Hershal Patel

Co-owner

Perspective Hospitality Management Services

1) What is your favorite book? Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. It’s a book about a fugitive from New Zealand/Australia who ends up in India. The way he describes Bombay reformed the way I see India. 

2) What is your favorite movie? Hands down, the 007 series.  The one on the top of my list is From Russia with Love. The reason I like the series is because each movie was a guide to the time in which the movie was made. Another reason is one of my favorite cities in the world is Istanbul and a good part of that movie takes place in Istanbul. 

3) What was your favorite vacation spot? The greatest place I’ve been to is Istanbul. At the time we went, it was just before some of the civil unrest there but you would never have known. 

4) What is your life’s motto? I’m a traditionalist so there are a lot of them. Ben Franklin would write in his daily journal, “What good shall I do this day?” and he would ask himself every morning of. He ended the day with something similar like, “What good did I do this day?” 

5) Where were you born? Greenville, Texas

6) What was a life-changing event in your life? I’ve had many. I think having my first child. That was profound for me. The moment we saw her. I thought I knew what love felt like and then she was born. Love really hits you when you see your first baby. That changed everything for me. Nothing mattered except what kind of life is this person going to live. What impact am I going to have on her. 

7) What makes you laugh? Everything. I have a hardy sense of humor.

8) What is the question you most want answered? What is the future of the world’s relationship to tech company giants such as Alphabet and Google.

9) What is the happiest thing for you to think about? The happiest thing that would make me incredibly happy would be to see the future for my three girls where they’re strong, they’re formidable, kind, and they live in a world with more equity than we have today. 

10) What was your favorite TV show growing up? The Simpsons.

11) What is the first thing you do each morning? I wake my kids up and make coffee.

12) What are any apps or other technology you use to get things done? I use the Notes app on my iPhone and Google calendar.

13) What is the last thing you do before going to bed? Read to my kids.