Navin Raheja started his career with a scooter agency and today heads a prominent real estate company. School and higher education was made possible purely because of his meritorious performance, which won him national scholarships. After completing his master’s degree in business economics from the University of Delhi, Navin Raheja, experimented with a variety of challenging ventures in the field of automobiles, finance, electronics etc before venturing into the real estate sector in 1983-84. The man who finds a daily calendar of just 24 hours his “biggest weakness,” is also actively involved in tiger conservation.

What time do you wake up every day? What time do you sleep? I wake up at 6:30 a.m and sleep at 12:00

You never leave home without … Meditation or pooja

How do you commute to office? How long is the commute? I commute by car and it takes me five minutes to reach office

On an average, how many hours a week do you work? I work for 15 hours in a day, so 105 hours a week

What is the first thing you do on reaching office? Every day’s schedule is fixed. Meetings are kept by my secretary accordingly. But every day there are new problems that need immediate attention and depending upon priorities all activities are executed one after the other

In five words or less, what do you like the most about your job? Building advanced lifestyles

In five words or less, what is the one thing you like the least about your job? Non-acknowledgement of job you have been dedicated to

In 50 words or less, what is the secret of your success? Proactive adoption of new technologies, timely execution of my ideas, focussed vision and a dedicated team made it possible for me to reach where I am today

What do you have for breakfast? Boiled vegetables, fruits, sprouts and fresh juice

What would you like to change about yourself/your life? Would like to reduce the number of working hours

How often do you exercise? Three times a week

What exercise do you do? Cardio, yoga and walking

How do you relax? Any hobbies? I relax by going out to the forest every month and interacting with my tigers and panthers. My hobby is wildlife filming

Your favourite book? The Geeta

Your favourite film? Sholey

When and where did you last go on holiday? We went for the Amarnath Yatra

One gadget you cannot live without? Blackberry

What makes you happy? Spirit of helping every creature on the planet

Your favourite quote/phrase? Don’t leave anything for tomorrow because tomorrow never comes

What is the most important lesson that life has taught you? Don’t chase success. Continue doing a good job….. Success will chase you

What was your first job and salary? I started with a scooter agency with my national scholarship savings worth R5000

At what age did you become CEO? At 25

Which living person do you most admire? Brij Mohan Munjal

What job would you rather be doing? I would like to do better what I am doing already

What characteristic/behaviour do you dislike most in others? Not thinking beyond their own self

Where do you see yourself in five years? One of the most respected persons globally

What is your biggest strength? Moving on selflessly

What is your biggest weakness? Daily calendar of just 24 hours

At what age do you hope to retire? To die with my shoes on

What is your most cherished possession? My well-wishers and those who appreciate good work

What is your biggest challenge? To make my two children carry the torch beyond and to make this planet a better place to live in

About Navin Raheja:

Born into the family of a government officer on transferable jobs, Navin Raheja attended government schools. He lost his father at an early age and it was his merit which helped him carry on with further studies through national scholarships. After completing his master’s degree in business economics from the University of Delhi, Raheja started his career with a scooter agency in Delhi and thereafter experimented with a variety of challenging ventures in the field of automobiles, finance, electronics, computers, travel, manpower, interstate trading and exports, importing agency for hydro projects etc before finally venturing into the real estate in 1983-84.

Raheja Developers came into existence in 1990 with the launch of major real estate projects starting with a farmhouse colony in Gurgaon as well as bringing in the first big apartment complex in Nainital. Today the company is known for its professionalism, quality controls and integrity.

Navin Raheja was awarded the ‘Top Managing Director’ Award by the Institute of Marketing & Management, Delhi in the year 2009 and the ‘Udyog Ratna’ Award by the Institute of Economic Studies, Delhi. He is also an avid wild life enthusiast who is committed to the survival of the Indian tiger in its natural habitat. He was a member of the Steering Committee of Project Tiger (1997-2002) under the ministry of environment and forests, government of India and chairman, Wildlife Conservation Society of India.

For more interesting pictures of Navin Raheja, visit CEO Snapshots.

Interviewed by Ankita Sethi