Overjoyed with the appointment of Vikram Pandit as CEO of world's largest financial services conglomerate Citigroup, his father S B Pandit on Thursday said it is a great honour for his family and the entire country.
"Vikram was destined to succeed. He has been a brilliant student throughout and also possesses a steely resolve. He is a go-getter. Instead of bowing under any problem, he would go all out to find a solution," Pandit told PTI.
"He has an analytical mind. He won't ever get perturbed by problems. Instead, he would jot down the pros and cons of the issue. He would resort to lateral thinking and then come up with a workable solution," he said, confident of his son's success in his new and prestigious assignment.
This approach was the main reason that led his rise up the ladder of success at such a young age, he said. Pandit was delighted that Vikram was the youngest CEO of the company and first Indian to achieve this feat.
"Whatever he touched, turned into gold," he said, adding, "I am confident that this methodic approach in life would help him in his greatest challenge of life today as the head of world's largest bank," he said.
Since Tuesday midnight, the Pandit senior has been flooded with phone calls from relatives and close associates congratulating him for his son's feat.
"Since the news of Vikram's appointment came in, the phone has not stopped ringing. Some calls were expected. But I was surprised and delighted the most with calls from Vikram's school principals," Pandit said.
"It is amazing that even after so many years, and after teaching thousands of children, they remembered my son. This only signifies that they too have felt proud by their student's achievement and are confident about his abilities to lead the world's largest bank," Pandit said.
"Such a huge responsibility is given only to capable people. His current job is being touted as the toughest in the world. But it is his humility and self-belief that has and will help him tide over all tough moments," he said.
He added that Vikram's family background had played an inspirational role in his success. "We are a family of self-achievers, which inspired Vikram," Pandit's younger brother and former Chief Engineer, Government of Maharashtra, Venkatesh B Pandit said.
"Vikram's father was executive director of Sarabhai Chemicals in Baroda, and was also posted in the US. Our younger brothers, Ramesh Pandit is cardiologist with Ambedkar hospital at Byculla and Manohar Pandit was former executive director of Wockhardt pharmaceutical company," he said.
Pandit regretted that his wife was not alive today to witnesses this moment of glory. "But her blessings are always with him," he said.
