Gurgaon ex-Microsoft executive bags remote role with Bengaluru AI firm, backs WFH for staff

Ankkit Jain is director of sales - India at Matters.AI, an AI-native data security company based in Bengaluru. (Image credit: Moneycontrol)

At a time when flexibility at work continues to be part of workplace discussions, a senior executive of a Bengaluru-headquartered AI company who operates from Gurgaon believes working remotely can encourage productivity. His support for remote work, however, depends on one factor — nature of the job.

Ankkit Jain, director of sales-India at Matters.AI spoke to Moneycontrol about how he convinced the company not to drag him to the Bengaluru office and how he has witnessed workplace flexibility result in better productivity for his Gen Z employees. Jain also held leadership positions at Microsoft and Cisco in Gurgaon.

"We are very flexible when it comes to working remotely," he said. "Our team is very young. We have 60 employees whose average age is around 25-26, mostly Gen Zs. They are the ones who are more demanding when it comes to their freedom of choosing where they want to work from, but the focus area is the outcome and the nature of the job."

Jain elaborated that apart from certain roles that require the employees' physical presence, Matters.AI encourages employees to choose where they can be at their productive best.

"If I need a technical resource on the field at the customer's premises, that particular job profile requires him to be physically present. So, the flexibility depends entirely on the role, and if there is no restriction associated with the role, then the employees can deliver from anywhere. I want them to be the most productive they can be," Jain told Moneycontrol.

How Jain convinced Matters.AI to let him work remotely from Gurgaon

He also drew from personal experience and shared how he convinced the company to let him work from Gurgaon.

"During my conversation with Matters.AI before being hired, I was asked if I would be open to relocating to Bengaluru, and I had to question them as to how the move would help the organisation," Jain said, adding that his responsibility to empower the employees and directly monitor high-value and large-scale customers across India and SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation). To do so, he has to travel extensively, sometimes for more than 15 days a month, making relocating to Bengaluru a moot point.

"While I have been working closely with the team in Bengaluru for the last three weeks, and have also visited the office twice, at times, it takes me more time to travel from Delhi to Gurgaon than from Gurgaon to Bengaluru," Jain said, adding that he and Matters.AI eventually managed to find common ground.

Currently, as the company grows, Jain is looking forward to hire employees and open offices in Delhi and Mumbai.