Rooted in Resilience: How Harasees Singh is Powering India’s Digital Future Through Legacy and Innovation
Born and raised in Chandigarh, Harasees grew up in a joint family, surrounded by the values of close-knit support and long-term thinking. While growing up, he was inspired by watching his father build a telecom company from the ground up.
Post school, he had the chance to go to multiple top engineering institutes, but he chose to stay in Chandigarh, enrolling at Punjab Engineering College, so he could remain close to his family, particularly his grandfather, who was battling cancer. This challenging period taught him resilience and perspective, as he balanced the demands of JEE prep, college life, and caregiving.
It was also during these years that the foundations of his future ambitions took shape.
He pursued a degree in Electronics and Telecommunications and was soon placed at Bharti Airtel within their Leadership Development Program. Joining Airtel during the pandemic, Harasees witnessed firsthand the scale of impact telecom infrastructure could create, especially during times of crisis. This experience sparked his desire to be part of India’s nation-building journey through digital transformation.
After two years at Airtel, Harasees returned home to join the family telecom business. Over time, he realised he wasn’t content just continuing what had already been built, and he then went on to launch a new business vertical focused on digital transformation for public sector clients. From digitizing citizen services to modernizing legacy IT systems, he led complex projects in an often bureaucratic, high-stakes environment.
From sales to procurement, recruitment to cash flow management, he learned not only to manage a business but also to grow it. Yet, as the scale increased, Harasees realized that to transform Arial Telecom into a global systems integrator, he needed a more structured business toolkit.
Being a runner, the long-distance runs over the weekend became his space for reflection. It was clear to him that he needed international exposure, global peers, and the skills to take the business to the next level.
Initially drawn to LBS for its strong alumni network in telecom and infrastructure, he eventually found a stronger fit at Kellogg. Conversations with alumni, including Admissions Gateway’s Rajdeep Chimni and Karthik Wahi, gave him a clear sense of Kellogg’s collaborative, grounded ethos. A visit to their India business event sealed the deal.
At Admissions Gateway, Harasees worked closely with Karthik to go beyond “why MBA” and instead reflect deeply on his life goals, the kind of leader he wanted to become, and the legacy he wanted to build.
Now admitted to Kellogg’s one-year MBA program, Harasees plans to return to his family telecom business post-MBA and take the company global. His vision includes expanding into allied IT verticals, forging international partnerships, and one day creating a family office to support new ventures and innovation.
To read more such stories of folks who got into their dream business schools to pursue their lifelong passion, check out our success stories.
