by Sheela Narayanan

CHARM, tenacity and a lot of fire in the belly are necessary ingredients if you plan to be in Mr Rajesh Nair's shoes.

The 39-year-old is the founder and chairman of the WorksAlliance group of companies and the managing director of SearchWorks which is headquartered in Singapore with offices in Hong Kong, Mumbai and Bangalore.

He calls his industry a "high touch business" which goes beyond just "matchmaking" the right candidates with the right companies.

Saying it is essential to build good relationships with both clients and candidates, he adds: "This industry can be very intellectually stimulating. It is challenging because you are dealing with constantly dynamic human thoughts and emotions on both ends, namely the client and candidate."

Mr Nair came to Singapore in 1998 from Mumbai and started his company in 2002, after having a successful career in sales with a multinational company, an American IT company and a UK-based head hunting firm where he became one of the youngest partners.

And, despite having struck out on his own in a year that was still reeling from the impact of Sept 11, he realised he could make a difference in the executive search industry.

"The industry was largely about companies making a quick buck without much thought to client expectations. I sensed a unique opportunity here from a customer engagement perspective and decided to set out on my own in 2002," says Mr Nair, whose company specialises in finding talent for senior level positions in finance and accounting, private banking, financial markets, legal, information technology, hospitality, sales, marketing, media and human resources.

His father, an Indian government officer, wasn't too happy with his decision though. He wanted his son to get a comfortable civil service job. But Mr Nair, a member of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sicci), believes that being an entrepreneur is in his blood.

He says: "My grandfather was a businessman. He had rice and sugar mills in Kerala. I remember being fascinated by that and I think it may have been at that point when I thought I would run my own business too."

His company had a turnover of between $8 million and $9 million this year but he is convinced that the figures would have been much healthier if it wasn't for the current downturn.

Calling the last 12 months "scary", he says he did have his doubts as other executive search companies shut down their Singapore operations or simply wound up. But his gut told him to hang tight and ride out the storm.

"It has already started showing signs of improvement. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel," he says.

Mr Nair believes you can;t learn entrepreneurship in a classroom but it can be "nurtured".

"I don't think getting a certificate or degree in being an entrepreneur means you automatically know what you are doing. The best entrepreneurs don't necessarily have the best educational qualifications. They just do it," he adds.