Interviewed by Tata’s Russi Mody in 1977, GS Ramesh was asked where he wanted to start his career. “Where did you start, sir?” he asked back. Coal mines, came the answer. So Ramesh chose the coal mines too.
Twenty years at Tata taught him what he calls the human side of business. Twelve years at Hyundai, as its first Indian employee, taught him discipline and evidence over instinct. Somewhere between the two, he coined a word for the synthesis he was building: Hyundian.
Those experiences would eventually shape the way he built Layam, a name drawn from “Lay”, the Hindi word for rhythm, and Om. Built for nearly two decades without a formal sales team, and around a philosophy Ramesh calls “headcount to brain count”, the company grew from staffing into contract manufacturing, with clients including Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors and Mahindra along the way.
In this episode of The Corner Office, Ramesh talks about coal mines and culture, the culture shock of moving to Hyundai, why he bet on overlooked talent, how Layam evolved, and what decades spanning corporate leadership and entrepreneurship taught him about success.
Watch the full conversation.
