Prince George | CEO
Prince found his calling – rather cold-calling – rattling the doors of the mega-rich and not-so-rich in Mumbai during his junior marketing days, way back in the early ‘90s. Those days spent under the hot sun also shaped his people philosophy. Here he understood the power of empathy, inspiration and leadership.
Even after 25 years in the business, Prince’s first love is meeting people – customers, suppliers and his teams. He crams an impossible schedule into his daily work routine. He still made time to complete a Small Business Lifecycle Management course from Harvard University and the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Bootcamp from MIT. Even so, he strongly believes his working years in Mumbai were his best university days, and it was the turning point in his life.
His passion lies in finding the right solutions for customers – friends he calls them – and spending time on the shop floor egging his team to do even better. He is seen as a natural problem-solver – his team, friends and even random acquaintances gravitate towards him seeking counsel.
At home, when he is not being the life and soul of the party, or bonding with family and friends, you’ll find him belting out tracks from blues to grunge, or retro Hindi and Malayalam hits.
Sunil Stanly | Principal Architect
Stanly believes design makes something work. He sees it everywhere – in a broken log you can sit on or in a city street you can dissolve into. It’s an omnipresent objective absent to the naked eye…you feel it, just like you can feel your heartbeat.
He passionately follows the evolution of design; how it can be used to inspire us; how it creates functional, comfortable and productive spaces; how we interact with it every day. He is an ardent advocate of ergonomics, ecology and economy in the entire design cycle – from design development and manufacturing to maintenance and recycling.
Much of his philosophy was shaped during the intense scholarly pursuits and research of his B.Arch days in India. He then baked his craft, in that extraordinary kiln we call experience, for the next 25 years.
Stanly strongly believes collaboration is key to unlocking collective intelligence and creativity in design thinking. It invites fresh and different perspectives for an error-free process and product. He guides and shapes the design team’s perspective, exhorting them to improve with every creative. And if it does not manage to change the world (ha ha), then at least it must inspire those who live and work in the designed space.
He believes fine art (me and self-expression) is distinct from design (us and problem-solving).
Nothing can tear Stanley from thinking design, whether it’s his amazing art – rendered in oils, watercolours, acrylic, charcoal or mixed media – or his love for all things that work well within ‘what and why’ constructs.
Unmesh Krishnan | General Manager
When the team wants calm and the voice of reason during an intense internal meeting or brainstorming session, they simply swivel to Unmesh. His focus on the customer centres everyone and everything. His life choices and 4am rituals of yoga and meditation probably also have something to do with it.
Unmesh’s interesting journey with inner space started in 2011 as a Business Development executive. When he signed on for more responsibility, he was mindful to take people and teams along with him on the journey.
Truth be told, he has been winning people over with his personal brand – building strong relationships, deeply understanding customers’ concerns and delivering on promises – since 2002. Eureka Forbes, ICICI Prudential, First Gulf Bank, Tata AIA have all featured large in his hardcore marketing life. And all this is underpinned by his MBA from CMS Institute of Management Studies, India.
His first priority has and always will be the customer; their happiness is his personal yardstick.
When he is not solving problems, whether faced by customers, colleagues or the world at large, you’ll find Unmesh…you guessed it, practising yoga, meditation, NLP and natural therapy.
Greeshma Joy Kalingal | Architect
It’s a fine art – speaking softly and carrying a big stick. But that’s what Greeshma does best.
As one who straddles both worlds – of our customers and our colleagues – she uses her people sensitivity and design sensibilities to understand pain points and to positively influence outcomes.
Her big stick? the ability to quickly translate client needs into brilliant sketches, drawing big smiles from them and our team. Design visualization they call it. We call it making people happy.
Greeshma was a brilliant student, passing her B.Arch and M.Plan with flying colours. After varsity, she was all set to become a serious, blinkered, dyed-in-the-wool architect. And then she joined our team…to discover the joy of empathy, agility, ideation, teamwork and making a difference to customers’ lives.
You’ll find her doodling at the drop of a hat, quickly transforming blank pages into urban sketches filled with people, places and perspectives.
After a long day in the office, while most of us like nothing better than kicking off our shoes and jumping on the nearest sofa, she prefers to produce a perfect curry or two. It’s therapeutic and an art, she claims. Who knew?
Self-taught and self-deprecating, Greeshma’s art, whether sketches, paintings or cuisine, are to die for. Go girl!
Jigar Mewada | Senior 3D Visualiser
When you meet Jigar, you’re likely to think: oh, here’s an intern. His youthful looks belie the rock-solid work experience and amazing artistic bend of mind.
With an apt name that means many good things in Hindi, Persian and Urdu, Jigar is an affectionate friend and a braveheart to the team.
Brief him, and after his customary gallons of coffee, you’re assured of a spectrum of perfect 3D visualisations, perspectives and animations that floor everyone. Focus and working to tight deadlines – he thrives on both. He loves to marry the technical with the creative.
Jigar hones his craft with painstaking research of the latest techniques and tech, professional networking, and the spirit of innovation. He still finds time to guide newbies and show his appreciation of their growing talents.
His sparkling gold earring reflects one of his passions – scintillating DJing skills at events and parties. Snooker and fitness with colleagues, at the office, round off his evenings. The only serious flip-flop in his life: he thinks he is vegetarian…while his colleagues know he is not.
Jithesh Wellington | Project Manager
We’re tempted to say Jithesh is related to the Duke of Wellington. But he’s not, and we’re not saying it. But what we will say is: here’s a man of steel with a humongous heart. Our very own superhero.
And these are not just tough words. He can work non-stop for days, coaxing, cajoling, joking and picking up any slack of the operations team that sometimes work shifts. He speaks half a dozen languages, which makes it somewhat easier. He’ll grow a beard, keep clean clothes and dry food in his car so as not to waste time. You may call it dedication, we call it absolute passion.
It’s why his team will never let him down, why even the crabbiest supplier still salute him, and why our clients adore him.
And when the project is done and dusted, we know we will find Jitesh looking human again.
But that’s not the only reason we all love him. Here’s a kickass party animal and an amazing chef. If you don’t find him on-site or at a party, he’s probably tearing up his tyres, or funnily enough, fishing in a quiet spot. A man after your own heart.
Ridhima Pradeep | Estimation Manager
Pulling together rock-bottom quotes, sometimes within shoestring budgets, while totally uncompromising on our service and standards can be a tough call. Too many variables. But that’s exactly what Ridhima juggles every day, without dropping a single ball.
You’ll be mesmerized if you watch her in action – scolding make-a-quick-buck suppliers, exasperated at some off-the-wall designs from the team, managing multiple customer needs, preparing quotes and presentations – all swirling around her at the same time.
And yet, not a wrinkle on her brow, it’s all smiles and biz as usual. It’s probably got a lot to do with being a civil engineer, working smart rather than hard, and having a ton of experience despite her youth. Growing up in Abu Dhabi with a global perspective has definitely helped. She has earned the respect of her very driven team.
With her strong core, you can be forgiven for missing her joie de vivre. Play a tune and she’s swapped her day-job to be Ms Twinkle Toes. Ask her about any movie or the latest episode of a soap. Food – the eating, not the making of – fires her up. All this, and despite never missing her strict beauty sleep of eight, she also crams in travel and explores a new country every year.
Estimate. Eat. Sleep. Dance. Travel. Sounds simple, right?
Sania Samreen | Marketing Specialist
When someone declares they’re a people’s person, you generally have to suppress a yawn. But if they show you how much they truly care about everyone and everything, without an audience, and make people feel special, well then, you want to do a little jig and sign them on. Especially when they have the requisite skills and experience.
Bubbly. Positive. Patient. A team player, a solution seeker. A quick learner, a born organiser. That’s our Sania. If she sounds like Maria from the Sound of Music, that’s because she is that and much more.
It helps that she has an MBA to underpin her chutzpah, and has experience in marketing, sales and events…and even some as a financial analyst. Go figure.
Within a couple of weeks of joining us, she was carving out a digital space for us and finding solutions to ad hoc marketing problems. She’s a millennial with many interesting insights for the baby boomers in the office.
As you would expect, her interests are varied. She’s a state level hockey star, a mean badminton player, an adventurous traveller, and was a yoga champion growing up. So, how do you keep a wave upon the sand or hold a moonbeam in your hand?
Shariz | Design Manager
On a particularly cold morning in Norfolk, Shariz had an epiphany: I’m meant to be a designer! The epiphany soon became a burning ambition. It came at a cost – he had crossed a couple of seas and already spent a tidy fortune on enrolling for a bachelor’s in computing. Never mind. Shariz turned right around and headed back to Colombo to steep himself in everything design – mopping up knowledge and skills and getting a slew of diplomas in the bargain.
Norfolk taught Shariz important lessons: you’ve got to keep learning and transforming; trust your gut, but hone your analytics; and it’s never too late. He brings those sensibilities to managing his rather diverse design team.
Clearly, Shariz loves to learn. He went back to a UK University – this time for Bachelor in Interior Design. What’s more – he is a LEED Green Associate.
In the UK, Shariz not only acquired a Brit accent, but also a dry sense of humour. This can sometimes flummox his colleagues who get the joke only by close of business. Quiet and unassuming, Shariz’s decade-plus with the company has made him the design team’s historian with a great sense of how the different parts tick and move. Which is why his presence on-site during projects makes a real difference.
When away from work, he doesn’t leave design far behind. Woodworking, carpentry and all things DIY are deep-rooted passions, but then so are baking, beach life, fishing, and watching documentaries. A man of many parts.
Shikha Ajit | Concept Architect
Growing up in Dubai shaped Shikha…and we mean that more metaphysically. A multicultural milieu made her a true cosmopolitan.
She became a doodler…but fortunately for us, far from a dawdler. This gave her a straight pathway to B.Arch, so she took her cosmopolitan sensibilities to metropolitan Chennai. Here she toughened up on an insanely intense five-year programme and several internships. But, she also found time for workshops, publishing articles and being on an editorial board.
Shikha became passionate about energy and the environment and, as always, decided to do something about it. She now has a LEED GA certification to back up the passion.
She joined Inner Space in 2016 and instantly threw herself into everything design, coordinating projects and building stronger client relationships. Her power base comes from deftly handling multiple views and umpteen pressures. In fact, she is one tough cookie. Unshakeable, but immensely likeable.
Meanwhile, she has taken her doodling to dizzying depths. She paints intricate Kerala murals which any proud connoisseur would be happy to hang in their drawing room. She walks miles on well-trodden paths and in new places, absorbing their history, culture, and warmth. And she reads voraciously.
Her secret ambition? To attain the 10th Dan martial arts equivalent in design – a self-definition she’s not telling us yet. If we know anything about Shikha, we believe she will do it, and do it well.
YC Thomas | Operations Manager
Thomas can lay claim to something that no one can ever take away from him – being the first among equals. He is our very first employee, our senior-most champion, and it’s not about just sheer tenure. It’s about pride for both: the organisation and the man.
He brings that pride and dignity to work every day, which helps him manage a diverse workforce. He has actively managed more than 250 of our projects on-site in Dubai and the Middle East. In an age bustling with flashy project managers who are a dime a dozen, Thomas is composed with old-school skills – and by that we mean he comes from a solid civil engineering background.
Ownership, integrity and loyalty – he wears them all on his sleeve. Which is why his desk is pristine by day-end, which is generally quite late. He just has to finish what he has set out to do every day. And he will still find time to beat the traffic to Sharjah for a relaxed dinner with his family.
In his school days, Thomas dreamt of being a sportsman and was a star at volleyball, football and badminton. And while the realities of daily living moved those goalposts, he is still a keen jogger and loves to exercise before sunrise. He enjoys the peace and serenity of the early mornings, he says. His guilty pleasure? Belting out Bollywood and Mollywood tracks on mellow days to whoever cares to listen!
Thomas says his love for Dubai transcends everything. After all, we’ve all played a part in building the city, and we’ve all evolved and grown with its amazing transformation.
Valeria Laurenzana | Concept Architect
Most don’t live up to their names, but you could never accuse Valeria of such laziness. Like her Latin name suggests – ‘to be strong’ – Valeria combines a powerful sense of purpose, with a sensitive, people approach. Power nirvana you could call it.
Born in a smallish city in Italy, Val spent eight years in the scholastic hotbeds of Rome and Paris mastering architecture, appreciating art, honing her French and English. Those years moulded her life and loves. It made her eager and hungry for more…people, places, cultures, and civilisations. Naturally, it brought her to the melting pot of Dubai, after three years of churning out great designs in Rome. Her designs reflect her personality – cosmopolitan with an array of influences, sleek and functional.
As dynamic and hard working as she is, Val’s Italian origin comes to the fore often. She is a firm believer in la dolce vita, and loves great food, a good adventure, travel, and portrait photography. She says she is always searching for something. And then she laughs: I’ll finally find inner peace…and maybe it’s at Inner Space.
Viviane Khoury | Concept Architect
Perfection – that’s her metier. Viviane will just not accept any less of herself. Yet, she will happily forgive others for their transgressions. And that earns her huge respect in the team.
Her meticulous attention to every single detail on her designs causes consternation among the ranks. She obsesses over every project and drills down to every facet of its design. A colleague and the office wag commented: in her renderings, she even matches the receptionist’s nail polish to the interiors!
Her artistry, design and sensibilities have European and Middle Eastern influences, educated as she was in France, Syria and Lebanon, where she capped her scholarly pursuits with a Masters in interior architecture and design.
Like Stanly, Viviane sees design everywhere, whether in complex structures in the natural world or trendy patterns in malls or even in movies – which she loves.
She’s more than a weekend warrior – gym, aerobics, squash, and retail therapy keep her fit and agile. The one thing she cannot stomach? Spicy Indian food. Wait…the team’s working on that.
People Philosophy
Our team synergy is our strength. We are but a sum of our people. Our respect for each other, our sentiment, and the rules of engagement are enshrined in and encouraged by POBI, our company values.
- Hierarchy: in our office, the bosses don’t have an office. There are no walls separating people. We’ve broken traditional hierarchies – we believe everyone has an important role to play, our reporting lines are relatively flat. Everyone has direct and immediate access to management and leadership. Yet, people do have more senior roles and benefits to aspire for.
- Mentoring: we’ve created a strong culture of mentoring our people, not just newbies, beyond their induction. It’s driven by the leadership team, who invest their energy in encouraging every team member to fulfil their career and life ambitions, and to develop their talents
- Learning & Development: we are passionate about our people’s success. We’ve crafted a nurturing environment and fertile training ground for personal growth. We believe in the 70:20:10 principle, which means 70% of learning happens on-the-job, 20% through mentor ship and 10% through professional training.
- Team bonding: we work smart and play hard. Our Thursday team lunch has become sacrosanct, the regular potlucks are to die for, and the regular dinners and annual party brings everyone together. The office wears a festive look during major celebrations. The company recognizes good performance through epic team getaways – whether to Phuket or Georgia. Our collaborative and open work spaces also help bring people together to create a positive work culture and energy, which in turn boosts our creativity and productivity.
- Recruitment: all our team members have gone through a fair and merit-based recruitment and selection process.