Blue Cast: Aamir Akhtar Shares His Passion for Denim & Learning
According to Blue Cast host Tricia Carey, two of the most frequently used adjectives she hears used to describe Aamir Akhtar are “kind” and “humble.” He is also up for a challenge, and has never stopped exploring new educational opportunities throughout his career.
With his long relationship to Lenzing, Aamir was a fitting figure to kick off our podcast series about the 30th anniversary of TENCEL™.
The India-based executive has spent decades in the denim business. Today, Aamir is the CEO of Arvind Ltd. Denim, but his career began outside of the textile industry in the public sector at the Indian Oil Corporation. Wanting more of a challenge, he moved over to the private sector. Prior to joining Arvind, he spent about four years at Reliance Industries, a multinational corporation that includes textiles. He then joined Arvind in 2002, and has been there since. With 25 years of denim experience, Aamir says he “landed in the right trade,” and his passion shows.
“I’m like an addict to this industry,” said Aamir. “Every day, I need my daily dose of denim.”
One of the attractions of denim for Aamir is its variety. He compared denim to a canvas, noting that the textiles can be individualized depending on the wash and finishing treatments used. He noted that “it’s like magic” that what Arvind makes in piece goods looks so different from what consumers see or buy.
As Tricia put it, Aamir is a “lifelong learner.” Aamir has been studying piano via London’s Trinity College. And currently, he is taking some time off to study environmental law, including topics like movement of waste, recycling and climate change. Per Aamir, one of the benefits of the coursework is being able to interact with “young, bright minds.”
Just as when he made the leap into new worlds—including denim—Aamir believes is it important to get out of your “comfort zone.”
“You keep doing the same job day in and day out. And you get so caught up in this and you start believing that you’re doing something wonderful at the end of the day,” said Aamir. “But if you really step back and think through, then you realize…it’s very important to update yourself. There’s so much going on in the world; there’s so much happening.”
Another learning experience has been navigating changes, such as India’s demonetization and moving to a GST tax regime. “Going through those and keeping the fire burning through these changes, to me, that was a huge challenge,” he said. “And it was a great learning at the same time.”
Listen to the podcast episode here. And stay tuned for the rest of the series.