The world has gone through worse trials, says Gopal Sudhakaran, media and marketing manager at a diverse 40-year-old, UAE-based consumer retail and trade company.
“We have had the 1918 Spanish Flu that lasted two years in four waves and killed up to 100 million people around the world and they made it back then,” he said.
“How much more today with the coronavirus pandemic where we have become so advanced and moved by leaps and bounds? This is not the end of the world. There is always a bright side. This will come to an end. It is just a matter of time,” Gopal added.
Gopal, an Indian national who obtained his MBA from the prestigious University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, said travelling used to be a hobby.
“I love to explore different destinations, experience different cuisines and understand cultures. Now, I’m waiting for the world to be back on track,” Gopal said.
The pandemic, says Gopal, “happened just so out of the blue.” And it tested humankind’s resilience and survival instincts, he said.
From the business perspective, Gopal said the pandemic actually caused their company – which is into a range of consumer products from photography, IT and medical field to electronics, travel, beauty accessories and even a one-stop coffee shop – to fast-track its digitalization process.
“We were already working on our digitalization prior to the pandemic. Now, we have a full-fledged e-Commerce platform,” he said.
Gopal arrived in Dubai around 2003. “I have seen the whole transformation of the city, which is absolutely fantastic,” he said.
He has been with the same company since circa 2005-06.
