LinkedIn India’s Employee #1 talks

[Ed. note: This is the first in a series of posts on LinkedIn around the world. We just announced LinkedIn's country manager in India - Hari V. Krishnan - and here are his initial thoughts as he visits our Mountain View headquarters this week]

I am truly excited about my new role heading up LinkedIn India – a platform which has been an integral part of my own career. The Indian internet has grown strongly and changed dramatically over the last 5 years with social media, e-commerce and advertising all beginning to come of age.  Having witnessed the change first hand working with leading companies like MySpace and Yahoo and start ups like Travelguru, I see the need to share knowledge assuming a more central role in sustaining the growth. I’m convinced that LinkedIn will play a strong role as a platform for sharing connections and knowledge.

India is the largest democracy on earth and one of the fastest growing economies globally. We have a large, skilled workforce and in the recent past our IT, services and telecommunications businesses have given us global acclaim. With the internet helping to shrink the world, Indians have already started developing their global connections. On LinkedIn, we already have over 3.4 million members from India and we continue to add 70,000 new users every week!

In the coming years I believe talent, professionalism, collaboration and networking will play an increasingly important role in sustaining India’s position in the global economy. The years ahead will also be full of great learning and growth for India’s professionals.

As I conclude my visit to LinkedIn, here in Mountain View, the excitement for the future of India and global professional networks is palpable. The pumped-up planning discussions and smiles (and lack of yawns) at every meeting, tell me we are excited to meet the challenges ahead. I look forward to linking up with many of you when I’m back in Mumbai. See you soon!