For Sterling Holidays, Dec 31 2022, not only marked the end of another calendar year, it marked the end of an era. After a second stint of 11 incredible years, Chairman Ramesh Ramanathan bid Sterling Holidays farewell one last time.
Over a glittering career of over 45 years across several B2B, B2C and D2C industries, Ramesh has built a reputation of creating excellent organizations, and successful brands, with a strong focus on innovation, setting up robust processes and empowering and nurturing the development of people, leading to profitability and positive cashflows. He displayed all this and much more in the period when he headed Sterling from 2011 to 2022.
In an earlier stint, between 1991 and 1996, Ramesh had worked in Sterling Holidays putting the company on the growth path. During his second stint, he turned the company around to profitability and positive cash-flows, with a strategic change in the Business Model. The company is continuing further along the path that he showed and is reaping the benefits of that change. He transitioned the company from being the original promoter, to become a 100% wholly owned and independently managed subsidiary of Thomas Cook. Under his leadership, the Sterling Brand was relaunched to appeal to Millennials and a younger audience, and several sub-brands and products were also launched. He has guided the company to leverage technology and ensured digitization of critical processes, which are enabling the company to scale up efficiently.
Perhaps the period that threw up the strongest challenge for the company was during the pandemic years. Ramesh guided the company through these trying times with true grit and intelligence – coupled with a deep empathy and with neverending enthusiasm and energy, so that Sterling emerged from the pandemic, leaner, but far stronger, and ready to leverage the post-pandemic opportunities.
The entire staff and families of Sterling thank this Industry Legend and gentleman, and wish him luck and success in all his future endeavours!