As I was settling down on Friday in New York a message from Keyur shook me up. The message read “Shocking news on Arnab” and immediately some of my worst nightmares came true. As I tried to grapple with the reality of the situation there are so many memories of Arnab which flashed through my mind. I thought an appropriate farewell for Arnab would be to share my great memories with Arnab.
I came to know Arnab in J&J India as someone who rarely spoke.. I had to go to him many times to solicit a good conversation. His regular visits to the road outside the main building of J&J for his round of smoke would be something that I distinctly remembered from old times (approx. 2 decades back). This habit continued till his last day at work.. After a few months he did open up and we became great colleagues and friends thereafter. We would share many lighter moments about work and we had common interest as well as pain points (sometimes we complained on the same people !).
I also saw him grow tremendously as a leader. He matured from handling Treasury of J&J India to being the CFO for One J&J in SEA. He was a workaholic to the core and had very limited interests outside work but yet we managed to converse on multiple occasions every day surrounding people, investments and his way of life. I never missed an opportunity to pull his leg on his frugal living. He also hated physical work outs. I once forced him to walk with me for 3 hours in Singapore and he never thereafter came walking with me though I tried my best. He had a great knack on judging people (something that I admired the most) and would give me insights on people that no others could. Also he had a very conservative outlook on investments and both me and Keyur would always make fun on his investment styles and habits.
Unfortunately I did not keep in touch with Arnab as often as I should have (we met only a couple of times in the past 21/2 years) once I left J&J. I will miss him along with many others who he has touched during his lifetime. May his soul Rest in Peace. Thanks for all the wonderful memories Arnab.
As I was settling down on Friday in New York a message from Keyur shook me up. The message read “Shocking news on Arnab” and immediately some of my worst nightmares came true. As I tried to grapple with the reality of the situation there are so many memories of Arnab which flashed through my mind. I thought an appropriate farewell for Arnab would be to share my great memories with Arnab.
I came to know Arnab in J&J India as someone who rarely spoke.. I had to go to him many times to solicit a good conversation. His regular visits to the road outside the main building of J&J for his round of smoke would be something that I distinctly remembered from old times (approx. 2 decades back). This habit continued till his last day at work.. After a few months he did open up and we became great colleagues and friends thereafter. We would share many lighter moments about work and we had common interest as well as pain points (sometimes we complained on the same people !).
I also saw him grow tremendously as a leader. He matured from handling Treasury of J&J India to being the CFO for One J&J in SEA. He was a workaholic to the core and had very limited interests outside work but yet we managed to converse on multiple occasions every day surrounding people, investments and his way of life. I never missed an opportunity to pull his leg on his frugal living. He also hated physical work outs. I once forced him to walk with me for 3 hours in Singapore and he never thereafter came walking with me though I tried my best. He had a great knack on judging people (something that I admired the most) and would give me insights on people that no others could. Also he had a very conservative outlook on investments and both me and Keyur would always make fun on his investment styles and habits.
Unfortunately I did not keep in touch with Arnab as often as I should have (we met only a couple of times in the past 21/2 years) once I left J&J. I will miss him along with many others who he has touched during his lifetime. May his soul Rest in Peace. Thanks for all the wonderful memories Arnab.