Changing business environment prompted K P Singh to step down as DLF chief

Disruptions that are expected to alter the business environment in a post-Covid-19 world, played a key role in Kushal Pal Singh’s decision to pass the baton to his son. Singh, who stepped down from the chairmanship of realty major DLF Ltd recently, said in a virtual conference that he feels DLF’s new chairman Rajiv Singh is now well-equipped to steer the company out of troubled waters.

According to him, emergence of a new and highly competitive business environment is the new reality. “India is entering into a new era in which the marketplace will not only be much more competitive but will also be full of exciting growth prospects for organisations as well as individuals. The economic upheavals which are bound to unfold after the recovery from the Covid-19 episode are unimaginable at this stage. A new normal would be altogether different from what we have been practicing so far," Singh stated as the reason behind his decision to step down, apart from his age.

While, the fate of businesses is now dependent on recovery from the current health crisis, both businesses and individuals would have to learn to live with the virus for the time being. " It will require major changes in our mind-sets in the way we live and the way we do our business now. A new normal would be altogether different from what we have been practicing so far. Due to this unpredictable situation, in future, only those companies will survive and thrive which have abundance of youthful energy, innovative ideas and a striving passion for quality and excellence. This calls for highly motivated team members with strong work ethics, professional integrity and a burning desire to be better than the best. Work culture will undoubtedly undergo a sea change after recovery from the present coronavirus menace has been accomplished,” he said.

Singh, who has survived many crises over his five-decade long career in the real estate business, stressed upon the fact that success in the new environment that is rapidly emerging, would require vastly different ways of working than in the past. “Constant change will be the name of the game” and DLF's new chairman Rajiv Singh has already made DLF “battle ready," he said. “After the economic recovery from the ongoing coronavirus has been achieved, a glorious future awaits us,” said Singh.

Reflecting upon the sea change that the sector has gone through since he entered the business in 1970s, he said, that unlike now, urban land development laws in India were stacked against the private sector and even banking institutions were not permitted to lend to urban land developers. Despite all odds, DLF emerged as the most compliant company in the country, he said.