After spending over a decade in India, a British businessman shared a heartfelt post as he prepared to leave the country and return to England with his family.
In a now-viral post on LinkedIn, Jasper Reid, Founder and CEO of International Market Management (IMM), marked the end of his 12-year chapter in India. Sharing a photo of his family, Reid reflected on what the country taught him and the legacy he hoped to leave behind.
“More than the three years we planned and just about enough to know how India works,” he said as he summed up his experience in a single line.
Reid and his family moved to India with the intention of staying temporarily, but ended up staying much longer. During that time, they helped launch PizzaExpress in the Indian market and later built Wendy’s and Jamie’s restaurants across 15 cities and 75 locations. His businesses generated thousands of jobs and contributed significantly to the food and hospitality sector.
“What did we learn? Above all, we learnt patience, resilience, hard work, and hospitality. These values have declined in many countries, but are alive and well in India. What else? That India dances to its own tune,” he said, adding, “For outsiders, the tune can sound familiar but may be misleading; a siren call. Our privilege was to learn the market ground up, brick by brick, and over a long time. There is no substitute if you aim to succeed here.”
But it wasn’t just about business. Reid mentioned how his team stepped in during the Covid-19 lockdown to assist those in need. “We fed and helped a million people and bused thousands of migrant workers home,” he shared in the post.
“At any time, India is rich in humanity, excitement, and challenge, but also intensely demanding, hard, and wearing. There’s no country like it, and if GDP were measured in souls, India wins. We love India truly, madly and deeply,” Reid added.
He described India as a complex place, “essentially two countries,” where one part resembled developed markets while the other continued to face basic developmental challenges. Yet, what stood out to him was India’s soul.
Reid also left a message for Indian business owners: “Set your people free. It’s the best thing you will ever do.” According to him, trusting and empowering teams had been a game-changer during his time in India.
His family’s connection to the country ran deep. His grandfather once helped build the Dum Dum Airport in Kolkata, his father worked with HelpAge India, and his wife’s uncle founded a school in Sikkim. His daughters, the fourth generation of the family to live in India, have now finished school in Delhi and are heading to university in the UK.
Despite the move, Reid wrote that India would always be home. “Now we have two parental homes and are not really leaving India but moving to the other side of a great, glorious, magic circle.”
Take a look at his post here:
The post drew a wave of reactions on LinkedIn. While several users called it “raw”, “real” and “respectful,” others admired Reid’s ability to embrace India’s challenges. A section of the internet said his words mirrored their own feelings about living and working in the country.
A few users also pointed out that his message to Indian promoters about empowering teams was worth paying attention to.
See the comments here:
Jasper Reid’s farewell post stood out not for its sentiment but for its clarity and respect. As he begins a new chapter in England, he leaves behind more than a business legacy, he leaves with a perspective that many who’ve worked in India would relate to.