Telcordia Impact Players:
Naveen Suri

Naveen Suri has many titles. In most circumstances, he's Executive Director of Telcordia Global Services. He's also been called a teacher, an ambassador, and a technocrat. "Whatever it takes to make good things happen for Telcordia," says Naveen.

It's that attitude that makes Naveen Suri an Impact Player at Telcordia. A native of India, now living in New Jersey, Naveen helps direct Telcordia Global Service offerings in Central and South America, Asia Pacific and most recently, for Telcordia's growing presence in India. As an internationally recognized expert in numbering, he also travels the world, advising governments, ministries and providers on numbering strategies.

"Forty countries visited, 200 more to go," says Naveen with a laugh. You never know where you might find him next, but wherever it is, according to Naveen, he's right where he wants to be.

As a young man in India, Naveen began his university education with the intention of becoming a diplomat in the Foreign Service. A few years later, having switched majors to international business and changed his address to the University of Connecticut, he completed his master's degree by writing a thesis entitled "The Globalization of Markets." Now, says Naveen, he's living his own thesis.

A case in point is his involvement in the launch of Telcordia's new initiatives in India. Telcordia's growing business in India created the impetus for the creation of a local hub of sales and operations, Telcordia Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. The first product development center outside the US is based in Chennai, India, includes a software development lab, and will be inaugurated this month.

Naveen served as the interim Managing Director of Telcordia India until the permanent MD, Ashok Sapra, was named. According to Naveen, launching Telcordia India is a Herculean undertaking, which has taken the best efforts of a large team of Telcordia employees from across many organizations. And Naveen is quick to offer a long list of those people who should be mentioned specifically, including his manager, Suresh Subramanian. Deflecting the spotlight from himself, Naveen wants to ensure credit is given where credit is due.

The same is true for Naveen's international presence in the numbering field. As the complexities of numbering rise and as countries deregulate their telecommunications systems, his expertise has become a sought-after commodity. So much so that he has traveled worldwide teaching master's classes in numbering - to representatives of 90-plus countries and counting. But again, Naveen is quick to tie his work in numbering to that of his Telcordia colleagues, most especially Harald Hauser, Tony Merolla, and Bryan Mordecai. "We're in this together," he says. "Without them, we could never have accomplished as much as we have."

Not a diplomat, but ever diplomatic, Naveen Suri's career has taken him to the corners of the earth, and he loves it. He describes the pleasure he derives from standing in front of people from around the world, from learning about them, their countries and their needs. In some small way, he hopes to help them change their countries for the better, one piece at a time. "That," he says, "is my contribution to them - and it feels just fantastic."

Naveen believes that "the biggest risk is not taking one." And his risks have paid unintended dividends. One of which, he says, is that he's been blessed to have made so many friends in so many countries along the way. You get the sense that they're also blessed to have a friend like Naveen.

"I have a dream job," he concludes. "This is exactly what I want to do, and I'm so happy doing it."