As India stresses on increasing the share of manufacturing, Manufacturing Today looks at 40 manufacturers who are playing an important role in realising the ‘Make in India’ dream.
This year’s Republic Day Parade was a little different. Not because of the illustrious chief guest, or because it was the first for this newly elected government. It was special because for the first time a political initiative (some call it a dream) was part of the tableau contingent. PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make In India’ and ‘Smart Cities’ initiatives were combined to showcase India as a manufacturing lion! He has reiterated often that the country must become a manufacturing hub for an economic transformation.
What is the industry response to this? We speak to 40 companies who are leading manufacturers and are eager to make this dream a reality and have listed them in alphabetical order of their first names. While they welcome the government’s initiatives, they also believe that manufacturing in India needs to improve on various fronts. The industry must align its goals with the vision of Make in India, which means produce goods of world-class quality at eco-friendly facilities and sell globally.
By Babita Krishnan
Aijaz Tobaccowalla
Pfizer Limited & Wyeth Limited
Aijaz Tobaccowalla was appointed the managing director of Pfizer Limited and Wyeth Limited in August 2012. A science graduate with a major in computer science and a minor in mathematics, he holds a Masters degree in Business Administration from the Stern School of Business, New York University. Tobaccowalla has extensive pharmaceutical experience and is a strategist with global delivery capability and has designed and delivered consistent results in the global marketplace. He last held the position of senior vice president, Worldwide Biopharmaceutical and Commercial Business Technology, at Pfizer Inc. USA, where he was responsible for the global, commercial and clinical information organisation supporting all Pfizer business units and Pfizer’s digital and mobile team.
Tobaccowalla is an experienced global leader and has worked in the United States, Europe and Asia supporting established and emerging markets.
AMIT KALYANI
Bharat Forge Ltd
Amit B. Kalyani is the executive director and on the board of Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL), the flagship company of the $2.5 billion Kalyani Group. A key member of the company’s strategic planning and global business development initiatives, this mechanical engineer from Bucknell University in the US, has been instrumental in driving the overall Kalyani Group strategy and expansion of its steel business. Having joined Bharat Forge in 1999 as vice-president and chief technology officer, he played a critical role where he was responsible for implementing Unified MIS System SAP R3. He later took charge of investor relations and was instrumental in raising funds to the tune of over $1 billion in the past decade. He was also active in strategising and execution of several acquisitions for the group across geographies and was instrumental in negotiating and setting up of the JV with Alstom.
As an environmentally conscious company, Kalyani has been responsible for driving the sustainability initiatives at Bharat Forge and ensures that the team attempts to make processes and businesses more environmentally-friendly, which means less consumption and re-use as much as possible.
Anant Goenka
CEAT Limited
Anant Goenka is the managing director of CEAT Limited, one of India’s leading tyre manufacturers and an RPG Group company. He has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a B.Sc. in economics from The Wharton School. He is also the former chairman of the Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association. Prior to his MBA, Goenka was associated with CEAT as head of the speciality tyres business and was instrumental in growth of this business.
Goenka has also worked with Hindustan Unilever, and Accenture in Mumbai and Morgan Stanley, Hong Kong. After completing his business degree, in July 2007 he joined KEC International Limited, a leading player in the infrastructure space and a global leader in power transmission business. He joined as vice-president (corporate) and was in charge of the telecom business, business development in North America and integrated planning and monitoring of the transmission and distribution business. He went on to become the executive director-supply chain, responsible for manufacturing, procurement, planning, logistics and quality functions.
ADI GODREJ
The Godrej Group
With a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, Adi Godrej is chairman of The Godrej Group. Mainly a privately held group (over a 100 year old family conglomerate) with operations in India and several other countries, it has a wide spectrum of businesses under its umbrella. “In the current fiscal, manufacturers in India will need to focus on productivity improvements, logistics efficiency, total quality management, skilling and training of the workforce, and innovation and experimentation,” says Godrej about the future.
He is chairman of the board of the Indian School of Business, and past president of the Confederation of Indian Industry. He has been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the MIT Sloan School of Management and a member of the Wharton Asian Executive Board. Godrej is a recipient of several awards and recognitions including the Rajiv Gandhi Award 2002, Padma Bhushan 2012 and The Asian Awards 2013, Entrepreneur of the Year, among others.
Andreas Lauenroth
Volkswagen India Private Limited
The Volkswagen Group India is a part of Volkswagen AG, which is globally represented by 12 brands from seven European countries. The group upholds its mantle of superior engineering with plants in Pune and Aurangabad working seamlessly to manufacture cars for the Indian market. Looking at the coming year, Andreas Lauenroth, executive director, technical, Volkswagen India, says, “Volkswagen India will focus on taking manufacturing to the next level through defined targets, following uniform standards, systematic implementation of processes, global knowledge — sharing, involvement of entire team and quality training.
This will help us in achieving our goals set under our ‘Mach18. Factory’ strategy that focusses on key areas of quality, innovation, team culture, expertise, ramp-up and logistics.” Beginning his career with the group as an apprentice in 1980, Lauenroth held positions in various departments like planning, logistics and production to reach this position. He also undertook a few projects in Volkswagen China.
B.Ashok
Indian Oil Corporation
In July 2014, B Ashok took over as chairman, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, a Fortune ‘Global 500’ listed national oil major. He joined Indian Oil in 1981 after a brief stint of two years in the private sector and has over 33 years of expertise in the oil and gas domain. A mechanical engineer from the College of Engineering, Madras University, with a post-graduate management diploma from the National Management Programme of Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, Ashok has served in many vital positions at IOCL. He is known for his transformational as well as people focussed leadership. In his various roles, he has been able to energise teams to perform and deliver results through engagement and shared vision. He has been one of the key resource persons in evolving the corporate vision for the organisation both in 1999 as well as in 2009. Under his leadership, several HR initiatives were taken and new policies worked out in areas relating to promotion, recruitment at AO level, organisational restructuring and modification of the Electronic Performance Management System.
Bhaskar Mandal
Siemens
Siemens, as an integrated technology provider, has a wide range of future-oriented solutions to be a partner in India’s growth. Bhaskar Mandal, head of digital factory and process industries & drives, Siemens, looks at taking this vision forward. He believes that the entire manufacturing industry needs to be a part of the ‘Make in India’ story. He believes that in order to remain competitive in the market, manufacturing companies in India must continue to focus on increasing productivity, be flexible in responding to customer needs, shorten ‘time to market’ and enhance quality to operate more sustainably.
“The future of manufacturing is about digitising activities early on, which would not only give a holistic view of the value chain but also save time and cost during development stage. Manufacturers should integrate processes with IT by way of MES (manufacturing execution system) and PLM (product lifecycle management),” he says. In his current role, Mandal is responsible for automation, motors and drives portfolio including customer services.
B Prasada Rao
BHEL
T he chairman and managing director of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, a Maharatna enterprise, B Prasada Rao heads a company that ranks among the leading companies of the world engaged in the field of power plant equipment. In a career spanning more than 36 years, Rao has varied experience through working in strategic as well as operational areas. A strong believer in transforming BHEL into a global engineering enterprise, he successfully led three corporate plan exercises for 2002-07, 2007-12 and 2012-17. Under his leadership, BHEL has pursued a growth strategy of building both capacity and capability and introduced new technologies in the field of coal and gas based power plants.
Rao believes the Make in India initiative of PM Narendra Modi is poised to propel India into a high growth phase. “To be a part of this story one must have the following prerequisites: global scale of manufacturing; high value addition and precision; and global quality standards engineering excellence,” he says. Rao is a post graduate in industrial engineering from NITIE, Mumbai, and a mechanical engineering graduate from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Andhra Pradesh.
Bharat Vishnani
ThyssenKrupp Elevator India
With sales of 6.2 billion euros in fiscal 2012-13 and customers in 150 countries, ThyssenKrupp Elevator is one of the world’s leading elevator companies. With more than 50,000 highly skilled employees, the company offers innovative and energy-efficient products designed to meet customers’ individual requirements. The portfolio includes passenger and freight elevators, escalators and moving walks, passenger boarding bridges, stair and platform lifts as well as tailored service solutions for all products. Bharat Vishnani is the managing director at ThyssenKrupp Elevator India. His role at the company is to drive profitability and organisational efficiency by providing strategic direction and overall guidance to his functional leaders in achieving financial and non-financial targets. Vishnani has an electrical engineering background and has spent nearly 30 years in the elevator industry handling various functions covering all operational facets of the business. He has worked with other elevator companies in India and the Persian Gulf countries.
Jayakumar krishnaswamy
akzonobel india
Jayakumar Krishnaswamy is managing director at AkzoNobel and heads the India operations. In addition, he is India business director, looking after the strategic market units (SMUs) in performance coatings.
Krishnaswamy is a mechanical engineer from the Delhi College of Engineering (DCE, batch 1987), and has over 26 years of experience across the automotive and engineering sectors as well as the FMCG and cement industries. During the course of his career, he has developed expertise in integrated supply chain management, kick-starting new initiatives and transforming organisations.
He joined AkzoNobel India in 2011 as director, supply chain. In his earlier stint, he was associated with Hindustan Unilever for over 15 years and played an important role in shaping the supply chain of the company. He has also worked with Lafarge, Brakes India and Eicher Tractors. Jay is an avid reader, keen sportsman and a passionate marathon runner.
FIRDOSE VANDREVALA
Essar Steel
As a global steel producer with a footprint in India, Canada, USA, the Middle East and Asia, Essar Steel has a capacity of 14mt, and aims to achieve a global capacity of 20-25mt. The company has specialised plants for steel products such as pipes and plates and has a leadership position in cold rolling, galvanising and pre-coated segments.
Looking at the future, Firdose Vandrevala, the executive VC of Essar Steel, says, “Classically, manufacturers have focussed on best practices concerning cost and quality. In the new wave, we must focus on best practices for customer convenience and not internal convenience.”A recognised leader, this IIT (Kharagpur) and XLRI alumnus was associated with the Tata Group for over three decades, where he held various positions, the last being MD of Tata Power and chairman of Tata Teleservices. He then joined Motorola India as chairman. Prior to Essar, he was CMD at Hirco. Vandrevala is the chairman of National Committee on Real Estate & Housing of CII and VP of All India Management Association.
Jeremy Hunter
Henkel Group India
Jeremy Hunter was appointed president and country manager for the Henkel Group, India in April 2011 and is responsible for the consolidation, reorganisation and growth of Henkel’s operations. He believes that companies engaging in worldclass manufacturing strategies focus on improving operations, strive to eliminate waste and create lean organisations.“Manufacturing is a continuous process and should incorporate practices that are beneficial in short and long term,” Hunter says, “Success in the coming years will depend on: reducing harmful materials for production; introducing Total Productive Maintenance to optimise productivity through systematic equipment maintenance; sophisticated labour management solutions; flexibility in manufacturing practice to use modern technologies and innovative approaches; and improve substantially on quality, technology, shop floor practices, supply chain co-ordination and cycle time simultaneously improvement strategies must be driven by customer requirements and satisfaction.
Kenichi Ayukawa
Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki, reputedly the biggest carmaker in India, is gearing up to enter newer segments next year. Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director and CEO, feels that it is going to be equally challenging for the company to establish itself in the uncharted territory. A law graduate from Osaka University, Japan, Ayukawa joined Suzuki Motor Corporation in 1980 and has handled several key assignments at Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan and in the group’s overseas operations.
Under his leadership, the company’s market share increased from 39-40% to 45% and he endeavours to increase Maruti Suzuki’s presence further. Enhancing its offerings in the SUV segment, the company plans to launch a compact SUV in early 2016.
The company believes that the move will help in maintaining its market share. The company is also looking to increase its share of exports – currently, Maruti Suzuki exports 10% of its overall production from India and plans to take the number to 15% in the next five years.
KUMAR MANGALAM BIRLA
Aditya Birla Group
Kumar Mangalam Birla is the chairman of the $40 billion multinational Aditya Birla Group, which operates in 36 countries across six continents. About 50% of its revenue flow from its operations outside India. Birla chairs the boards of major group companies in India and globally. Birla has taken the Aditya Birla Group to an altogether higher growth trajectory. In the 17 years that he has been at the helm of the group, he has accelerated growth, built a meritocracy and enhanced stakeholder value. In the process he has raised the group’s turnover from $2 billion in 1995 to $40 billion today. Birla has restructured the businesses to emerge as a global/national leader in the sectors in which the group operates. He has made 26 acquisitions in 17 years in India and globally, the highest by an Indian multinational in India. Under his stewardship, the Aditya Birla Group enjoys a position of leadership in all the major sectors in which it operates. Birla has held and continues to hold several key positions on various regulatory and professional boards. He is on the National Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Apex Advisory Council of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.
Mallika Srinivasan
TAFE
Recognised as one of the most powerful women in India Inc., and one of India’s leading entrepreneurs, Mallika Srinivasan is the current chairman and CEO of TAFE. Aptly called ‘India’s tractor woman’, she heads the flagship company for the amalgamations group. She was responsible for the dramatic increase in turnover from Rs 86 crores in 1985, to Rs 8,020 crores in 2012, entering the 1.6 billion league and making it the second biggest tractor company in India, and the third in the world. She believes in strong work ethics, and has made a conscious effort to induct more women into the workforce.
“Diversity is an essential prerequisite for innovation,” she says. India Inc.’s 8th most powerful CEO once said, “You don’t need to love money to run a business. You have to have a dream to build an institution, to build centres of excellence, to create a great team. Business has a larger purpose … business can operate well only in the social context of educated and healthy people.”
Manish Sharma
Panasonic India
Manish Sharma is the first Indian to head flagship consumer durables business in India for Japan’s largest consumer electronics company, Panasonic. Sharma has set a target to grow Panasonic’s durable business by 70% year on year to achieve leadership in India. “It’s a big challenge.
We are looking at entering newer markets and categories to build the turnover, scale and image in the consumer’s mind,” he says. Consumer durables is the flagship operation dealing with televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, personal care and healthcare, and contributes up to 60% of the group’s revenue in India. In his new role, Sharma is responsible for the strategic planning, business development and sales and marketing of Panasonic India across consumer and enterprise business. His appointment is a part of Panasonic’s global strategy of localisation and making India a global talent hub.
Mukesh Chawla
Legrand India Pvt. Ltd.
Legrand, the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructure, is aiming to become a preferred partner across segments. Mukesh Chawla, chief operating officer Legrand India, feels that the way to achieve that is to follow certain practices in business. Manufacturers should have innovative designs with ease-of-use keeping the end consumer in mind. “Being more conscious towards the environment through safe manufacturing and recycling is another responsibility. We at Legrand provide dedicated focus on environmental conservation and have a global target of utilising 66% of our turnover in environment-friendly initiatives by 2018,” he reveals. Focus for next year is to move towards light automation in order to reduce excess human effort, though taking care not to remove human intervention completely. Legrand has a commitment on reducing waste by 5% y-o-y and is presently recovering 91% of the manufacturing waste. The brand is looking forward to the coming year for growth with the focus being on the manufacturing industry at large.
MATH SS
Finolex Industries Limited
With a group turnover that exceeds Rs 30 billion, Finolex Industries Limited (FIL) has emerged as a leaders in its field. With manufacturing becoming a focus the company sees a sea of opportunities opening up before it, feels Sanjay S Math, director, operations. Drawing from his 38 years of industry experience, he feels that the way forward is to ensure that assets are put to maximum capacity utilisation while maintaining material, energy and utility efficiencies. “Sustainability will be achieved by reliable supply and logistics of raw materials, services and other infrastructural facilities, asset integrity by process safety management, control of the soil, water and air pollution with proper reuse or disposal of wastes to maintain a clean and ecofriendly neighbourhood.” He believes that a motivated workforce is a pre-requisite for operational excellence. Also, he feels that manufacturing processes need to change the business processes, product designs or product application and performance should remain relevant to customer needs.
TV NARENDRAN
Tata Steel India & South East Asia
A n engineer from REC (NIT), Trichy, TV Narendran joined Tata Steel after completing his MBA from IIM Calcutta in 1988. He is a Chevening Scholar and has also attended the advanced management programme in CEDEP-INSEAD, France. He became the MD of Tata Steel India and SE Asia in November 2013 and has worked in the international trading division from 1988 to 1997 wherein he spent five years in Dubai looking after Tata Steels’ exports to the Middle East. Post that he worked in its marketing and sales division and was involved in market development work. The next two years were spent as chief of marketing & sales (long products) and played a key role in building ‘Tata Tiscon’ and the distribution network. He was involved in Tata Steel’s first overseas acquisition, NatSteel, and was sent there as an executive VP in 2005. He ran operations in NatSteel as deputy president (operations) and took over as the president & CEO in January, 2008. Before being appointed as MD – Tata Steel India and SE Asia, Narendran was the VP – safety, flat products & long products divisions. He is currently on the board of Tata Steel, Tata Steel Europe, CEDEP, XLRI and World Steel Association.
NAUSHAD FORBES
Forbes Marshall
. As the director of a company that aims to provide solutions in energy, efficiency and process automation, using the best technology the world has to offer, Dr Naushad Forbes does not believe in telling people how to be responsible.
“Each individual knows what’s best for her/him. But I’m particular about certain things and take note of them when I visit a plant for the first time,” he says. It is important that a factory is a healthy and happy place to work as it impacts productivity. With the focus being on manufacturing and all eyes on India, Dr Forbes is most concerned about the shop-floor. A smooth and logical flow of the process is the key to consistent activity without disorganisation, he believes. He has been a consulting professor at Stanford University from 1987 to 2004.
He developed courses in technology and policy in newly industrialized countries and management of technology in firms. He has also written on innovation in developing countries and higher education in India. An alumni of Stanford, he is on the advisory council IIT Bombay; board of directors of Godrej, Kirloskar Oil Engines and Jump Associates, California; governing council National Institute of Design and India Design Council.
Nikhil Nanda
Escorts Limited
Nikhil Nanda is the MD of Escorts Limited, an engineering company that manufactures agricultural machinery, construction, material handling and railway equipment and auto components. He is leading the group’s campaign to transfer its culture towards aggressive growth. Welcoming the government initiatives, Nanda feels there is need for large growth drivers in all sectors, more so manufacturing. “We look with great expectations.
As we witness policy initiatives like GST, we are optimistic about an economic growth trajectory of 7-8%,” he says. A manufacturing boom will attract investments and technologies leading to increased knowledge transfer, improved R&D and innovation. The industry needs to develop efficiencies through innovation in their supply chains, production systems and the final product.
“Obviously, the supplier base will be compelled to enhance their efficiencies,” Nanda says. “We have the potential to cater to manufacturing requirements of many more markets globally. The ‘Make In India’ initiative has come at the right time.”
A major in finance and management from Wharton Business School, Nanda was selected as one of five ‘Indians who are global leaders of tomorrow’ by the World Economic Forum.
Dr Pawan K Goenka
Mahindra & Mahindra
Dr Pawan Goenka earned his B.Tech. from IIT Kanpur and Ph.D. from Cornell University, USA. After working at General Motors in USA, he joined Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, as GM (R&D). During his tenure, he led the development of the Scorpio. He was appointed COO (automotive sector) in 2003, president in 2005, and executive director and president (automotive & farm equipment sector) in 2013.
This multiple awards winner is hopeful that 2015-16 will be a year of paradigm change with the ‘Make in India’ campaign being a growth driver. “There needs to be a concerted effort by each one of us to make India not just a manufacturing hub and remove bottlenecks to bring in ease of manufacturing, but also for India to be a frontrunner in technology and innovation. Focus on infrastructure as well as skill development will be key, as we look to make India one of the best destinations to do business in,” he feels. Dr Goenka is the past president of SIAM and ARAI Governing Council, and was a board member of National Skills Development Corporation from 2013-2014. He is also a National Council member of CII, and chairman of Board of Governors of IIT, Madras.
Pawan Munjal
Hero MotoCorp
Pawan Munjal is the vice chairman, CEO and managing director of Hero MotoCorp Ltd and is responsible for the growth and strategic planning for the entire group. A graduate in mechanical engineering, Munjal has been instrumental in bringing about technological and managerial excellence in the company’s operations. He has been the chairman of several committees of CII. He is also on the board of Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow and Indian School of Business.
Under his leadership, the group has augmented its global presence with export of vehicles and by setting up local assemblies in some countries. Apart from his role at Hero MotoCorp, Munjal is also on the board of directors of Hero FinCorp Ltd, Hero Realty and Infra Ltd, Rockman Industries Ltd, New Future Energies Limited and Hero Invest Corp Limited.
Prasan Firodia
Force Motors Ltd
Prasan Firodia, MD of Force Motors since 2009, is a talented young leader with a sharp insight in the auto industry. With a keen eye on the future, he believes that the way forward is the need for a manufacturing model driven by investment which is frugal or has an economic approach.
“The key aspect is to keep in mind the functionality while creating capacity or infrastructure. Following closely is the standardisation of work and managerial productivity,” he says. Firodia believes the challenge for manufacturers is maintenance of continued productivity, cost and energy pipelines.
An ongoing improvement of processes is critical for the health of a manufacturing unit and “should include employee on-job training, education and motivation along with lean manufacturing processes. For enhancing employee motivation, the practice of safety continues to be a top-line agenda for morale building,” says Firodia. He believes that excellence in manufacturing process cannot be achieved in silos. “It is a collaborative effort where your resources have to come together to make an existing process better and to contribute towards innovation,” he says.
Dr Raghupati Singhania
JK Tyre & Industries Ltd
Dr Raghupati Singhania is the chairman and managing director of JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, which is a member unit of JK Organisation, one of the oldest large business houses in India. Pioneers of radial technology in India and one of the leaders in the Indian tyre industry, they manufacture the well known JK Tyre, Vikrant, and Tornel brand of tyres. He is also the chairman of JK Tornel, S.A.de C.V., Mexico, a wholly owned subsidiary of JK Tyre. Dr Singhania is serving various leading apex chambers and government bodies of India. He is a technology savvy business leader and keeps himself tuned with changing times.
His visionary abilities blended with innovative and entrepreneurial zeal have been best demonstrated in his pioneering effort of ushering radial technology in India way back in 1977 when all other tyre companies in the country were grappling with intricacies of conventional technology. Under his stewardship, JK Tyre has been actively promoting Motorsport in the country for over three decades.
Rajiv Bajaj
Bajaj Auto
Managing director of Bajaj Auto, Rajiv Bajaj graduated in first class, with distinction, in mechanical engineering from the University of Pune in 1988, and then completed his masters in manufacturing systems engineering, with distinction, from the University of Warwick in 1990. He has since worked at Bajaj Auto in the areas of manufacturing and supply chain, R&D and engineering, and marketing and sales, and has been its managing director since April 2005. He introduced the Pulsar range of motorcycles that transformed the entire auto industry in India. He has been instrumental in driving the focus on cutting costs, improving productivity in the motorcycle manufacturing business by investing largely into R&D. His current priority is application of the scientific principles of homeopathy to building a brand centred strategy at Bajaj Auto with the objective of achieving its vision of being one of the world’s leading motorcycle and small commercial vehicle manufacturers. He has been on the board of Bajaj Auto since March 2002.
RK Tyagi
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
RK Tyagi served as the chairman of the board and managing director of Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL) from May 2007 to February 2012. Since then he has been chairman and director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Tyagi joined ONGC as a graduate trainee in 1976 and through various assignments rose to the position of general manager in 2003 and continued serving ONGC up to May 2007. He is an engineering graduate in electronics and telecommunication from IIT (Roorkee) and also possesses a master’s degree in business administration from the Bengaluru- headquartered defence PSU. Subsequently, Tyagi has also attended an advanced leadership course on public sector management for 15 months at Indian School of Business (ISB Hyderabad) from 2004 to 2005.
Sanjay Kirloskar
Kirloskar Brothers Limited
Sanjay Chandrakant Kirloskar is the chairman and managing director of Kirloskar Brothers Limited. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Kirloskar underwent practical training in a number of Kirloskar group companies and has held the position of vice-president (operations) at Kirloskarvadi factory and executive vice-president of the company. Under his leadership Kirloskar Brothers has become one of the leading pump companies in the world, catering to various sectors like power, industry, irrigation, water, oil and gas, marine and defence, distribution and others. Kirloskar has promoted conservation of energy in the Kirloskar group to promote “green industrialisation” since 1989. He is on the Board of Trade, government of India, and also a member of the government-industry joint task force.
Sajjan Jindal
JSW Group
A mechanical engineer by training, Sajjan Jindal has transformed the functioning of the Indian steel industry with his progressive engagement of all stakeholders in the development process at JSW Steel. Under his leadership, the group has expanded in other core sectors such as power generation, infrastructure building and cement manufacturing. His dedication to the cause of a self-reliant India is reflected in the technological innovations that define and set apart each JSW company. Today, the JSW Group runs some of the most energy-efficient and ecofriendly manufacturing facilities.
As he leads the JSW Group into a new era of technological advancement, he believes that the industry should follow some world-class manufacturing mantras such as: strategy at the core; operational excellence; portfolio optimisation; capex productivity; employee engagement; and corporate citizenship. These are probably why, in a span of three years, JSW Energy has grown 10- fold with a power generation capacity of 3,140MW. At the peak of the global recession in 2009, he commissioned India’s then largest blast furnace with a capacity of 2.8mtpa at Vijayanagar. Jindal is committed to allocating 2% of JSW’s profit for CSR initiatives.
Sanjiv Mehta
Hindustan Unilever Limited
Sanjiv Mehta, the CEO and managing director of Hindustan Unilever Limited, joined the board of the company in October 2013. He is also the executive vice-president for Unilever in South Asia and a member of Unilever’s global market executive. Mehta joined Unilever in 1992 and has led several Unilever businesses across South Asia, South East Asia and Middle East. During his tenure as the head of various Unilever companies, the business achieved significant success accelerating both growth and profitability. Importantly, he has been instrumental in building leadership talent and substantially strengthening organisational capabilities.
Before joining Unilever, he worked for Union Carbide India. He is a Commerce graduate and a chartered accountant. He has also completed advanced management programme from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, Stakeholders’ Relationship Committee and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the company.
Satish Jamdar
Blue Star
Satish Jamdar has spearheaded the establishment of Blue Star’s modern manufacturing facilities in Dadra (Himachal), Wada and Ahmedabad. He took over as the managing director of the company in 2009 and oversees all the operations and support services of the company. Commenting on the current scenario, Jamdar says, “As the focus shifts to attaining a much bigger national manufacturing footprint, we must passionately pursue excellence in engineering, design, reliability and competitiveness to build brand India through each of our products.”
He is a mechanical engineering graduate from IIT Bombay with Systems Management from NIIT, and Management Studies from UK and USA. He has over four decades of experience in manufacturing, supply chain, general management and IT projects, having worked for Siemens, BPL-Sanyo and Alstom, before joining Blue Star in 1996. He is also a director of Blue Star Electro-Mechanical Ltd and is currently chairman of the CII-Western Region Affirmative Action Committee.
Shishir Joshipura
SKF India
A mechanical engineer from BITS, Pilani, and an AMP from Harvard Business School – Shishir Joshipura joined SKF India Ltd in 2009 as managing director. SKF is a global leader in bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems and services. He is also the country head for SKF group’s subsidiaries in India – SKF Technologies and Lincoln Helios India. SKF India has strengthened its position over the last couple of years by investing in three new manufacturing plants and a global R&D centre, in addition to a new lubrication systems manufacturing facility currently under construction.
Prior to SKF, Joshipura worked with Thermax for 26 years where he rose through the ranks to become CEO of Thermax Energy Performance Services and subsequently executive VP and global head of cooling and heating business. Passionate about energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon intensity reduction, he played an instrumental role in setting up of Alliance for Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) body and has been serving on its board since 2009.
Satendra Singh
Nokia Networks, India
Satendra Singh heads manufacturing operations for Nokia Solutions and Networks in India and is a member of NSN global manufacturing operations leadership team. In his current role, he set up a new facility at Chennai, which has grown very rapidly to become one of the volume factories of NSN globally.
The Chennai site supplies telecom equipment to NSN customers in Asia and also the rest of the world. The facility has been awarded a distinction with two prestigious national awards in 2013, namely Rajiv Gandhi national quality award and Economic Times/Frost and Sullivan India manufacturing award. Singh credits the success of the Chennai facility to six simple steps that should be a part of every manufacturing unit. “Nokia Networks believes in six simple principles that are the foundations of our success: lean culture, automation, competency development and learning, environment consciousness, quality and flexibility of operations,” says Singh.
Siddhartha Lal
Eicher Motors Ltd.
Siddhartha Lal is the CEO of Royal Enfield and is also the MD and chief executive of Eicher Motors Ltd, the flagship company of Eicher Group in India. During 2000-2004, during his tenure as CEO of motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield (a division of EML), Lal helped revive the company’s fortunes and also strengthened stakeholders’ involvement with the brand. Since 2012, he is the chairman of VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a 50:50 joint venture between Volvo group and Eicher Motors Ltd. (EML) and of EicherPolaris Private Limited (EPPL), a newly formed 50:50 strategic joint venture between Eicher Motors and US-based Polaris Industries that will design, develop, manufacture and sell a new range of personal vehicles. He holds a Masters degree in automotive engineering from University of Leeds and is a Cranfield University qualified mechanical engineer. Lal is passionately involved in the subject of transportation and the role it has to play in sustainability. He has also been nominated as a part of the WEF Global Agenda Council on personal transportation systems.
Dr Steffen Berns
Bosch Limited
Dr Steffen Berns, since Jan 2013, is the managing director of Bosch Limited and president Bosch Group India. But his association with the group has been since 1990 at various positions in both India and Germany. Bosch Group that was traditionally associated with the automotive sector, has also forayed successfully in other segments like drives and controls, power tools, security systems, capital goods and packaging technology. And under his leadership, the group would develop these sectors further while also consolidating Bosch’s position in the auto industry. With the market getting increasingly competitive, he does not believe in taking the position of the group for granted.
Dr Berns is a mechanical engineer from Darmstadt Technical University and holds a Doctorate (Dr-Ing.) in mechanical engineering on expert systems for design processes from Aachen Technical University.
MS Unnikrishnan
Thermax Group
Thermax, the engineering major for energy and environment sectors, is focusing on export markets as MS Unnikrishnan, MD and CEO is looking to rope in more foreign customers. He began his career as a graduate trainee with Thermax after completing his mechanical engineering from Regional Engineering College, Nagpur in 1982. He went on to set up marketing operations for the energy division of Thermax in the western region and took over as the MD in July, 2007. Earlier, as executive vice-president, he was head of the company’s project business and subsequently headed the waste management and absorption cooling divisions of the company, turning around both these businesses and making them profitable. After an organisational restructuring in 2000, he was part of the newly formed ‘executive council’. Unnikrishnan led the human resource function of Thermax during its critical turnaround period and later established the project management office, to spearhead the transformation initiative of the company.
K VENKATARAMANAN
Larsen & Toubro Limited
K. Venkataramanan has been associated with L&T for over four decades in various positions of responsibility. A graduate in chemical engineering from IIT, Delhi, he joined L&T in 1969, was elevated to the board of directors in May 1999, and appointed CEO & MD in April 2012. He is credited with helping in the transformation of L&T from a fabrication-driven EPC contractor to a technology led player. He also laid the foundations for project engineering and execution as well as designed the waterfront load-out facility at Hazira for large offshore platforms.
To bolster international presence, he formed a dedicated International Business Development Cell. Under his leadership, L&T’s teams have executed high technology projects in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Sri Lanka. IT-enabled engineering services centres established by him also tapped global opportunities. He was the first Asian to be appointed chairman of the board of directors of the ‘Engineering & Construction Risk Institute, Inc.’, USA for a two year term and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), UK – the second Indian to receive this recognition from the world’s most reputed body in chemical engineering space.
VINOD DASARI
Ashok Leyland Limited
Vinod K. Dasari is the MD of Ashok Leyland Limited and director on the board of Ashok Leyland. He completed his MBA from Kellogg School of Management and a Masters in engineering management from McCormick School of Engineering, both from Northwestern University. He earned a Bachelors degree in engineering from University of Louisville. Dasari commenced his career with General Electric in 1986. After completing his MBA in 1992, he joined Timken, USA, as senior business analyst, and then moved to its Indian operations as director of manufacturing and technology. In 1998, he was appointed managing director of Timken India and in 2000, he moved back to US, with Timken, as president of the global railroad business.
In 2002, he moved back to India with family and joined Cummins as joint managing director. Dasari joined Ashok Leyland in 2005 as chief operating officer. He also serves on several boards of the company’s JV or subsidiaries. In addition to his responsibilities within the company, he is currently the president of the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and vice-president of The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
Vipin Sondhi
JCB India Limited
JCB India Limited is the fastest growing company in the Indian earthmoving and construction equipment industrywith five operational world-class manufacturing facilities. Vipin Sondhi, MD & CEO, sees conscious efforts to develop and strengthen the manufacturing sector recently. “In fact, with focused and bold programmes, manufacturers have a golden chance to emerge from the shadows of the service sector and strengthen its place in the global market,” he says. Sondhi feels, however, that manufacturing in India needs to improve on various fronts to capture this opportunity and the way forward is for manufacturers to follow certain best practices like state-ofthe-art facilities that deploy necessary quality management systems to ensure quality control; environment-conscious business practices; using technology to advance in terms of industrial growth; and higher efficiency and productivity. The group has invested in setting up a world-class design centre at the Pune facility.
“They are designed on the lean manufacturing principles. We made strategic investments in expanding our manufacturing footprint and keeping them equipped with the most advanced and latest technology,” reveals Sondhi.
VC Sehgal
Samvardhana Motherson Group
VC Sehgal is the chairman of Samvardhana Motherson Group, a $6.1billion group present in 25 countries with over 160 manufacturing facilities across the globe. Established in 1975 with a cable and wire manufacturing unit, under his leadership the group has a diversified product range covering wiring harnesses, rear view mirrors, integrated plastic modules, lighting systems and a wide range of modules and components with market leadership positions in most of the verticals, both domestic and global. He is a visionary who has the ability of sighting opportunities for the benefit of the group whether it be in the form of joint ventures or acquisitions.
“The markets worldwide are coming up strongly and we are excited by the prospects in India. New plants are being established in India and at various locations across the world to meet upcoming requirements of our customers. We have grown faster than the market consistently over the years and we expect the trajectory to continue,” says Sehgal. Today the group has 26 JV partners for its various product ranges and has many successful acquisitions to its credit under his leadership. His vision for the group is to be a global preferred solutions provider.