Dr. Hema Divakar

Dr. Divakar is a name synonymous with an unending passion to heal. In the medical fraternity not only in India but the world over, she is a force to reckon with. She has dedicated her life to healing and making healthcare accessible to the underserved. She is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with over 3 decades of experience and expertise in women’s healthcare in India. All through her medical career, she has worked hard to improve healthcare and the welfare of women. She has over the last two-and-a-half decades, been a game-changer in healthcare, establishing new benchmarks, and standards and touching women’s lives in the process.

Dr. Divakar completed her MD at Wadia Hospital in Mumbai in 1989 and soon after that, she started Divakar Speciality Hospital in Bangalore with her husband Dr. GV. Divakar – a well-renowned ophthalmologist. The hospital is a dedicated center of excellence for women’s healthcare. It was established with the aim to be a single-window solution for women’s healthcare. It offers a range of services for new-borns, girls, and women of all ages. Under her leadership, the hospital has become synonymous with the best quality care. But she didn’t stop there. With the kind of impact that she wanted to make, Dr. Divakar wanted to establish something bigger and reach out to more people. She is deeply passionate about the inadequacies in the Indian healthcare system especially when it comes to young girls.

ARTIST AT WORK

A growing child or a young girl faces a lot of physical changes and it renders a lot of confusion. They want answers and they need trusted sources for that. However, there aren’t enough healthcare providers who are available to give the right guidance. Add to that the stigma attached to even asking questions about one’s physical body and you’ve got a confused girl probably going to the wrong resources for information. Dr. Divakar wanted to change this. In order to foster adequate adolescent care, she launched Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer – ARTIST. Through ARTIST, Dr. Divakar has been training all the frontline healthcare providers to provide well-researched and medically correct information. Under this program, O&G specialists are trained and upskilled through short and smart modules. Also, the postgraduates, medical officers, staff nurses, health counsellors, health educators, and general womenfolk of all ages and given trainings and knowledge-based seminars to make them more aware. It imparts skill transfer trainings throughout the country in various phases. Dr. Divakar has brought together a solid team of expert healthcare professionals, leaders of professional organisations, key opinion makers, researchers, and academicians, leading clinicians in practice – a mix of the best resources under one umbrella to design and impart these trainings. It is a one-of-a-kind program that is helping adolescent girls all across the country.

There is also an institute namely ARTIST Skill Gurukul in Bangalore that aims to improve the capabilities and competencies of Obstetrics & Gynaecologists and healthcare providers in India. Under Dr. Divakar’s guidance the specialists at ARTIST have extensively surveyed the Knowledge, Attitudes & Practices (KAPs) amongst the ObGyns across India, and have been able to gather startling facts and identify the gaps in KAPs. They use this well-versed knowledge to design trainings, programs and modules that imparts education wherever there is a gap. Trainers at ARTIST ensure that the training is not just about the certificates but it is about the competency. One can be ensured that a certified professional from ARTIST is competent in that particular skill before the end of the course because the training and retraining and the role-plays and the mock drills and rehearsals and everything that involves in order to make sure that the skill is adequately and completely transferred without compromising the quality of the training. The spectrum of training encompasses basic ObGyn skills to recent advances inclusive of endoscopy, ultrasound, and infertility with a foundation of evidence-based protocols.

ARTIST also gives out emergency care and medical aid to women during childbirth. In association with Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), ARTIST has been working to implement ‘Manyata,’ an initiative that brings together local health practitioners to improve their ability to deliver better, respectful, and quality care services to pregnant mothers during and after childbirth. From the first stage of enrolling manpower to conducting skill transfer (onsite and digital) to getting caregivers up to speed to apply for certifications provided by FOGSI, ARTIST handles everything. It is an ambitious project that has already certified over 800 centers for following clinical protocol and having skilled staff and others.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Visionary and professional par excellence, Dr. Divakar has been awarded time and again for her unparallel work. In 2015, she was awarded FIGO Women Achievers Award 2015 in recognition of her international and domestic contribution to promoting the development of science and scientific research in the fields of gynaecology and obstetrics. She has also been awarded the very prestigious ‘Life Time Achievement’ Award from the Governing Council of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group India (DIPSI).

She is also the recipient of Global Award for Music Therapy by Medscape India award for her outstanding service to women’s health. She was conferred the social entrepreneurship award by USAIDS and MSD for Mothers. However, her work is way beyond her awards and recognition. She has held a number of senior and esteemed positions at multiple institutions and medical centers and has been the guiding light to teach the best practices in healthcare.

She has played a lead role in conducting outreach services including anaemia detection and treatment, deworming, menstrual hygiene, health awareness camps for 50,000 girls every year for the last 10 years. Apart from this, she has also been instrumental in extending community services to Primary Health Care Centers in collaboration with State Government and Karuna Trust to provide healthcare facilities in rural India.

Dr. G. V. Divakar

A CHAMPION OF HEALTHCARE

Dr. Divakar has more than 3 decades of experience in the field of healthcare and is a renowned ophthalmologist with expertise in general ophthalmology, retina treatments, cornea and diabetic eye check as well as glaucoma treatment. He has previously worked at major hospitals such as Vasan Eye Care Hospital and provides his services as consultant ophthalmologist to Dr. Malathi Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru. He is currently the Managing Director of Divakar Specialty Hospital, Bengaluru and his keen dedication to the institution since its inception in 1990 has led to it becoming a premier centre for excellence in women’s healthcare. His immense knowledge in the field of clinical trials, strategy and planning, medical education and research as well as surgery have greatly contributed to the success of Divakar Specialty Hospital.

He has ensured that the centre provides customized treatments suited to the healthcare needs of all its women patients with unwavering focus on service quality. He is dedicated to alerting and educating women about health, as well as guide and support them through the treatment process.

Today, the hospital is one of the leading providers of treatments for health issues such as diabetes in pregnancy, fetal abnormalities, fibroid in pregnancy and multiple/IVF pregnancy care.

DEDICATED TO QUALITY SERVICE

Dr. G.V.Divakar is a best Ophthalmologist in Jp Nagar, Bangalore. He has over 37 years of experience as Ophthalmologist. He has done DOMS, MBBS, MD – Ophthalmology. He is a member of Bangalore Ophthalmic Society, Indian Medical Association (IMA), Karnataka Ophthalmic Society, A.I.O.S, F.O.R.C.E. Dr. G. V. Divakar currently practicing at Divakars Speciality Hospital in JP Nagar, Bangalore.

Doctor best way communicates in English, Hindi and kannada with their patients. Dr. G. V. Divakar offers a number of medical services including Eye Muscle Surgery, Cataract Surgery, Eye Checkup – General, Corneal Ulcer Treatment, Diabetic Eye Checkup and many more.

For Dr. G.V. Divakar, providing a quality service has always been a top-most priority. For Dr. G.V. Divakar, providing a quality service has always been a top-most priority. As far as the standards are concerned, the hospital, under the supervision of the leader, regularly updates to meet the new challenges of the healthcare sector. The standards offered by the speciality hospital are not confined to the services or pattern of serving patients but also cover the efficient tools and equipment used from diagnoses to treatments.

Other than in Ophthalmic practice, he is Managing Director of ARTIST(Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer), a Prime training and research center in Bangalore, Dr G V Divakar is Managing Trustee of Divakars Service Trust, the service wing of Divakars Speciality Hospital where in number of Free Health care activities are done in rural areas in and around Bangalore. He is Secretary of PHANA,(Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association) in Bangalore, which has a membership of more than 500 private hospitals in Bangalore. Recently he has done YIC(Yoga Instructors course) and conducting online Yoga training classes, which is good for overall health and wellness of all in the society.

Dr. Divakar’s focus on ensuring quality service and the wellbeing of his patients has enabled Divakar Specialty Hospital to emerge as the first private hospital in the state of Karnataka to receive ISO certification in the year 1998, only 8 years after its inception.

Dr. Vishwajeet Rana

Dr. Rana hails from the village of Seohara in Uttar Pradesh, India. He went to the US to acquire an MBA at Ohio University before completing his MS and a PhD at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, USA. The well-versed leader is a seasoned investment banker. He began his investment banking career in investment portfolio management at UBS Investment Banking in New York. Furthermore, while working at HSBC’s New York office, he completed a series of complicated cross border equity/debt structured investments and financing transactions in Canada, the UK, Australia, South Africa, and Hong Kong. Following a career in finance, as an Assistant Vice President at HSBC in New York, he moved to London in April 2009 to launch his career as a social entrepreneur.

Right from his childhood, Dr. Rana had an innate passion for the transformative power of education. This fascination led him to seek ways to have a tangible impact on the marginalised communities. In 2008, he decided to get actively involved in the educational field to materialize his noble ambition of making education accessible to all. To that end, he formed the Lokmani Education Trust, an active nonprofit organisation that operates two higher education institutes in India, with a focus on teaching females from the poorest and most traditionally conservative districts.

AN ANALYTICAL BENT OF MIND

Dr. Rana’s passion lies in analysing various global education models and implementing them to help students realise their full potential via higher education. Following the early visible signs of success, he saw an opportunity to provide higher education access, along the same lines, in the United Kingdom, which led him to establish and lead the Global Education Group, which is situated in the United Kingdom. Despite the differences in context, he saw clear parallels to the work he had rolled out in India. There were deprived and marginalized communities largely supported by educational institutions and consequently held back by the system. GEDU is founded by Dr. Rana and has revenue of GBP 100 million. A portfolio of its offerings include the Global Banking School, the largest non-degree awarding higher education institution listed with the Office for Students (OFS) registered in the United Kingdom, Campuses in India (Lokmani.com), Dubai (gbs.ac.ae), and Malta (gbsplus.com). Englishpath.com is another venture by GEDU in the area of apprenticeship and language schools. Since the global environment is disrupting all aspects of our lives and businesses, Dr. Rana believes social and environmental sustainability must be weighed in planning the future of today’s ambitious youth.

PROVIDING ACCESS TO GLOBAL EDUCATION

Recognising the huge social benefit derived from educating people from deprived communities, Dr. Rana began to identify areas of deprivation to create educational opportunities for individuals to pursue courses in healthcare and business– the two areas in which he excels. Consequently, he launched the Global Banking School (GBS), which has carved a niche for itself as one of the fastest growing education providers in the UK. As the Group CEO and Chair of the Executive Board, the leader has been successfully leading the institution to achieve new heights of success. With GBS, he aims to create the next generation of pioneers and trailblazers in the industry.

GBS currently has 8 campuses across the UK – from Leeds to London, with the best faculty members to educate its students. Among all the attributes of GBS, its student centered approach deserves special mention. With over 5000 new undergraduates enrolling in 2021 alone, the school is set to witness an exponential growth. Furthermore, many of those students were attracted by recommendations and reputation, with the National Student Survey awarding GBS an astounding 93% for overall satisfaction in 2021 – an outstanding achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic. What’s more, considering UAE’s potential as an international educational hub in the making, Dr. Rana launched a fully-equipped GBS campus in Dubai’s Knowledge Park in 2021. It offers myriad industry-relevant courses, such as Higher Diplomas in Business Management, Digital Technology, Construction Management, and much more, to make the learners job-ready besides helping them achieve their career goals. In addition to its initial focus on finance and business, the school has diversified to offer healthcare training, which has been recognised as an asset that positively impacts local communities in a significant way. Dr. Rana’s goal is to contribute to the school’s growth and development by offering world class educational opportunities to more students from communities typically under represented in higher education. There are over 90% of students from BAME communities at this institution, a demographic which is almost unique in this sector and which is targeted not by quotas but by focusing on those who have not yet had the opportunity or background to pursue higher studies in the past. Furthermore, GBS has established a network of innovative partnerships with several UK-based universities to provide students with even greater opportunities to thrive and diversify their skills.

COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT

Keenly interested in charitable activities, he plays a proactive role in supporting literacy, numeracy, and project management in Commonwealth countries. Through his work, he has been able to provide access to higher education to over 20,000 students across the country and now globally. The benevolent leader has particularly been struck by the fact that the benefits of educational aid extend way beyond the students, through their immediate families as well as communities and ultimately to the country as a whole. Anyone who has benefited from GBS’ services can offer their skills and knowledge in a diverse range of ways, such as improving the collective capacities and expectations of the marginalised communities.

Razat Gaurav

Born and raised in northern India, Razat is a global citizen that has lived in London, Toronto, and Chicago, before most recently settling in Austin, Texas in 2021.He first came to the United States to further his education, pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago.

He began his career as a management consultant after college and since then has served in executive leadership positions at several organisations, including Blue Yonder, i2 Technologies, and Ernst & Young’s management consulting practice. Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors of Sparta Systems and Llamasoft. During his tenure as the CEO of Llamasoft, Razat was instrumental in developing AI-based supply chain design and decision making products, a strategy that resulted in doubling the company’s revenue in 3 years and a successful $1.5 billion acquisition by Coupa in 2020.

In his current capacity as the CEO of Planview, Razat is helping companies transform and adapt in an increasingly complex business environment that requires a renewed focus on how to prioritize and operationalize critical initiatives across the business.

A PURPOSE-DRIVEN LEADER

Among Razat’s fundamental life quotes, is from Dr. Martin Luther King: “If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” These are powerful words that have motivated him to consistently learn and adapt regardless of the circumstances, while also encouraging him to be passionate, proactive, and tenacious both in his professional and personal life. Throughout the course of his career in enterprise software, Razat has worked with and led diverse teams focused on solving customer pain points and creating more value for customers by leveraging leading technologies. These experiences have provided him with a holistic understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by executives undergoing digital transformation, along with the need to connect strategy with delivery – especially in times of great change. Major macro shifts – from digital transformation, to changing ways of working, to faster innovation cycles creating fierce competitive pressure – have highlighted the need for businesses to operate more dynamically and with greater agility than ever before. At the same time, businesses must ensure that their teams are working on the most important work for the business, aligned with company strategy. It calls for a carefully constructed strategy and a thoughtful approach to connecting work across the business.

According to Razat, “The strength of an enterprise depends on the connections between its component parts – between teams and ideas, ideas and impact, and opportunities and value.” He continues, “Removing functional, hierarchical, physical and even communication silos that block or hinder an organisation’s ability to connect its strategy to the work being delivered will be the key to navigating an increasingly changing market. Organisations that fail to do so will face significant business challenges in the near future.”

EMPOWERING TEAMS IN UNIQUE WAYS

According to Razat, organisations must create a business environment in which all employees are empowered to deliver their best work and can see how their day-today-jobs are influencing the strategic direction of the company and customer outcomes. In his opinion, this emerging future has the potential to give everyone a license to innovate and democratize data-driven decision-making in the enterprise. Simultaneously, he stresses the importance of transparency in leaders, which allows knowledge to cascade and empowers teams to make local decisions more rapidly. The highly proficient leader believes that the most influential factor in the job labor market in the recent years has been the speed at which changes have occurred. Owing to the severe shortage of talent, especially in the technology field, companies need to keep attracting, developing, and retaining their workforce. In addition, generational changes have had a profound influence on the workforce according to him.

EMPHASIZES FUTURE-DRIVEN WORK CULTURE

Razat sees the future of connected work as one centered around empowering employees to deliver their best work, no matter how they work, aligned with company strategy and in service of the organization’s most important priorities and initiatives. He also believes that creating transparency in an organization and visibility into work being done will go a long way in shaping the future of connected work, as companies can become more nimble and improve the ability to shift resources when and where they are needed to boost output. To be competitive in today’s environment, companies must create faster planning cycles. Companies must plan and replan more frequently, with more focus on bi-directional feedback between the teams doing the work and those setting company strategy. To make better strategic decisions for the company, executives need information from teams closest to the work those teams are ultimately closest to customer needs. He asserts that at the same time, leaders must be transparent in their mission and vision for the organization, cascading information to empower teams to make local decisions more rapidly. He suggests that this real-time data will enable faster planning cycles so companies can adapt to changes quickly.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS

In 2020, Razat was recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs. The goal-driven leader is regularly quoted in esteemed publications, such as The New York Times, Forbes and The Hill, among other top media. Razat is also involved in philanthropic and policy projects linked to medical research, STEM education for minorities, and carbon reduction measures.

Mandhira Kapur

With extensive experience in formulating marketing and branding strategies for numerous national and global brands, Mandhira has been efficiently spearheading SMPL as Chairman & Managing Director since 2020. The company, located in Gurugram (Haryana), is one of the leading automobile spare parts manufacturers in India. Her adept leadership has spurred 100% growth for SMPL, which is indeed a remarkable achievement. She is currently driving the organization’s transformational initiatives to make the brand shine bright in the aftermarket segment by creating unparalleled value for the consumers.

Mandhira is known for her dynamic skills and charismatic persona. Despite the fact that the Indian automotive market suffered a severe blow due to the onset of the pandemic in 2020, she never lost hope and stayed strong. When even the most powerful leaders in the country struggled to deal with the ongoing pandemic, she was able to guide SMPL to expand beyond its current geographic scope and cater to a broader audience during lockdown 2.0.

ENCOURAGING TEAM SPIRIT

As a leader, Mandhira exemplifies incredible team spirit. Growth in SMPL was stagnant when she took reins of the company. To combat this situation, the determined leader rallied her enthusiastic team and got SMPL back on track, eventually achieving the highest sales figure in the company. Additionally, during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, her primary concern was her team’s well being. In addition to implementing standard operating procedures to secure employee safety, she ensured that employees attending duty adhered to all safety protocols, social distancing norms, and hygiene requirements. Additionally, vaccination campaigns were also implemented under her direction by collaborating with local health authorities.

Mandhira believes that people, processes, and values are the foundation of a firm’s success. She believes that, in order for any organization to succeed, all employees must feel empowered and motivated to assume ownership of the tasks assigned to them. SMPL has open door policy where every employee is free to provide their inputs. The company treats them equally and considers them as a family, “Sona Parivaar.” She regularly engages with her employees and guides them. They also put their trust in her leadership and direction. Such a positive culture fosters organizational success, making employees feel valued.

HER ROLE MODEL

Mandhira credits much of her fast-rising success to her father, the Late Dr. Surinder Kapur, who instilled in her the spirit of integrity, commitment, and hard work in life. He propounded that success is not a coincidence, but the result of striving and hard work. He believed that success only favors those who are true to their dreams. As a daughter, Mandhira seeks to uphold her father’s glorious legacy by following his priceless ideologies.

A COMPASSIONATE & THOUGHTFUL LEADER

Mandhira is driven by compassion and empathy towards society. As an avid child rights advocate, she has pledged to support the education of children in every corner of India. The leader acknowledges that a growing consciousness toward zero-waste sustainable living has been sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic. She believes that India is well-positioned to invest in zero-emission modes of commute and lead the way in green mobility sector. Under her exemplary leadership, SMPL will soon embark on an electric vehicle venture, thereby promoting the Make in India concept in the automotive aftermarket sector.

Ajayya Kumar

A storehouse of talent, Ajayya is known to many as a virtuoso because of his extraordinary abilities. The professional journey of this versatile leader began with technology giant ABB as a Management Accountant in 1994. Since then, he has worked with some of the leading names in the GCC region, such as Federal Foods. He made his way up the ladder of success by sheer willpower and hard work. In 2004, Ajayya joined Emircom as its Chief Financial Officer and led the company to become a market leader in ICT services in the Middle East. Over the past two decades, he has assisted Emircom in laying a sound, solid financial foundation. The visionary leader has played a crucial role in every step of Emircom’s growth and has given insightful advice to every strategic decision to take the company to new heights of success.

EMPHASIZES TEAM SPIRIT

Ajayya is an exceptional team player, an astute tactician and someone who is flexible and willing to dive right into the job at hand. To defend Emircom’s interests, he has worked tirelessly to create assets, reduce bad debts, and establish a bulwark of solid financial practices. Consequently, he has become a key figure in Emircom’s corporate affairs. However, he had to overcome unique challenges in steering his company to success. It was only by adopting a forward-looking, objective approach, making the right investments, and taking calculated risks that he was able to get the company through tough times.

MENTORING FUTURE LEADERS

Ajayya has been involved with mentoring two prominent and rapidly growing start-up companies in education and IoT segment. As a mentor, he teaches his protégés to have a positive entrepreneurial attitude and be dedicated to their cause, and not give up regardless of obstacles. Additionally, several startup leaders have been trained by him to develop both practical and financial wisdom. These concepts are the core of his recent book, Formula G – How to Scale your Startup or Company into a Growth Machine, which he has co-authored with peers in the industry. The modest leader is committed to the advancement of innovation in management and education, for grooming the next generation of students and entrepreneurs.

A CULTURE ENTHUSIAST

Despite relocating to the Middle East’s Abu Dhabi, Ajayya is more connected to his traditional roots. After moving to Abu Dhabi, Ajayya made a promise to himself that he would do everything possible to stay connected to his culture. Born and raised in Kerala, he spent his childhood watching performances and spent time backstage with Kathakali artists, and that’s what keeps him close to his culture. He has been instrumental in coordinating many major events in Kathakali as well as other art forms across India and abroad.

As a cultural activist, Ajayya is associated with a number of organizations that promote Indian art and culture. Since he holds a special affinity for Indian culture and arts, he also serves as the Founder and Chief Curator of Sarvamangala Arts Initiatives. Sarvamangala Trust is a non-profit cultural foundation contributing to the fields of culture, art, and cinema through curated events, fundraisers, film production, and services to the creative community. The organisation registered in Thrissur, India is affiliated with the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy and has a presence in the UAE as well. To date, Sarvamangala Arts Initiatives has organized a dozen events at prominent temples and art centres in across India as CSR activities through Sarvamangala Trust. Its project, Temple Series – Stories of temples and their arts, was dedicated to classical arts that emerged around temples.

Additionally, his venture, Sarvamangala Productions, makes conscious interventions in the field of OTT and films, which reflects his artisanal streak in a significant way. The company has produced more than 10 short films, among which Burning and Dammy have been featured and recognized at many international film festivals, such as Indian Panorama, Madrid International Film Festival 2019, South Asian Film Festival of America 2019, and San Diego International Film Festival. The short film ‘Burning’ has so far been screened at 40 film festivals across the globe. Eventually, the Production House plans to start producing full-length features.

A WELL-ROUNDED LEADER

Ajayya has drawn inspiration from several books written by Jim Collins, including Built to Last, Good to Great, and Great by Choice; The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma, as well as concepts such as Grid Theory. Gabriel Marquez is his favourite legendary writer, who he admires the most. His favourite reads are Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru and Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

Taking inspiration from such legends, Ajayya himself has co-authored four books — out of which two are about management, one is about parenting aspects, and the other is a work of fiction. His other interests include travelling and he has visited most of the countries in the world.

GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY

Ajayya strives to make a positive contribution to society through CSR activities. Under his leadership, he partnered with a multinational computer technology company to provide laptops and computers to students in the UAE and India at much-subsidized rates during the pandemic.

Families with multiple children taking online classes at the same time were relieved by the efforts. In addition, he has provided direct financial assistance to more than 1,000 artists through his Sarvamangala Arts Initiative. His dream project is to mentor 1000 startups within the art domain in the next five years, which will include dance, playwriting, and other forms of entertainment.

Asheet Taneja

COMPREHENSIVE PRODUCT RANGE

Asheet’s complete bouquet of passive fire protection offers wooden fire doors, steel fire doors, glazed fire doors, bullet and blast proof doors, lead line doors, hi-technology doors for hospitals, fire curtains and many more products to ensure safety.

THE STEPPING STONE

The company was established by Asheet’s father after he retired from the defense forces in 1982. Eighteen years down the line, Asheet lost his father and entered the business in 2000 when he was only 16. At that point, there was no professional guidance to help him move forward with the company. While overcoming such a phase was not easy, he believes time and experience teach you that no matter what happens, life goes on.

EXPANSION AND PROGRESS

With Asheet’s strategic moves and sincere leadership skills, Navair International has expanded to 17 offices and 4 factories sprawling over 9000 Sq mtrs of production facility, exporting products to 14 countries, with staff strength of about 400. Striving to meet market requirements and upgrading, testing and developing products according to the latest international standards at the best and leading labs in the world help the company grow. Information events are conducted to educate the community, and community stakeholders like architects, consultants and government officials to make the Indian Standard Codes at par with the global standards. Asheet, with such a strong vision and planning, is expecting to achieve higher revenue and make the company completely self sustainable (one of the goals for 2025) along with expanding its global footprints to 75 countries.

COMING BACK STRONGER

Despite where the company stands today, its path to glory was not a bed of roses. The company encountered instabilities quite a few times, and was at its lowest during 2002-03. But with strong will, strategic planning, and bold decisions, Asheet and his team turned the fortune of the company.

A true leader, Asheet vouches for the significance of the great core team within the firm. He proudly acknowledges that the innovative approach and consistent efforts of teams working collaboratively are leading the company forward. As the firm completes 40 glorious years, it is considered to be a leading passive fire protection company in India and one of the top 3 in the Asian market.

FOOTPRINTS OF RECOGNITION

Asheet feels ecstatic about all the recognition and appreciation the company receives. It has been a great factor of motivation for the entire team. The firm has been awarded by many prestigious organisations. Having been felicitated by the Indian Government, with their first National Award, was really a moment of pride for the entire team of Navair International. Asheet attributes receiving the first international award celebrating his leadership skills to his team members. He considers this award to be a testimony to their consistent diligence and the consequent growth. He feels elated for this prestigious recognition on the global stage, which is counted to be the first international award received. He firmly believes the award to be of the team’s and it serves to be a privilege for him to acknowledge their consistent effort and perseverance, which are the building blocks of the company.

Navair International is among the handful of ventures across the globe offering such a wide range of fire safety solutions under the same roof. He strives to go miles down the road while consolidating and strengthening the company’s position globally.

Shrinivas Chebbi

With a professional graph spanning more than 25 years, Shrinivas has been central to robust businesses across industries and countries. Reimagining possibilities and recalibrating new horizons, he has led diverse teams in different functions. Be it process automation in the late 90s of India or advanced process controls in the Gulf in 2000s, he has headed projects that would set international megatrends later. He points out, “there have been some really tough decisions to navigate and moments of truth. It is not always a success. Many a time, the urge to implement learnings of your failure keeps you going.”

An electrical engineering graduate from Karnataka University in India, Shrinivas began his professional journey at Bell Electronics as a customer support executive. “Customer service role is where you learn industry context. A leader’s overall vision or any strategic move has to translate into a happy customer”, Shrinivas remarks. Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was his forte for years. “I got to lead projects that are now iconic and infrastructure-wise inspirational. There is nothing more satisfying than to see a new value being created.” Shrinivas beams. He later moved to South Asia operations leading key acquisitions, integrations, and new business models. “My focus has been aligning opportunities with collective strength. Paths kept changing but my guiding principle has been a constant,” he says. An honorary member of several strategic bodies and a guest speaker at the top business management institute of India, his hands are full.

Shrinivas started his global career looking forward to experiences and exposure — to cultures, to practices, to people. Progressing into a role that coalesces social purpose and business value, he signed up for Himel. “In my role with Himel, I get to serve the world markets for a business with a vision to make safe electricity accessible to 4 billion people — playing a part that makes a real-life difference. Coming from Asia, I have been part of the evolution and appreciate how every consumer in emerging economies deserves a great quality product within the budget! Indeed, there is fortune on the other half of the pyramid,” Shrinivas makes a point. Himel is a multinational manufacturer and provider of electrical products. Founded by a Spanish entrepreneur in 1958, the company pioneered in exporting quality electrical enclosures, establishing its brand globally. The brand stands for the best combination of affordable and reliable offers for Low Voltage Power Distribution, Final Distribution, Power Management, Motor Control and Protection, Industrial Components, and Home Electric to customers in over 50 countries.

FOSTERING GROUND-UP SUCCESS THROUGH TEAM EXCELLENCE

Under Shrinivas’ leadership, Himel has grown to be a purpose-led business in its segment. Leveraging on-ground distributor network, streamlined supply chain and agile regional teams — he has steered Himel ahead, including two tough years of the pandemic. “The journey hasn’t been simple”, Shrinivas explains, “Emerging economies are fast evolving and have very deserving markets that are sensitive about the value of their investments. These markets are quick to welcome global brands but also want reliable quality, best-in-class service, and local accessibility — all fitting into their budgets.” Shrinivas has relentlessly focused on crafting Himel’s brand niche for emerging markets with continuous customer education, market communication, and engaging extensively with the channel ecosystem — a feat that has made Himel a synonym of quality, value, and reliability. “The brand has been built, sustained, and grown by teams that deny the premise of compromise due to lower cost. We are not just another economic brand, our goal is to extend the benefits of Value Engineering for All,” Shrinivas underscores that Himel is looking beyond the profit axis.

BUILDING A PEOPLE’S BRAND

For any forward-looking economy, ease of access to safer electricity is the foremost enabler. “Himel is a people’s brand. It has a legacy of 60+ years that has held its place in people’s homes and businesses. I always see Himel as a bridge to high quality and affordability. We make sure that these two virtues are not exclusive, rather integrated into every aspect of our every product,” Shrinivas remarks. Under his leadership, Himel has become a front-runner in eCommerce, products being sold through Amazon UAE, Shopee, Jumia, and Lazada. With 6500+ resellers and 100+ distributors — Himel has been instrumental in several key projects across residential, industrial, commercial and utilities sectors.

ENABLING LOCAL SUCCESS THROUGH GLOBAL PRODUCTS

“Social housing, manufacturing, small-medium businesses, and agriculture are close to my heart. They are the engines for economic growth and better livelihoods. COVID pandemic has been a major setback and we want Himel products to become a catalyst in spurring growth and jobs. With value-engineered products, we are amplifying the access,” Shrinivas makes a point. He explains, “My job is to ensure a healthy distribution ecosystem so that we can tap markets where we are required. If a business or a school has profitable and safer operations due to Himel products, my task here is done right”.

TRANSLATING VISION INTO REALITY

Shrinivas’ goal is to make Himel the brand of choice of the masses to build safer homes, safer industrial facilities, & safer community infrastructure thus reducing the impact on assets and life due to the poor quality. “We will continue building upon Himel’s vision of affordability, accessibility, & value engineering. We want to create a robust ecosystem where for each person — be it a customer or retailer, Himel should bring success in their lives and businesses,” he says. “Expanding our channel network, building strategic partnerships with local players serving value markets, further building the brand, and creating a world-class dream team that realizes our vision on the ground — my to-do list is long”, he smiles.

Nikhil Jayaraj

Jayaraj’s commitment to providing an alternate energy source that is clean, green and sustainable has resulted in Regen experiencing 300% growth in just 3 years. Under his expert guidance, Regen Power was ranked 55th fastest growing company in Australia by the Financial Review in 2020. The company has also succeeded in making it to the Financial Times’ list of top 500 high-growth companies in Asia-Pacific 3 times in a row in 2020, 2021 & 2022.

His strong leadership and motivation have led the company carve a spot for itself as a household name in Western Australia, and an upcoming brand in the eastern states, owing to the business expansion to New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland. His rich experience in the renewable energy sector, customer-first approach and excellent customer service procedures have led Regen Power to win Product Review awards in 2020 and 2021.

AN OUTSTANDING PROFESSIONAL

Jayaraj has a double master’s degree in engineering management and information and communication technology with a major in e-business from the University of Wollongong. He is an accomplished professional with demonstrable skills in sales management, negotiation, operations management, engineering, business strategy and contracts negotiation. He has played an instrumental role in commercialising solar power systems in the Australian and overseas renewable energy sector. Despite lockdown restrictions, he ensured a record number of installations in 2021. Jayaraj is currently pursuing Doctorate in Business Administration at Curtin University. His thesis titled “Solar PV adoption in Australia and policy effectiveness” is an empirical study on adoption of solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage systems in the residential sector and the effectiveness of government policy as an enabler. His research will help the stakeholders in renewable energy understand end user needs and amend current policies accordingly. His research will further aid developing markets effectively plan implementation of solar powered systems.

COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENT

With Jayaraj at the helm of affairs, the company has completed some remarkable projects like the designing and commissioning of a 500KW floating power plant in India and administering a unique USD$50M 50-megawatt ground mounted solar farm project in central Vietnam. His motivation and hard work have earned Regent Power more than 35,000 clients, unique projects, and exclusive agreements with Tesla and Huawei. His innate sense of responsibility and belief in giving back to the community is evident through his noble gesture of nominally priced or free of cost solar power installations for local organisations such as churches, temples, medical centres, clinics, and community centres. The core concepts of energy conservation and sustainable environment have been the guiding force for him and led to Regen Power installing 35,000 solar systems summing up to 100,000KW or 100MW solar capacity. They produce 480,000 units per day and 175 million units in a year. These contributions helped reduce power plant emissions and achieve significant environmental benefits for Australia and the global community. Additionally, the company has contributed the energy equivalent of planting 30,000 trees, saved 500 million litres of fossil fuels, and helped avoid 600 million kg of coal usage.

Harsha Solanki

Ms. Solanki is an alumna of the coveted Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Pune, where she pursued PGDM in Telecommunications and IT management. She received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Fergusson College, which is known for producing renowned leaders of the country across sectors. The brilliant leader uses her expertise in both computer science and leadership to bring positive changes to the field of Application to Person (A2P) messaging space.

CONQUERING THE BUSINESS WORLD – ONE STEP AT A TIME

Ms. Solanki is a go-getter who knows how to pace her progress smartly to keep going without getting burnt out. She started her career as a marketing and sales manager in 2005 at a company named Starcorp, and has come a long way since then. After her first job, within only one year, Ms. Solanki had joined Smart Wireless Private Limited in 2006 as a Senior Manager of Marketing and Sales. Her final venture before Infobip was being the Country Head at Bsmart Tech. Right from the beginning of her journey, Ms. Solanki had slowly started working her way to the top.

BALANCING WORK AND HOME

Throughout her career, Ms. Solanki has proven herself to be an extremely capable individual. At Infobip, she has helped quadruple the turnover of the company in only four years. She is an assertive leader who leads with a vision. Her goal is to build Infobip as an engineering giant with the CPaaS infrastructure as its defining feature and an ever-evolving perspective. Right now, she is navigating the ins and outs of strengthening the core leadership at Infobip by channelizing the demand of the ‘New Normal’ into innovative services and solutions that can help enterprises and individuals communicate better. She, alongside her team, is working on developing innovative services and solutions that can help enterprises and individuals communicate better in these post-Covid times.

Under her administration, the telecommunications giant has launched three trailblazing SaaS products last year. These have the widest range of programmable channels including the omnichannel contact center solution ‘Conversations,’ customer engagement solution ‘Moments,’ and bot-building module ‘Answers.’ Despite her mega success, stellar results, and technical expertise, she understands the value of work-life balance and self-care. Especially after the pandemic, she has become an avid practitioner of yoga, meditation, and other heart-healthy practices like being a proud dog parent. She believes that the best way to good mental health and happiness is to spend time with your loved ones.

THE WAY TO THE FUTURE

Ms. Solanki believes that the future of business communication is digital-first and empathy-led, and that companies will need to adopt a more holistic strategy in the post-pandemic period to create instant, personalised, and positive customer experiences. The company has been inventing at the cutting edge of technological possibilities under her guidance and is currently defining the global communications of the future. She is mentoring and leading the team by promoting trust, teamwork, and transparency, as well as fostering a collaborative work environment, all while employing an empathetic leadership approach.

The organisation is poised to achieve new and unimaginable heights thanks to her astute mind and ethical leadership values.