In the second talk in the new Venture Forward lecture series hosted by the Bob Jones University School of Business, Ashish Majmundar, a director at Google Cloud, spoke to a packed venue inside Performance Hall. Majmundar lectured on Nov. 14, speaking about his journey from playing cricket in India to presenting his billion-dollar idea to Jeff Bezos. Most importantly, he emphasized the principles of a successful leader.
Majmundar opened, “It really is a privilege to be here, to speak with you, the next generation of Christian leaders, and really, I hope that as a part of this conversation, I’ll be able to encourage you to live out your faith, whatever discipline the world takes you.”
After fielding a few questions, he spoke about his goal to become a professional cricket player and then his education in New York for an information system master’s degree. While there, a pastor encouraged his love for Scripture and influenced Majmundar to attend BJU Seminary.
Through his full years at seminary, he learned the power of perseverance.
“I’ll give you a piece of encouragement to persevere in whatever path you’re on,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard, and you might think it’s impossible, but the Lord will help you through it.”
After missions work in India for a few years while working with JP Morgan, Majmundar and his wife and five children moved to New Jersey, where he currently lives, working with Google Cloud and pastoring a church.
He works in four areas of global financial services: retail banking, capital markets, asset wealth management and insurance. Most of his work involves capital market exchanges in innovation.
This career guided him to work at Amazon Web Services where he won the Think Big contest. During his presentation, one slide mentioned “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Majmundar wished he would have said more to Bezos about the slide.
“I felt so bad, I didn’t think of, ‘Yes, you can send your treasures to heaven and leave your treasures up there.’ And I didn’t say that. I wish I had the presence of mind and the courage to say that.”
The next opportunity to say something more came just a month ago, when Majmundar presented before the president of the Dominican Republic.
“There’s a whole transformation of the country that [my team] was working on. At the end of it, I said, Mr. President, I am a Christian, and I believe that not only our two philosophies from technology align, but my personal philosophy of life which I take from the missionary, William Carey, who said, ‘Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God.’
“And so I concluded, Mr. President, with God’s blessing and your support, we can make a difference to the Dominican people for many generations to come.”
These are just a few of the opportunities that come to those who speak for the Lord.
After that, Majmundar explained the principles of a successful leader, inspiring the audience to stive for success.
Though Majmundar enjoys material success, he defines success quite differently. This definition deeply changed his work ethic. True success is knowing and doing the will of God, he said.
This definition guides all other principles, because God says, “without me you can do nothing,” Majmundar said.
“You could be super, super successful in the back office. Nobody knows about you, but you’ll make a splash in heaven, because you’re faithful in what you do.”
Because of that principle, he makes a regular practice not to work on Sundays.
“When I get a job, I’m up front, ‘I’m not going to work on the Lord’s Day.’”
This does not keep Majmundar from making a difference in the corporate world, however. His personality and definition of success fuel his fierce “full throttle” work ethic.
“When I was playing cricket, I was really training hard. I am full on, all or nothing. You can think of it as full throttle.”
“For me, I go from a full tank in the morning to an absolute empty tank at night. There’s no reserve.”
With all his work, ministry, and family responsibilities, Majmundar lives out the biblical principle, “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”
Lastly, Majmundar encouraged his audience to be skillful, citing King David and Proverbs. This skill looks like avid curiosity, especially about AI in this technology-driven world. Honed skills set you apart from other people.
He mentioned that rising leaders need to know their strengths and their weaknesses. They need to be confident in what they know – domain knowledge – and who they know – others who offset their weaknesses.
Or as Majmundar said, “Don’t grow oranges in Seattle. Know a guy in Florida.”
One skill sets great leaders apart, the skill of active listening. Majmundar noticed that both Bezos and the president of the Dominican Republic listened well, even when they disagreed.
“He [the President] let anybody talk, as if that person was the only person there.”
While prioritizing eternity, Majmundar embodies each of these leadership skills. Whether working with Fortune 50 companies, or pastoring a congregation of 50 people, his principles shape him to be a truly successful leader.
