Under Forty: Manu Choudhary (CDC Printers)

When did you decide to join the business?
The moment I received an email from my father which had a forced  non-refundable ticket from Rochester, USA (The University where I was doing my MS in Print Media), to Kolkata with the flight date coinciding with the date when my post graduation thesis was scheduled to finish.

Where do you learn the tricks of the trade? In an executive education programme or on the job?
The fundamentals were learned through education, and the tricks are learnt on the job.

What is your greatest print / business achievement to date?
Built a complete MIS system starting from purchase to debt recovery for our print house. Also, trained and implemented a complete colour management system, which has become so effective that the machine operators will not print any job unless the measuring system ‘approves’ it. The same operators, who could never trust anything else other than their eyes.

What technology has made the biggest difference to your business? The best break-through in print technology in the past hundred years?
MIS. It makes the entire process more systematic and less people-dependent. The print industry was probably the last to get ‘industrialised’.

What do you prefer: a mentor in the industry or brain storming with like-aged?
A mentor.

The most frequently used mantra in your organisation? Your motto in life?
Never say no.

If you won Rs 25 crores what would you invest in? Why?
In a packaging unit. The move from commercial printing to packaging is obvious. The only difference is ‘when’ you decide to take the plunge.

One person who impressed you with wisdom. Why?
My father, Chittranjan Choudhary

When you see a great piece of print created by your competitor, what is your reaction?
Look for things I can learn and analyse if the same can be reproduced using our infrastructure. If not, what additional equipment is required to get to it.

Best print gift given
During Holi, we distribute colourful, herbal scented rangoli in attractive, and innovative packaging to all our clients, vendors, employees and friends.

If you were NOT in this industry, you would have ...
Been a computer scientist.