How yoga since childhood days helped this Indian-origin CEO

Novartis global CEO Vasant Narasimhan

Vasant "Vas" Narasimhan, the Indian-origin CEO of pharmaceutical giant Novartis, credits yoga and meditation for giving him courage and strength in tough times. The yoga and meditation lessons he received from his grandparent as a child and a teenager have helped him in his role as a global CEO of one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

In an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18, Narasimhan said that he finds the gifts of his heritage come handy when he has to make tough professional decisions.

“Learning about meditation and exercises, like yoga and pranayama, looking inside yourself, to find an inner peace that allows you then to be courageous, because in a lot of ways, then the psychological security you build inside your own mind,” he said.

The global CEO of Novartis, who was born in the US to Indian parents, said he did not appreciate these tools when first introduced to them as a child by his grandparents. Over the last 20 to 30 years, however, the lessons imparted by his grandparents have come back to him, giving him inner strength. The inside-out approach is not always easy, it's tough to pull off, he added.

Elsewhere in the interview, Vas Narasimhan also said that Indians at top leadership positions owe their success to their forefathers. “I think a lot of it comes down to our forefathers, our grandmothers and grandfathers, who worked so hard to give us the opportunity – to give somebody like me the opportunity – to be educated in the US, to have all of the opportunities we have,” he said.

“We stand on the shoulders of giants,” said Narasimhan. “And there must have been many giants walking around India, you know, 50 or 100 years ago.”