Kuldip Singh: Multicultural Talent in the Next50 2023
Digital transformation is Kuldip Singh's core business. He led the digital transformation of the German-listed E. ON Group (parent company of energy company Essent), Sanoma Netherlands (with brands such as NU.nl, Kieskeurig and Startpagina) and Gruner + Jahr India, part of German publishing group Bertelsmann.
Born in New Delhi, raised in Amsterdam, educated at Harvard
Singh (1973) was born in India's New Delhi but grew up in Amsterdam. When he was four, the family moved to the Netherlands, where Kuldip went through grammar school and studied business economics at the Vrije Universiteit (VU). Courses at Harvard Business School followed later in his career. Singh began his career at KPMG and left for India with his family in 2011 to spend three years putting the local Gruner + Jahr branch on the map. ‘Just getting your feet in the clay,’ he told the weblog of the Dutch Association New Delhi at the time.
French fries
The culture in India took some getting used to, but the vibrant entrepreneurship and growing economy appealed to him, as did the local cuisine. 'Although, sometimes I miss the Dutch food too, like a patatje mét kroketten and not to mention the Big Mac which you can nott get here,' Singh said on the weblog. He also missed the Dutch directness: 'I love being blunt and I very much miss transparency in India.'
Kindertelefoon
In 2014, Singh returned to the Netherlands. Meanwhile, he seems to be concentrating on his Non-executive Board memberships. Last year, he amassed a portfolio of five Supervisory positions: at his old employer KPMG, weather forecaster Whiffle (Chairman), development company ROM InWest, InnoSportLab and the Kindertelefoon. With some significant Supervisory Board memberships added, Singh seems ready for the Top 100.
This article is pubished in Management Scope 03 2023.