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Meet Abhijit Nambiar, Senior Project Manager - AI Transformation at Rakuten Symphony Deutschland whose career journey evolved from a consulting role to a hands-on innovator driving the "AI-Nization" revolution.
In this interview, he shares how stepping out of his comfort zone, maintaining objectivity, and embracing change have shaped his journey from the sidelines to the heart of success.
Tell us about your journey to Rakuten Symphony.
Before Rakuten, I worked in consulting, managing telecom projects across network rollout, procurement, asset governance, products and solutions, operations, customer care, OSS, BSS, and more. Consulting gave me the chance to solve complex challenges in high-pressure environments around the world, but over time the experience felt broad rather than deep. As outsiders, we rarely owned problems end-to-end or directly contributed to the outcomes. In other words, we always had to gate-crash the “success parties”.
I wanted to be directly involved, take responsibility, and solve issues from start to finish. That led me to Rakuten Mobile, though COVID prevented me from joining the team in Japan. Around the same time, Rakuten Symphony secured its landmark deal with 1&1, and my supervisors felt I was a good fit for the project. Four years later, here I am, with direct invites to the most gratifying success parties.
What does a typical day look like for you?
As AI champion at Rakuten Symphony Deutschland (RSDE), my role is to fuel the business units AI journey while also supporting our client 1&1’s transformation. I work with domain teams to identify use cases, quantify business value, shape solutions, connect developer ecosystems, and help RSDE realize Rakuten group’s “AI-Nization” targets. Through this journey, we have already developed some interesting AI agents that help us harness AI in everyday work.
What are some of the most valuable lessons or advice you’ve received from your managers that have shaped your approach to work and leadership?
One valuable piece of advice I received - and perhaps unexpectedly so, was to stay objective about my work and maintain some distance between myself and what I deliver. This helps in two ways:
- It reduces defensiveness and makes constructive feedback easier to accept. When people can critique the work as it is, collaboration significantly improves.
- It helps me handle set backs better. In large organizations, many factors influence outcomes, so objectivity makes it easier to accept failure, dust your pants, and keep moving.
Can you share a moment where you felt you really stepped out of your comfort zone?
There have been several moments within the Rakuten ecosystem where I had to step out my comfort zone. The latest, is my current role in RSDE, which is helping employees start and advance their AI journeys. In just six months, I have worn many hats, almost like a Swiss knife: change agent, guiding colleagues through AI-related transitions; teacher/trainer, introducing Rakuten teams to AI tools through trainings and webinars; business analyst, translating domain needs into developer-ready ideas; and, most importantly, student, constantly learning to keep pace with the dynamicity AI has to offer.
What mindset helps you navigate both your work and personal journey?
A helpful by-product of staying objective about work is that it becomes easier not to mix work and personal life. Creating boundaries and pursuing active hobbies helps. I am also an eternal optimist, which gives me resilience in difficult situations. If you keep following the silver lining at the end of a dark tunnel, you eventually reach daylight. The trick is to keep walking!
Outside of work, what recharges your batteries?
I am a cinephile, and my superpower is binge-watching movies of every kind: obscure black-and-white Japanese samurai classics, new-age European cinema, or plain old Bollywood. I enjoy being transported into someone else’s world for the brief period of time. It helps me develop a deeper understanding of culture and people.
Apart from that, hikes and cycling trips around Düsseldorf in spring and summer have their own charm and are the best kind of recharge nature has to offer.
Looking ahead, what are you excited about in your career?
I am excited for a future where AI is seen as the next human revolution, or the fourth wave of industrialization after steam, electricity, and computers. With AI cutting across verticals and horizontals, it creates tremendous opportunities to develop new ideas. I am also glad to work in an organization that has embraced this through initiatives like “AI-Nization”. It gives us a head start on a long, exciting journey, and my I am glad that my role offers me the seat with the best views.
What advice would you give to new joiners at Rakuten Symphony?
When you join Rakuten, you are entering a gigantic ocean which is the Rakuten Ecosystem. Make sure to expand your network not only within your organization, but also within the larger Rakuten Group. Make use of that network to not only reuse tried and tested solutions, but also to gain a completely fresh, outside perspective for a creative solution to a problem. One of those risks may lead you to the deep end of the ocean, where all the interesting fish are.
And if you need a mantra, here’s mine, from Steve Jobs: “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish!”. It reminds me to keep learning, pursue unconventional ideas, and take bold risks.
