Robin Titus is responsible for a business $10m operation spread across the region and heads seven departments at the age of 25
Robin Titus leads quite an unusual life for a 25-year-old. While other people his age are either still at university getting their first degree or pursuing an MBA in search of that big career break, Titus was recently appointed General Manager of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) division of growing global business information firm, naseba.
He has travelled on business to more than 20 countries and has worked for significant periods of time in almost ten, a set of circumstances most young professionals can only dream of at such a young age.
As business schools debate teaching methods and the torch of power is handed over to the young as the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close; Titus serves as a living example of a new age leader with his own personal secret to success.
Titus joined naseba at 19 and has been with the company ever since. Hence, he holds no formal university certification, but instead has transformed the working world into his own personal business school MBA course.
Titus, whose family is originally from South India, was born and raised in Dubai and was introduced to naseba by a friend. He was first employed as a sales executive in the Dubai office and travelled for the first time to launch a company office in Bengaluru, India. However, this rags to riches tale was not something Titus ever saw coming. "It's like how you don't decide when you are going to fall in love with a woman," he said. "It was an opportunity given to me and I seized it."
In six years, Titus has experienced such compacted career growth that previous generations were taught to wait their whole lives for.
Secret to success
His secret — consistency. "Whatever you do, be the best; if you are in sales make sure you are the number one of the week, month and year, then there is no stopping you," he said. "Don't let the losers bring you down and don't let anything distract you because you have a focus and your goal is to achieve it," he added.
It was his sharp-minded talk that got him the job in the first place. Scott Ragsdale, Chairman of naseba group, recalls: "I hired him when he was 19 years old because I don't care about someone's education. I care about someone's person and he had that drive, I could see it in his eyes."
Yet Titus is sceptical about the emerging trend as he believes positions of power are not just simply appointed but instead earned.
"At the end of the day I started off from scratch and earned every step of every month of every year by being the top sales guy for five years running," he said.
However, his leadership style, just like the leader and his situation, is very modern.
"I'm the kind of leader who likes to get their hands dirty, I like to be in there in the heat working along with everyone else, leading from the front," he said.
As the head of seven departments and a Mena business generation of $10 million with targets to expand, Titus finds the hands-on approach useful. His approach aligns the company goals into one smooth running machine. "I make sure everyone sees that the leader is setting the trends and strategy, setting the path for the week forward and the overall vision."
Courtesy : Gulf News
