Though he has never lived in Goa , Vivek has fond memoriesof the place from the 1980s and 1990s when he visited Panjim to see his auntMaureen and uncle Erasmo De Sequeira and their children. Again in 2000, hetravelled to Aldona regularly with his wife and family to see his parents,Alban and Aurora Couto.
A son of the soil Vivek was born in Delhi, grew up in Biharand Delhi and went to London when he was nine-year-old. Educated at the London Schoolof Economics & Political Science, Vivek moved back to Asia in 1999, to HongKong where he set up Media Partners Asia (MPA) in 2001, of which he is aco-founder and shareholder.
“The aim was to set up an organisation dedicated to theanalysis of media and communications through research, consulting, publishingand events platforms. I oversee theresearch and consulting side of the business,” Vivek said.
12 years later, Vivek now has offices in Singapore, HongKong and Mumbai.
“Our biggest differentiator is the local depth we have inmarkets such as Greater China, Indonesia, India and Korea and the level ofanalysis we produce. We have gained a lot of credibility for our insight andaccuracy and we plan to maintain and grow this,” he said.
Vivek plans to expand his reach over the next five years,moving into Africa, Latin American and the Middle-East, where consumption ofmedia continues to grow and the middle class is still growing.
Recalling his entry into the media, Vivek speaks about hismentor Paul Kagan, whom he met way back in 1990s. Kagan was the firstsecurities analyst to cover media, back in the USA, starting 1969 and he wasinstrumental to initiate Vivek into this field.
Vivek admits, “Kagan was a mentor for me who helped me,understand the key ways to appraise and evaluate media companies includingbroadcasters, cable and satellite companies, publishers, online businesses andso on.”
Comparing the Goa of his memories to the Goa of today, Vivekfeels, “Goa has evolved considerably over the years and thankfully is movingaway (slowly) from its clichéd reputation as a place for heady excesses andmoving towards (although there is plenty of work left to do) its promise ofbecoming a hub for communications, industry and economic activity.”
According to Vivek Goa is now rapidly becoming a hub foreconomic activity with the building of a second airport, hotels (not luxury butaimed at business), roads, IT and broadband infrastructure.
