Getting one's business to stay afloat and inspiring team members to be resilient during a black swan event such as the Covid pandemic can become extremely stressful, especially for the CEO of the business. As India began to enter the unlock phase in June, Bata's newly appointed Global CEO Sandeep Kataria took to learning paragliding. "It gave me the much-needed break. It took me completely away from work for a few hours every day." An adventure sports enthusiast, Kataria spends a large part of his savings travelling to adventure sports destinations across the globe.
While paragliding is his new-found passion, Kataria is an accomplished deep-sea diver as well. In fact, there isn't a single deep-sea diving destination he hasn't been to. "My favourite is Maldives, followed by the Great Barrier Reef. I travel to these places at every opportunity that I get." Diving, he says, has taught him to trust his instincts. When he is on the floor of the ocean and he is struck by adversities, he has to find his way out himself. "My diving experiences have taught me to trust my instincts even at work. It has taught me to take decisions at the spur of the moment."