Category: Leaders

GOING INTERNATIONAL

Joining the establishment in 2015 as a Deputy Managing Director, Minhaj has, in a very short span of time, taken the brand to an international level through his efforts towards prioritizing customers.

He has always brought about innovation in the food, while also maintaining their standards to provide consumers the best of processed food. In addition to this, his efforts in keeping upto-date with the technological and culinary advancements in food has led him to conduct several trainings on food processing and safety. This has guaranteed international quality standards in food in a country which has urgent requirement for it.

Ahmed Food is customer feedback driven, and this environment in the company has been brought about by him, with his knowledge of the food industry and consumer market.

His education in business management coupled with him being brought up in a food production household, started by his father, has benefitted his consumers as much as his company.

AN OVER ACHIEVER IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY

Through his years of effort, Minhaj’s accolades include The BIZZ award for excellence in quality management from the World Confederation of Business, Texas, USA, and being a member of the Standing Committee of Food and Vegetables of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), and also being a founder member of Bangladesh Agro-Processors’ Association (BAPA), being the Chairman of SUB Committee, Food Safety and Factory Development, and member of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

So, whenever you eat anything labelled Ahmed Food, be rest assured of the quality and taste. You’re being served the best created with love and warmth.

Rajesh Kewat, the MD of FastInfo Legal Services Pvt Ltd, owns a movie-like story; a man who lost everything for his love & attained great success within just 500 days with his innovative business. A man of dreams and conviction, he shows in action how to never stop dreaming

TURNING PAIN INTO FUEL FOR SUCCESS

Rajesh is a small-town entrepreneur, who just three years back had seen the whole of his life, crippling in front of his eyes as he fought with the world for his love. He lost his job, assets, and all his money to save his love and the phase was obviously very painful for him. This unknown storm had left him with no belongings but he was not yet completely broken. He carried in him a stunning spirit to fight back, get up, and create a beautiful future for himself.

From there on, he started building his own ladder to success without any financial support & only with blessing of those special people who blessed him in that tough time. He turned his venture FastInfo Legal Services Pvt Ltd into a profit-churning enterprise in no time and today boasts of a wide clientele and hundreds of positive testimonials.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Rajesh was born in Dinhata in 1985, in a lower-middle-class family. His father was an Assistant Manager at a petrol pump back then. His schooling was at Stationpara Saranarthi High School and then he pursued his Bachelor of Computer Applications from IGNOU followed by his Master of Computer Application from Punjab Technical University.

Being entrepreneurial in nature with a vision to support the greater good of society, he started working as an RTI activist while still studying, helping to educate people and supporting them in crucial matters.

His professional career began with a job at Lalani Computer Academy where he worked as a marketing executive for a humble pay of Rs. 2000 per month. For the next twelve years, he worked across a number of small firms, including Brainware Computer Academy, FirstSource Solution Limited, and took on the role of a teacher at Brahmani Chowki High School. Then he joined Educomp Solution Limited, Pearson India Education Services Pvt Ltd followed by Oxford as a Consultant.

SERVING THE SOCIETY

Even while he was making his professional career, the idea of serving society never left him. His decade-long experience as an RTI activist prompted him to do something bigger to help the people. So, he came up with an online platform under the head of True Consultant to file RTI applications, which is open to everyone who wants to exercise their right by filing their RTI application at a very nominal charge.

While implementing these businesses, he came up with a new innovative online platform for the education sector named FastInfo Class.

This focused on Distance Education and online tutorial for the preparation of competitive exams as there were lagging with systematic tutorial classes and study centre through www.fastinfoclass.com.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Born to Late Shri Ch. Mallikarjuna Rao and Smt. Ch. Swarna Kumari in Vijayawada, Dr. Prasad came from a humble agricultural background. He completed his graduation in Civil Engineering from K. L. College of Engineering in Vijayawada. It was in the year 1990-91 that a ‘casual’ visit to Hubballi with a friend triggered Dr. Prasad to set up a highly successful business entrepreneurship, and he has not looked back since then. With remarkable knowledge, sincere efforts and dedication he began his journey with contracts from the Railways that yielded him an income of 5 lakh rupees in the first year.

Today, under the adept guidance of Dr. Prasad, Swarna Group of Companies has achieved phenomenal prosperity. With the company’s expansion one sector another such as the real estate to hotels, from advertising to stone-crushing industries; it has all covered under its wings and marveled in every arena.

OUTSTANDING STATURE AND PROMINENCE

With his immense success in all the verticals, Dr. Prasad has been honored with Doctorate in Construction Industries by the Senate and the Board of Directors of the University of Medicina Alternativa affiliated to The Open International University for Complimentary Medicines, Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has also been conferred with the ‘Vanijya Ratna’ in 2012-2013 from Karnataka Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

To add to his accolades he has also been awarded the ‘Times Achievers Award’, presented to him by Shri Parameshwarappa, for his immense contribution in the Construction Industry. His stupendous support for philanthropy earned him the prestigious Kamma Legend Award 2019. Dr. Prasad is also the recipient of the ‘Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2019’ by TIE Chapter awarded by Swamy Ram Dev Baba and Shri Mohandas Pai.

A DESIRE TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY

Born into a family of doctors, Dr. Hariprasad was inspired by medicine at a young age. A service-minded individual, he then chose to take up medicine as a profession as it would allow him to help people. After his graduation, he had relentlessly looked for a branch of medicine to specialize in. As a student, he was inclined towards specialties like orthopedics & cardiac surgery. However, as someone who could not restrict himself to just a single specialization, he opted for anesthesiology that would give him a bigger scope to serve people.

A PASSION FOR EMERGENCY MEDICINE

After working with his father’s hospital for four years, during which Dr. Hariprasad gained a wealth of experience, he decided it was time to explore other opportunities & as he was always fascinated with emergency medicine, he joined the Apollo Group. He has been instrumental in leading the first-ever dedicated Accident & Emergency hospital in India at Hyderabad.

COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Dr. Hariprasad values the partnerships & the support he has received from various people & firms while he was striving to create the first model of Emergency Care at Hyderabad which included the first ever Insurance plan for emergency cases. His important contributors & collaborators include some major names like the Royal College of General Practitioners, UK; College of Emergency Medicine, UK; Long Island Jewish Medical Center, USA; Sanford Health System, USA; American Heart Association & American Academy for Emergency Medicine in India, USA. He formed a society for Emergency Medicine in Hyderabad in 1999. Soon after this event was his international conference on the same topic.

VALUABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

Under the able guidance and leadership of Dr. Hariprasad, the Apollo Hospital at Hyderabad was the first to be accredited by the Joint Commission International, USA, & also, the first one outside the USA to be certified in excellence in the management of acute stroke. He has also been awarded the Fellowship of the College of Emergency Medicine, UK, & is the first Indian to be honored with a fellowship by the International Federation for Emergency Medicine. Apart from being a legend in medicine & management, he has been the flagbearer of entrepreneurship & new initiatives within the system & has gone beyond the call of duty to deliver more than what is expected. He was also one of the youngest Ranji Trophy players to represent Hyderabad, His life journey is narrated in his interesting autobiography titled ‘I’M Possible’.

DRIVING THE HUMAN SPIRIT

Mr. Rahman believes that developing and engaging the human spirit is the truest and purest form of leadership. While honest delegation and collective decision-making brings out the best in people. Indeed, his achievements in over 10 industries within 17 years have proven his methods most prudent. After his graduation, with a clear mission and armed with passion, Mr Rahman’s story began with a BMW Dealership in Bangladesh in 2002. Today, his established enterprises provide over 150 million in turnover per annum.

COMMERCIALLY CONSISTENT

Over a period of 20 years, he has diversified the trade to multiple industries. Commercial sectors span from brand automobile (BMW and KIA), furniture & home décor, lifestyle like KOHLER, IT like Apple Importer, garments manufacturing and textile, light engineering and Agro Industry. Such a feat has earned him being prised the status of a Commercially Important Person in Bangladesh. Under his leadership, the company was presented with the LEED Green Certification (Gold) for its eco-friendly factory in 2018 ; Sales Best in Class Award from BMW in 2018; Bold Pacesetter Award (South Asian Market) from KOHLER in 2018; as well as the Bangladesh Master Brand Award for Meghna Executive Holdings from the World Brand Congress in 2019.

APPRECIATING CHANGE

Mr. Rahman became the change-maker of the business when times demanded it to be transformed. He swiftly implemented business process automation tools to digitalized operations. ERP systems were implemented with confidence and he leads the implementation of AR and VR technologies in retail business segments under him, the first-of-its-kind in Bangladesh.

AIMING FOR IMPACT

Economic contribution remains incomplete for any organization without adherence to their CSR, which is a prime focus for Mr. Rahman. To ensure positive impact on people and the environment, he established the “Meghna Executive Foundation.” On an internal front, he has been awarded for contributing towards Health Access and Linkage Opportunity for Workers Plus (Halow+). Moreover, his firm encourages female employees onto positions of leadership. Whereas on an external front, they gradually plan to collaborate with global CSR networks, actively partake on community development, & contribute to the society through environment sustainability.

SUPREMELY TALENTED LEADER

Mr. Gupta is well known for his unique vision and steadfastness that helped fulfil his goal of providing clean drinking water to millions of Indians through the Alkaline RO Technology. Owing to his strong technical background with education in Computer Science and his expertise in the water purification industry, he gave life to the Blue Mount products that have climbed the ladder of success since its inception. Employing advanced state-of-the-art technology, his products use Alkaline RO process to separate purified water from the impure water.

CONSISTENTLY DELIVERING QUALITY PRODUCTS

Mr. Gupta started his journey in 2003 with Elixir Trading Pvt. Ltd. which dealt with water purifier components. For more than a decade he educated himself and others about the benefits of pure drinking water. In 2015, having understood the nuances of RO purifying technology, he launched India’s first Alkaline RO water purifier with LED display and marveled in the industry with his decision making ability and leadership skills.

With 12 years of experience in water purifying industry, Mr. Gupta has introduced products that help deliver safe and pure drinking water devoid of any excessive salts, microbial, and chemical contamination. Blue Mount has pioneered the water purifying industry, being a one-stop solution for 100% pure and healthy drinking water. It provides protection against waterborne diseases along with adhering to the guidelines by the UN General Assembly’s Human rights to safe drinking water.

Under his able leadership, Blue Mount has established itself as a leading manufacturer of home and commercial water purifier and promises to deliver nothing less than 100% pure water because he believes that every drop counts.

Pavan Allena with Metamorphosis Edu has stirred up a revolution within the education ecosystem in India by introducing entrepreneurship as a subject right from the school level. In the world (especially the business world) that is subjected to change at a neck-breaking speed, companies like Metamorphosis Edu definitely need of the hour. Reiterating the founder’s words – It is important to carve job creators out of our students.

A BORN LEADER

In order to materialize his dream Pavan, started visiting different schools in Hyderabad with the motive of interacting with students so as to define their curriculum. Pavan had this entrepreneurial knack inside him since his college days. With his firm determination and ceaseless efforts, he co-founded an IoT-based school bus tracking system called Fleetalytics at the age of 19. His association with Fleetalytics required him to deal with a lot of school children. It was then he realized that children have a lot of curiosity & passion for business concepts & entrepreneurs. The hidden entrepreneurial zeal in them inspired him to launch Metamorphosis. Though he faced some resistance getting it started, he and his team never gave up.

In order to realize his dream, he started visiting different schools in Hyderabad with the motive of interacting with students so as to define their curriculum. Gradually they tied up with colleges & recruitment firms to fill that void.

ACHIEVING MILESTONES

With Pavan spearheading, the impact of the company is getting bigger by the day. His relentless efforts helped the company impact over 25,000 school students across India. In order to provide young minds with the right platform to grow as global citizens, he also got business incubators launched in several schools – the firstever initiative of its kind in the world. And now, the company is venturing into the digital space with Metamorphosis School of Entrepreneurship which serves as the world’s biggest online platform for school students to go through certified entrepreneurial program. Moreover, under his leadership, it has entered into a partnership with the Telangana Government to impact college students of various districts like Mahabubnagar, Sircilla, & Khammam. Currently, it has 53 trainers associated & 26 members in its team. The rising entrepreneur aims at imparting entrepreneurial skills to one million students by the end of 2020 through its short and long-term courses.

A THOUGHTFUL ENTREPRENEUR

Pavan believes that since automation is affecting jobs, skills, and wages, it has become essential for the future generation to learn lucrative skills that will not only help them stand out in an era of automation but also make them irreplaceable by bots and machines. Thus he wants to prepare young minds to face all challenges that could affect their careers in the future.

GAINING RECOGNITION

Pavan has achieved significant milestones at a young age. Recognizing his hard work & phenomenal value creation in the education sectors, he has received 40 Under 40 Young Vibrant Entrepreneurs of South India by Edex-Indian Express. The young & dynamic entrepreneur has also been honored as ‘30 under 30 Top Entrepreneurs’ by Brainfeed. The company has received its first round of funding from Hyderabad Angels & Markset Networks.

Ever since Mr.Chakravarthy took over his family business in 2000,he has been working untiringly to buildup the brand.He has successfully established affiliations with numerous medical institutions in Tamil Nadumaking PHC, that has a leading pool of qualified radiologists, pathologists and technicians,a popular choice for clients.

AN ARRAY OF SERVICES

PHC has evolved into a comprehensive diagnostic centre that provides the entire spectrum of imaging and lab services under one roof, owing to his guidance. Equipped with the latest state-of-the-art laboratory and imaging modalities, it offers a comprehensive array of tests across a wide range of specializations including Biochemistry, Immunohistochemistry, Flow Cytometry, Hematology, Immunology and Serology. The differentiating aspects of PHC are its wide range of laboratory tests and its swift turn-around time for the delivery of reports. More than 2,000 patients get themselves tested daily through 45+ labs spread all over the state. The centre offers an assortment of exclusive customer loyalty programmes like ‘Health Buddy Cards’ and affordable health packages ranging from master health checks, premier executive health checks, women health checks, child/ senior citizen health checks as well as its exclusive premarital and preemployment check-ups. Even further, PHC facilitates online reporting systems, SMS notification for report collection and complaint management system (CMS) to record the patient’s invaluable feedback.

PRIORITIZING QUALITY

Under his exemplary leadership, PHC has transformed into one of the most reputed laboratories, having acquired the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) Certification. He has also brought international recognition to the Indian healthcare industry by receiving accreditation from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). He has also been efficiently spearheading the expansion process through timely planning and execution of new projects thereby ensuring accuracy, quality assurance, quality control and compliance to the standards laid down by the accreditation bodies like NABL and ISO.

MAKING HEALTHCARE AFFORDABLE

He nurtures the dream of making healthcare accessible and affordable to all. His vision, determination and futuristic approach have enabled the common man to access diagnostic services replete with brand new, cuttingedge technology that provide results of uncompromising quality in a transparent and customer-focused manner. PHC’s corporate ventures are aligned with the sole aim of improving affordability and access to healthcare. Primarily, he is looking forward to building a disease-free society through enriched diagnosis and timely prevention through health screenings. Under his leadership, Team PHC (a tech-enabled group) has been relentlessly working towards newer ways to transform lives.

It is never easy to drive the legacy of a heritage brand ahead. There are many additional responsibilities to care for than just maintaining business success. One has to fight against the hoots of nepotism and build in a new trust for one’s own capabilities and Mr. Saurabh Agarwal’s association with the Kamdhenu Group is a stellar example of how that is done. The spirited leader not only multiplied the growth on charts for the group but also led its diversification in the challenging yet thriving segment of paints. Today, he is a whole-time director of the group and looks closely at the development and promotion of its paints segment. Ambitious and energetic, Mr. Agarwal vows for growth with vision. Adding his dynamism to the company’s top management, he believes in the flawless functioning of the company’s manufacturing unit.

BEGINNING THE IMPECCABLE JOURNEY

Mr. Saurabh Agarwal was an inquisitive kid, which made him learn a few tricks of the trade from his family at a very young age. The bright-eyed young boy grew up to attain his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and started his professional journey as a technical executive in 1998.

He launched Kamdhenu Paints in the year 2008 and just within a few years made its presence felt in the highly competitive paints market with strong backing and support of Kamdhenu Limited, a leader in building materials space.

The company has deployed state-of-theart automatic machines, tinting machine technology to help customers make an informed choice. It benefits from the robust network, research and development expertise and technological efficiency that is the hallmark of Kamdhenu Group, which Mr. Agarwal leads from the front.

MONITORING THE FINESSE

Mr. Saurabh Agarwal keeps a tight vigil on every section of the work and contributes to every team with his strong technical and business knowledge. A troubleshooter within the company, he keeps monitoring the well-functioning and maximum output of all the production units. His zeal for innovation resulted in the introduction of Tinting machine technology in Kamdhenu Paints to enable the customers to make an informed choice.

Post the massive fire incident at its paint manufacturing unit at Chopanki in April2019, with the efforts of Mr. Agarwal, the plant resumed its partial operation within six months and is expected to restore complete operations in the next six months. In order to maintain the flawless supply of material to the dealer network, he immediately started outsourcing material from third party manufacturers by deputing own technical team to ensure the quality of products to ultimate consumer.

Adding to the economic viability of Kamdhenu’s products, Mr. Agarwal has been monitoring the company’s Research & Development (R&D) facility and enabling research and technological development.

BUILDING A FRESH LEGACY

Under his astute guidance, the company is targeting to become the top paint brand in India in the next five years. Apart from that, Mr. Agarwal is investing in the manufacturing of Low-VOC and High-SRI value products to lead the business with an eco-friendly edge. A genius leader, Mr. Agarwal made Kamdhenu paints a leading brand within a very short time period, adding great numbers to the group’s yearly books.

Scalable, sustainable, and clean, renewable energy is the need of the hour in today’s times as it not only can serve the growing needs of the modern population but in turn, can ease the stress on conventional resources and the environment. The sector, though booming, boasts of very few names who are dedicated to the concept for its ecological benefits and not just its business gains, One such person is Ms. Sindoor Mittal, Vice-Chairperson of Avaada Group, a popular and successful name in the Indian solar energy sector.

The Group stands on the pillars of integrity, respect, passion, accountability, commitment, and trust and is striving hard to achieve its goal of impacting 5 million lives by 2022 with solar energy. Ms. Mittal is an integral part of all the activities that Avaada undertakes to make this dream a reality. Her grit, passion, and unwavering belief in her own capabilities guide her to take on any challenge that the job comes with and she faces it all with great confidence.

STREAM OF YOUTHFUL PASSION

Born to Ms. Shobha Thakkar and Mr. Parashar Thakkar, who own and run a very competitive construction business, Ms. Mittal developed a keen interest in entrepreneurship at a very young age. This bright management graduate from Stanford Graduate School started her first business at the age of 24, after quitting her job at a $500 million private equity fund company. The business taught her the right attitude to be a leader. She discovered in herself a relentless desire to make a change in the world and started working towards that.

Today, she sits beside her husband, Mr. Vineet Mittal, on the board of Avaada and is responsible for leadership development and capital raising along with managing the company’s CSR activities. She is known within the industry for her smart thinking and often participates in media discussions around the state of renewable energy in the country. Ms. Mittal has some intelligent ideas around supporting the growth of the sector in the country and she has been a keen advocate of the government going back to closed auctions of renewable energy projects. She also insists that India’s pensions funds and insurance companies should actively invest in renewable sector like their global peers.

NOT JUST INSPIRING BUT EMPOWERING

Ms. Sindoor Mittal is an inspiration to the dynamic team that she leads at Avaada but she believes that only inspiring someone is not enough to promote their growth. She, therefore, tries to empower her people. She is often seen mentoring the team to realize its true potential and prompts every member to work hard for achieving their goals. The vivacious leader has now developed a high performing team of dedicated and self-driven members who are now working with her to make Avaada the largest renewable energy company not just in India but globally.

Ms. Mittal reckons that only the empowered ones can reap the true benefits of any business and therefore she also takes an avid interest in the CSR activities of the company, which are directed towards changing the social fabric of the country by empowering every Indian. They do so by lighting up the country with clean, sustainable energy, and transforming the citizen’s lives by focusing on education, health, and the environment.