This Traumatic Experience turned this Man into one of the Most Important People in Construction

Perhaps shockingly for a man of his ingenuity, Prakash nearly failed getting into university. How he turned into one of the industry’s most important engineers is a story of ambition, persistence, and inspiration.

Well spoken and polite like a true Englishman, Prakash climbed the corporate ladder in a rapid pace. After working for companies such as Balfour Beatty, WSP, AECOM and others, he is now the Head of Digital Delivery for construction conglomerate JLL. How he got there may surprise you, which included a 4 month sabbatical to travel the world.

Diversified teams perform better

Prakash says that he encourages every young professional to take some time to travel the world, to open their eyes and their minds to new people, new experiences and new ideas. He found it invaluable, he says, to speak with non-similar minded people and to look for the similarities. With a title such “Head of Digital Delivery” it’s easy to oversee the backstory, but Prakash was in a mindset of a relentless pursuit for improvement, he took risks and he travelled the world in order to get to where he was. He contributes a big part of that to the diversification of his own mind first, as well as of the various teams that he worked with throughout the years.

Persistence trumps genius

Prakash didn’t give up when he failed his A-levels and didn’t get into university. Being a great student leading up to that moment provided a big enough shock to him and his family that he vouched never to feel that way again. Prakash saw a very different construction industry than what it is today very early on. He took a very conscious career decision to switch trajectories and to start building his own path towards the digitization of the industry, and when people told him he was crazy, he doubled down on it. He made sacrifices, changed teams, changed countries, all of which he considered necessary in order to achieve his vision of a more efficient construction industry.

To this day, Prakash says, he did not have the opportunity to live in their UK home that he bought and renovated with his bare hands for more than a month. As far as the construction industry is concerned however, he is a home staple when it comes to digitization.

Opportunities may be disguised

Prakash’s first offer for a move to the Middle East was for a stereotypical expat position. What he did see at that time however was an opportunity to work for something bigger than the sum of its parts. He describes Dubai as the “Hollywood of construction” with projects being the biggest, the fastest, the best. Prakash did not just need the attention of his team to make changes for the industry, but the attention of the world, and that’s what Dubai opened up the doors for. “I would love to tell you that all this was part of a great plan” he says, but the reality is a mix of keeping your eyes open, “getting lucky”, and never giving up.

Same solution, different value to different people

We often get entangled in the technicalities, are too worried about what’s on our own agenda, instead of taking the time to listen, and to think, as to how we can give value to our team and to our customers. Prakash actively avoids this, and it is evident in the way that he speaks about the people that he works with. Take BIM as an example, where he says that although it is a big mountain to climb, it can in fact give excellent, and different, value to the individual stakeholders, and when all this comes together it can have a huge impact on our industry [details in the podcast].

Your team is your secret weapon

Prakash is grateful for people left and right in his life. From the mentors that he had at his very first job, to his wife who supported him when he suggested they move to the Middle East as newlyweds, to the partners that he has in his startup: Saifety.ai. When asked how he is able to handle an executive position for a conglomerate and a startup at the same time, he quickly pointed out that it is all made possible by the great teams that he has surrounded himself with (He also pointed out his priority for a happy and stable family environment!). The top value he says is to “get done what you say you’re going to get done, by when you say you’re going to get it done”.

For more insights into Prakash’s story and more details on his vision listen to the full interview, here: