14 minute read
Sergius Barretto
AutoCar India is a well-known name among passionate auto enthusiasts in India. One of the country’s leading automotive magazines, AutoCar India has a strong connection to Goa through its Managing Editor, Mr. Sergius Barretto.
Although born in Mumbai, Sergius traces his ancestral roots to the South Goa village of Betalbatim. An auto enthusiast by birth, Sergius pursued a diploma in automobile engineering after completing his higher secondary education. After working for about 20 years in various capacities within the automotive industry, including sales and training, he ventured into automotive journalism in the year 2016 when he joined AutoCar India as its Content Development Editor.
In a candid conversation with ItsGoa, Sergius shared insights into his life, memories of his childhood growing up in Mumbai and Goa, his professional journey, and his experiences as an auto journalist.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your connection to Goa.
I was born in 1976 in Mumbai (then Bombay) and grew up in the suburb of Bandra. I did my schooling till Class 7 at St. Stanislaus High School after which my family moved to Goa when my father retired. He was born in Goa in the village of Betalbatim and always wanted to go back to Goa as he felt that I and my two brothers would really love it there.
We did, thoroughly! The beaches, the clean air and the freedom to explore was something else entirely and looking back now, I feel I really benefited tremendously growing up in both Mumbai and Goa and enjoying the best of both worlds; a big city awareness and being really in touch with nature.
Brief us about your life after you moved to Goa along with your family.
After moving to Goa, I continued my schooling at Loyola High School, Margao, the same school my dad passed out from. After completing my S.S.C, I took Science at Damodar Junior college in Margao. College was fun, way too much! I learned to ride and drive, began playing the keyboard in a rock band called ‘Sacrilege’, played hockey and got onto the state team - although that year we were not sent for the nationals. I also learned to swim, started playing beach volleyball and began fishing too. As you’d imagine, studies took a back seat, more like they were banished to the boot. And from scoring a 74% in my S.S.C exams, I dropped to a miserable 45% in my H.S.S.C.
I mention this as I would like to share a message with students: “Take your studies seriously. It does give you a springboard to succeed in life. But in case you haven’t done well, it’s not the end of the world. Everyone who tries, and I mean tries hard, certainly makes it somewhere in life”.
After completing my HSSC, I pursued a 4 year diploma in Automobile Engineering from Fr. Agnel Ashram in Verna. Since automobiles were my childhood passion, studying about them felt more like reading about things I loved. Having learnt my lesson after my poor result in my HSSC exams, I worked hard and completed my course with distinction. I have to mention my college professors, in particular Prof. Leonov Gama and Prof. Freddie Dias who were simply brilliant. They encouraged me to pursue my degree, but I somehow felt that I needed to start working. My girlfriend (and now wife) was already working and doing really well at that time and I felt that I too had to kickstart my career immediately.
Can you share a few memories of your visits to Goa during your childhood/ teenage years?
While we were in Mumbai, we used to visit Goa during our summer holidays and spend a month or two with our cousins in Betalbatim, Navelim and Taleigao. Those were brilliant days. Coming from a city flat in Mumbai to our village home in Betalbatim was such an adventure. Our ancestral house didn’t have plumbing so we used to draw water from the well, fill up the ‘barn’ (a traditional brass pot) and then heat up the water by burning coconut palm leaves. My eldest cousin Jose was the one who did most of the hard work, while me, my brothers and other cousins helped around.
From my cousins, I learned to make candles inside papaya stems with wax left over from the (never ending) litanies at the various crosses around the village. I learned that you had to cover your body in coconut oil while swimming in the fields to keep the leeches away and in case one got on you, salt would get them off. Or else, you had to have the skin of our dear friend Kaitanie, who taught us to catch catfish and whom leeches, catfish and thorns in the ponds never seemed to bother! From my other
observing our uncle Alvito at his bakery. He was someone who gave high priority to the quality of his baked products. One bite of the coconut boll he made would convince you of this.
How and when did your interest in automobiles begin?
I loved cars right from the start. As a child, I simply adored all things that moved; planes, trains, bikes, boats and automobiles. My father worked as a radio officer in the merchant navy and thus having travelled the world, he was able to get me a lot of cars, Lego toys and books about cars, bikes and planes. My brothers and I shared this passion and we always spent a lot of time reading books and magazines related to cars. These included secondhand foreign publications like Road and Track, AutoCar, Top Gear and Car & Driver. This was the era before the internet and even cable TV, so anything we could get our hands on was gold. I had a whole file with cuttings of pictures of foreign cars, including black and white pictures of vintage cars. I still have a few tucked away in my loft. www.itsgoa.com itsgoa_ Itsgoa
Give us a detailed picture of your journey from being an auto engineer to your current role as the Managing Editor of Auto Car India.
Subrai Motors (1999)
After completing my diploma, I began to work at Subrai Motors, a dealership of Opel cars which was run by the Joshi’s. I didn’t earn much though; just Rs. 2000 a month. Most of my folks thought I was stupid to work there. Some of them even asked my father why he allowed me to work as a mechanic and that too, for such a low pay; even our gardener earned more! But dignity of labour is what we believed in. My dad grew up a baker, so hard work is what he believed in. It paid off for him and for me too. My boss, the late Pushkar Joshi and his brother Paresh Joshi really taught me a lot and actually
advised me to switch to sales and that really set the direction for my career. While on a sales training program in Delhi, a few students and I showed up a day early. Rather than go sightseeing, I asked if I could stay at the center and help. The training center was run by a company called Strategic Learning Solutions, a partner to Raytheon Professional Services who were the global training and consulting partners to General Motors. The head there, Mr. Mathew Sebastian got to know me that day. He later hired me, much to the delight of the Opel head office too who were impressed with my sales performance. Allow me to brag here, but we really crushed it; me and the dealership met and exceeded every rising target, every month. Paresh Joshi is a really brilliant salesman, and with his inputs, a technical education in automobiles and a big warm smile – my friends will testify to this – car sales came naturally.
The arrival of the 911 GT2 RS marked a milestone as the world's fastest production car, reigning supreme with its record lap at the iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife track. To this day, I have yet to experience a faster road car.
Strategic Learning Solutions (SLS) (2001)
At SLS, I worked for 14 years, in Bengaluru, Gurugram and Mumbai. I began working as an admin, then as a courseware developer and then later as a trainer. After that, I moved into management and as luck would have it, the Maruti Swift was my first project. We were asked to manage the salesforce training and also design and implement certain marketing and sales support initiatives like a complete ‘Dealership How-to Manual’, and other standards. The project was a success. And I don’t mean from the car’s phenomenal sales (the Swift would have sold anyway), but by the excitement it created, the levels of customer satisfaction, and the image it created for the company.
I think a key reason for this success was letting a bunch of capable, driven, young executives handle a car like this. It was certainly one of the key ingredients of the success of the Swift. My boss and MD Mr. Mathew Sebastian and my colleague Mr. Vinod Dudeja, who despite being seniors in our firm, let me and a very young team handle the entire project with minimal guidance. It’s very rare to have a company and a boss so trusting and that too with what was one of our largest clients and their most prestigious product launch. On the Maruti Udyog Limited side, the senior head of training Mr. Pallab Chakraborty also let his young team of managers and FSDMs (Field Staff Development Managers) take the lead. And it was the same with the marketing team where our daily interface was a very young duo that consisted of Avik Chattopadhyay and Murali Nair, both of whom I count till today as close friends. I grew to the position of the business unit head, heading the West India operations and after a few years exited the company to join Autocar India.
Autocar India – HaymarketSAC Publishing (2016 - till date)
I was referred to the Autocar editor and publisher Mr. Hormazd Sorabjee in 2016 by an industry friend Mr. Rajeev Agrawal and a few others whom I am ever grateful to for all their positive feedback about me. I met Hormazd over breakfast and we connected quickly and he immediately offered me a job.
I was 40 then and many people felt that I was taking a big risk leaving a very successful training and consulting career. But I always nurtured a desire to be a racecar driver or even a top mechanic, and I felt that I grew too far away from the actual automobile while working in training and sales.
So here was a chance for me to not just get closer, but right behind the wheel and so I grabbed it with both hands. Besides, when Autocar came to India, my elder brother bought the first issue and every issue since then, so it’s a brand very dear to my heart. It’s also been the only publication I’ve read for insights during my previous career and I’ve grown up reading Hormazd right from his WIAA articles, to Auto India and of course Autocar India.
Reflecting on your 8 year long career as an auto journalist, could you share some of the most memorable moments or highlights?
Being an automobile journalist is really a dream job for many and I feel so privileged being one and that too with the country’s leading automotive publication. There are many highlights from my career as an auto journalist, but one from my bucket list was taking part in a national championship. I did one round of the VW Ameo Cup in the car reserved for the media. I finished second last, but considering the fact that a few other magazines were even lapped, finishing on the same lap as the winners itself was good enough for me.
I’ve driven a Ford Mustang in the middle of the Rann of Kutch desert, driven above the clouds on the island of Tenerife, witnessed a live crash test at Volvo’s famed facility in Sweden, driven supercars from nearly every brand, drove a few concept cars and then drove the Ferrari F8 on the hallowed Ferrari Fiorano test track and the hills in Maranello. I’ve also been fortunate to get a chance to kiss the door to the house Enzo Ferrari stayed at. Another highlight is the many museums I’ve visited, a particular favourite being the National Car Museum in Turin, Italy.
As someone deeply connected to Goa, what are a few things about the state that you strongly miss while based in Mumbai?
Everything! The clean air and the beaches the most. I’m a certified beach bum and would happily live my life on one. Once I’m done with my career at AutoCar India, I will certainly come back to settle in Goa. Or maybe if I can somehow convince Hormazd, the whole AutoCar team would be better off in Goa. Goa’s laid back vibe is also something I really miss. People say Goa is slow, but what they fail to realize is that this means you get to dictate the pace of your life. You can dial it down or have a really hectic life in Goa, it’s entirely up to you. You decide the pace and are not simply a part of the rat race. Besides, try going anywhere in Mumbai and you’re simply stuck! The city’s traffic hours and patterns dictate your life here, not you. That’s also something which I really miss about Goa.
Looking forward, what do you envision for the future of AutoCar India, and how do you plan to contribute to its continued success?
Autocar India is a mammoth in the industry with a successful magazine and YouTube Channel, a television show, a website and a giant social media presence. But there’s still more we are doing. We’ve recently started Autocar Experiences and Expeditions where people can come along with us on automotive-themed activities like a guided international drive. This direct connect with our audience is where I want to contribute more and would like to steer the brand towards. While our news and reviews help shoppers decide which car or bike is best for them, we are also moving towards a more intensive and guided shopper experience which you will see soon. In whatever we do, one thing remains clear; our focus needs to be ‘trusted premium content’ That’s what we will always stand for.
Autocar India is a mammoth in the industry with a successful magazine and YouTube Channel, a television show, a website and a giant social media presence. But there’s still more we are doing. We’ve recently started Autocar Experiences and Expeditions where people can come along with us on automotive-themed activities like a guided international drive. This direct connect with our audience is where I want to contribute more and would like to steer the brand towards. While our news and reviews help shoppers decide which car or bike is best for them, we are also moving towards a more intensive and guided shopper experience which you will see soon. In whatever we do, one thing remains clear; our focus needs to be ‘trusted premium content’ That’s what we will always stand for.
