At just 35, Divesh Sisodraker is at the helm of Pivotal Corp., one of the Lower Mainland's longest-standing software companies.

"I know a lot of 40-year-olds who have more hair than I do," quipped Sisodraker, who was born in a rural village in Uganda and moved to Vancouver as an infant.

But he doesn't concern himself too much with the issue. "I just do the best job I can and I don't worry about how old I am," said Sisodraker, Pivotal's president and CEO.

After graduating from university and receiving accreditation as a chartered accountant in B.C., Sisodraker embarked on a career that included a local stint with KPMG and a Thailand posting with HSBC James Capel Asia Ltd. Indeed, he had just been in Bangkok a short while when the Asian currency crisis of the late '90s hit.

He returned to Vancouver and after a spell with A.L.I. Technologies he joined Pivotal in January 2000. It was a move prompted by his toughest career decision yet. "But moving to the other side of the table, building businesses, was where I knew I wanted to be," he said.

When he joined Pivotal, which specializes in customer relationship management software, the tech market was frothy and Pivotal was basking in growth.

Then the market imploded following the dot-com meltdown. "Hitting the wall was emotionally very difficult," Sisodraker said, recalling the tough restructuring and layoffs that Pivotal had to endure. Yet the steps were necessary. "I know that we made the right decisions for the company," he said.

Following an intense bidding battle, Pivotal became a business unit belonging to Hong Kong parent Chinadotcom Corp. in December 2003. The healthier group now has about 455 employees, with a couple of hundred in Vancouver.

Sisodraker is also grateful for the contributions of his wife, Ashmita, throughout his career. "I'm remarkably fortunate in that I'm able to do what I do professionally because I have such an incredibly supportive spouse."