BANGALORE: With a civil engineering degree from RV College of Engineering, Bangalore, he started his civil construction firm — a man of the world, a man of business.
Today, 45-year-old Kathiravan M Pethi, or Kadri as most call him, has left all of that far behind to follow his passion, or his ‘vision’ as he wants to call it. He is now a motivational speaker and a soft skills and behavioural trainer. Expresso caught up with him on what was perhaps the biggest day of his life — yesterday he achieved a Guinness World Record for the ‘Longest Lesson Learned’ adding one more feather to Bangalore’s cap.
It was a decade back that Kadri took the bold decision of giving up his profession.
“I was jobless for six months and gave up huge projects for my dream. I had loans, but I saw it through and my family stood by me,” he said.
And when Kadri won the first prize in International Tape Speech contest, he knew his struggle had paid off.
From then on, he has won many awards and honours around the world. He has motivated students and professionals, and trained them in public speaking and communication skills. His brother Kumaran M Pethi said, “He was a constant talker from childhood. We always thought he might as well convert the energy for some good.” Well, looks like Kadri has done that. Inspiring people, raising money for charities, founding an NGO, Feel Foundation, and now, the world record.
shatarupa@epmltd.com
