A friend of mine suggested me this book (mind without fear). I immediately recalled Rajat Gupta (managing director of Mckinsey), a top notch corporate dog who was thrown in to jail on securities fraud case in 2011. What a gritty affair it was- two Indian-Americans pitted against each other. The man who led the Governmental prosecution was another maverick Preet Bharara. Preet worked as a US attorney for seven years before he was abruptly fired by President Donald Trump in March 2017. Rajat Gupta was one of the stars and corporate pioneers (from Indian middle class families)-a list which include CEOs of Pepsi, Google, Microsoft etc. These were the first generation graduates from top Indian schools (IIT, IIMs) who paved the path for others to follow.
Rajat’s father was a freedom fighter who came from a modest background. He sadly became an orphan in his teen. Went to IIT and thereafter travelled all the way to Harvard Business School (his recommendation letter to Harvard was written by none other than Dr Swamy, another maverick but controversial political figure). He became the first person of colour to take the top position of Mckinsey. Rajat was leading McKinsey, advising Bill Gates, started ISB, while serving on the boards of Goldman, P&G and WEF.
Finally the downfall. I skipped the part where Rajat defended himself in book and accused Preet of running an agenda against him. I cannot wrap my mind around his theory that this was a set up against him! Though I agree that the jury (same as public) was super biased against wall street and was baying for blood. Rajat believes the jury that convicted him was also suspicious of immigrants.
The most surprising part of the book is his time spent in US prison. It is not so bad! He said he was the fittest and at his physical best when he walked out of prison (thanks to his daily 10 miles walk and push up regime). Another interesting anecdote- he spent time with Rajaratnam, the main accused of trial and the man responsible for his jail sentence. Rajat forgave Rajaratnam (may be due to his poor health and long sentence) but not Preet!
