'Rich in humanity, excitement': IMM CEO Jasper Reid's heartfelt ode to 'motherland' India before bidding adieu

International Market Management (IMM) CEO and founder Jasper Ried on Thursday took to LinkedIn to announce that he is bidding adieu to India after spending over a decade in the country. Reid and his family are moving back to the UK, their home country.

In his post, Jasper Reid shared the experience of his 12-year stay in India. He wrote that during this time, he learnt values like patience, resilience, hard work, and hospitality.

"That India is many markets but essentially two countries. One of about 200 million whose lives resemble mature markets. Another of 1.2 billion whose lives are like sub-saharan Africa. India 1 gets richer. India 2 just about gets by," he wrote.

"At any time, India is rich in humanity, excitement and challenge but also intensely demanding, hard and wearing. There’s no country like it and if GDP were measured in soul, India wins," Reid says.

He mentioned that his grandfather built Dum Dum Airport in Calcutta, his father ran national operations for HelpAge India, and his wife Megan's uncle founded Taktse School in Sikkim.

Citing other accomplishments, Reid further noted they brought PizzaExpress to India, and then built Wendy’s and Jamie’s from scratch across 15 cities and 75 sites. He added that through philanthropy, he and Megan fed and helped a million people during the lockdown and bused thousands of migrant workers home.

Concluding his ode to India, Reid mentioned that though they are returning to their fatherland, India will be their 'motherland'.

"We have two parental homes and are not really leaving India but moving to the other side of a great, glorious, magic circle," Reid said in his post.