Kamal Bherwani believes in making mistakes. The advent of the digital age has had a significant impact on industries spanning the globe and nobody knows that better than Bherwani. The only way to succeed is to implement, gather information and then innovate.
“We have lots of ideas that are innovative that might fail or be a success,” Bherwani said in a 2012 interview. “I really respect companies that fail well. There is no other way other than experimenting to see whether the idea works or not.”
During his tenure with Prisa Digital, a Spanish multimedia company, Bherwani practiced what he preached. He points out that a company can spend two years trying to design the perfect digital experience but the only way to know if it works for people is to try it out. “We launched an iPad application for El Pais in three months and it was voted one of the top ten in the world,” Bherwani explained. “The reason we launched that in three months is because we realized that we will not know the result until we experiment.”
He was most recently appointed as CEO for GCOM Software, a provider of business and technology consulting services to the public sector. The company’s founder points to Bherwani’s experience as Chief Information Officer with the City of New York as a key asset for GCOM. During his time there, Bherwani played an integral role in the city’s adoption of HHS-Connect – a software platform that integrates several of the city’s social support agencies – with the goal of creating a streamlined human services experience for clients, caseworkers and administrators
Bherwani shared his own thoughts on joining the consulting company: “I look forward to working with the GCOM team to continue its growth and leadership in delivering innovation, mission-critical solutions to the public sector,” he said. “Having started my career in the public sector and later as Chair of GCOM’s Board, I see tremendous potential for the company to expand its services to clients across the U.S. as a trusted partner.”
Bherwani’s technology career spans twenty-five years, including various senior leadership positions with the City of New York, Inversora Agroindustrial Global (IAG), PRISA Group, and the Brida Corporation. As the role of technology within business has evolved, he understands that business, itself, has evolved. With the advent of the internet, customer relationships have never been more central to a company’s success.
“It is extremely important for organizations to be close to their customers and understand their needs. Delivering value and personal attention to your customer is essential to gain their confidence and achieve customer satisfaction,” Bherwani said. “Therefore, to keep pace with the digital wave, it is imperative for organizations to drive digital transformation top-down as it provides the right platform to achieve their objectives.”
