one in the office in the morning and even if I come in late, I’m probably the first one to leave at night. There are hours for everything: But here, it is common to start later, finish later, eat at some ridiculous time.
(This story appears in the 16 December, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)