From Gallup to International Markets
Sujay Thakur grew up in Gallup, New Mexico — a small city identified for its large skies and close-knit neighborhood. His early years taught him grit and persistence. As a youngster, he labored at McDonald’s, the place his drive-thru line turned the highest-grossing west of the Mississippi. That work ethic would outline the remainder of his profession.
“I realized early that no job is simply too small,” Thakur says. “Each job builds your character and shapes your future.”
After graduating from Gallup Excessive Faculty, Thakur left for the College of California, Berkeley. He studied Chemical Engineering and Finance, an uncommon mixture that helped him see each the analytical and strategic sides of enterprise. Years later, he would attend Harvard Enterprise Faculty’s Proprietor/President Administration Program (OPM) — an government monitor for prime CEOs worldwide.
“I examine myself to my classmates within the OPM program,” he says. “They’re the 150 prime CEOs from all over the world. They maintain me to the best normal.”
A Profession in Excessive Finance
Thakur started his skilled journey on the Union Financial institution of Switzerland, the place he labored with portfolio managers in fastened revenue and fairness markets. His curiosity and technical background made him stand out early. By his late 20s, he was already climbing into management roles within the fast-paced world of fairness derivatives.
At Funding Expertise Group (ITG) and later Lehman Brothers, Thakur managed groups of gross sales merchants throughout New York, London, and Hong Kong. He remembers these years as each thrilling and demanding.
“Once I first began my actual property portfolio, I had over $25 million in loans and the U.S. was going by one of many hardest monetary crises in years,” Thakur says. “I pulled by — and that have taught me the whole lot I wanted to learn about resilience.”
After Lehman, he joined BNP Paribas as Senior Vice President within the International Portfolio Buying and selling Group. He was in control of advertising advanced monetary merchandise to hedge funds and establishments worldwide. His work took him from New York to Mexico, Canada, and Asia — giving him a uncommon world view of markets and administration.
“I realized that success comes right down to focus and execution,” he says. “That’s true whether or not you’re buying and selling derivatives or growing actual property.”
Turning Towards Actual Property and Entrepreneurship
In 2004, Thakur shifted from finance to entrepreneurship and actual property improvement, founding Raj Holdings and Thakur Enterprises. The 2 firms function as companions — one targeted on enterprise improvement, acquisition, and feasibility, and the opposite on administration and execution.
Collectively, they’ve developed over 1.5 million sq. toes of commercial, retail, and residential house. The businesses additionally put money into training, childcare, eating places, and breweries, emphasizing sound enterprise fashions tied to the actual property they personal.
Thakur says his strategy is easy: “We promote the healthiest enterprise fashions — offered we personal the actual property they function from. That’s our core enterprise.”
Whilst he scaled up, his focus remained regular: understanding individuals, communities, and methods. “Know what you wish to do,” he says. “Have the main target and tenacity to persevere and succeed at a ‘moonshot’ degree — above what others would take into account success.”
Training and Innovation
Regardless of his achievements, Thakur continues to check. He’s at the moment exploring synthetic intelligence by Harvard’s D³ Institute, the place he’s studying how expertise can enhance training.
“My principal aim now,” he says, “is to enhance training by synthetic intelligence — particularly for youngsters from six months to elementary age.”
This curiosity displays his perception that nice companies must also create social affect. He’s donated to Manzano Day Faculty and Bosque Faculty in Albuquerque, supporting early studying and improvement.
Classes in Management
Thakur describes himself as somebody who’s at all times iterating. “At UC Berkeley, I realized the idea of iteration,” he explains. “I’ve used it to refine how I execute — in enterprise, in life, in the whole lot.”
That mindset has helped him climate market cycles and world crises alike. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, when many companies struggled to remain afloat, he targeted on adapting shortly and main with calm. “These have been the toughest years,” he says. “However you navigate them by staying regular and trusting your individuals.”
Immediately, most of Thakur’s firms run independently beneath steady management groups. That freedom permits him to deal with new ventures, mentorship, and his rising curiosity in AI and training.
“I’m lucky to have a totally open schedule,” he says. “Most of my companies are run by nice individuals. That lets me think about new initiatives and spend time with my household.”
The Energy of Studying and Reflection
When he’s not managing initiatives or exploring new concepts, Thakur reads — lots. “I learn six to eight books a month,” he says. “Largely autobiographies. I’ve learn all of them — from Ben Franklin to Steve Jobs and Nelson Mandela.”
For him, studying isn’t leisure — it’s studying. “These individuals completed nice issues,” he says. “I examine their journeys to grasp how they thought and executed.”
That drive to be taught, adapt, and execute has outlined each chapter of his life — from his first job at McDonald’s to main main buying and selling desks, to constructing a various enterprise portfolio in New Mexico and past.
As Thakur places it, “Like a CEO, I’m always serious about execution. That’s the way you handle expectations — and construct one thing that lasts.”
