Growing up in a hard-working, reasonably well off family in a small town in central India, Naresh Verma had a big dream. He wanted to go to Bollywood and become an actor or a model.
Towering over other boys his age, and with his youthful good looks, Naresh was encouraged by his family to follow his dream. So after completing a computer science degree, Naresh moved to Mumbai and started sending profile pictures and attending auditions… alongside tens of thousands of other hopefuls.
Fate had other plans for our hero. After Naresh had been trying to break into the modeling / movie scene for three years, his father told him enough was enough. As the eldest son, Naresh had a duty to the family. So he reluctantly put his dream on hold and used his degree to land a job as a software developer for a small company.
International Adventures
Moving to IT giant Hexaware in 2005 was an excellent career step for Naresh. Hexaware sent him to contract to Ernst & Young in New York City, where he fell in love with the frenzied pace of life.
“I loved New York – it was such a lively environment. Manhatten was full of people. My supplied accommodation was on the bank of the Hudson River – I could actually lie in bed and watch the activity on the river out of my window.”
With his ingrained work ethic, Naresh started to make his name at Hexaware. In a company of 20,000 employees, he won the best programmer award in 2005, then was nominated for the star performer award in 2008. Clearly, he had found the right path.
Meanwhile, back home his parents were finalising Naresh’s arranged marriage to Neetu, a young lady from a nearby city. Neetu and Naresh got married in 2007.
Hexaware sent Naresh and his new bride to Saltillo, Mexico for a two-year stint working for Ernst & Young as ‘near-shore support’.
“I adore Mexico. I still miss it. The people were extremely nice, and it was a great place to spend the honeymoon period of my marriage!” Naresh said.
Naresh at home next to the Hudson River
Riding the wave of high profile roles in exotic locales, Naresh and Neetu then moved to Queensland, Australia where Naresh was contracted by Hexaware to the University of Southern Queensland. The couple got a taste of life in Australia… and they liked it.
A change to immigration rules in 2010 saw a steep decline in overseas students enrolling at the university, and Naresh’s contract was cancelled. Hexaware wanted to send him back to New York, but for once Naresh said no.
“Neetu and I wanted to settle down and start a family, and we felt very safe in Australia. I also wanted to stop contracting to clients and be embedded in a company.
“My friend told me that with my work visa I could change jobs and stay in Australia. So I applied for a job with maxgeo. Viv [Viv Preston, maxgeo’s managing director] came to Brisbane and interviewed me, and then sent me an online test about .net [a programming language].”
Shortly after Naresh completed the test, he was offered a job as a developer at maxgeo in Fremantle, Western Australia. He later heard that he had achieved the highest score of 99/100!
Naresh (right) accepting best programmer award at Hexaware
Mr LogChief
On his first day, Naresh was told that he was to be the ongoing developer for one of maxgeo’s top products, LogChief.
“I love LogChief – it is my life. As soon as I saw LogChief, I wanted to make it the best logging product in the world, and I have worked toward that goal for 10 years.”
“LogChief offers a lot of functionality, but there are still more features I want to add. I get information from the product manager, sales team and clients, to work out the best way to improve the product for our customers.”
Our recipe for success allows us to develop market-leading software and Naresh’s conscientious work ethic and dedication to LogChief means that he rarely (if ever) says no to a new opportunity.
“When people say LogChief, I say yes I will do that”.
As well as development, he provides technical support when needed, enjoys visiting clients at their worksite to hear feedback, and particularly loves conducting LogChief training for clients.
“I love seeing the look on their face when they realise what they can do with LogChief.”
Naresh (left) celebrating his 10 year anniversary at maxgeo with Viv Preston (right)
Happy Life
Celebrating his 10-year anniversary with maxgeo last month, Naresh Verma reflected that his career journey has brought him to a happy place in his life. With support from the company, he has become a permanent Australian resident. His dedication to maxgeo and LogChief is as strong as ever, and he and Neetu have beautiful six-year-old twin daughters that Naresh dotes on.
The family has settled into life in Australia, and Naresh is a strong supporter of people being able to choose their own spouse. While they uphold many family traditions, Naresh and Neetu will allow their daughters to marry for love.
maxgeo has also found a LogChief champion to match Naresh’s dedication – LogChief Product Manager Paul van Goethem. With this powerful duo guiding the development of LogChief, we can look forward to the logging tool becoming even more useful to geologists in the future.