It is rare to find a corporate leader as humble as Sandeep Kulkarni. The CEO of ACG Worldwide has climbed every rung of the corporate ladder to reach the top. From negotiating with notorious trade unions to turning loss-making organisations profitable in record time, his journey to the top is as challenging as it is fascinating, and the lessons he learnt are lighthouses for anyone looking to steer the vast corporate ocean. On the sidelines of a convocation event at a leading B-school in Pune, Corporate Citizen chats with Sandeep about his beginnings, achievements and what it takes to be a success in life
I studied in Pune. In fact, I was in the first batch of Bharti Vidyapeeth, which today has become a very big institute. After graduating in production engineering, I started my career as a trainee engineer. I began first as a line supervisor in Bajaj Auto in 1986. It was an amazing training experience. I have also done my MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), which is in the city.
Around that time, Bajaj had gained infamy for its notorious union, and producing 200 vehicles under such difficult circumstances was an uphill task. Not only did I have to manage my work, I also had the task of getting work done while navigating the slippery slope of union relations. It was a challenging experience. I worked in the chassis shop and fabrication shop in the motorcycle division. At that time, Kawasaki had entered into a partnership with Bajaj. I was looking after the M80 chassis shop, which was a bestselling vehicle at that time. Only the bare minimum resources and machinery were given, so we had to be very resourceful. Out of sheer necessity, I learned welding and even today I can do excellent welding due to that experience. The golden part of the Bajaj tenure was that I was able to turn around the manufacturing technology and motivate my team to ramp up the production four times in two months. The most important thing I learned there was how to get maximum output from minimum input. The second thing I learned was to challenge myself continuously. V. M. Rao, who was our plant head at that time, was very appreciative of the fact that we scaled to that level. I feel that only when you start off on the shop floor can you truly understand the nitty-gritty of manufacturing. Unless you cut your teeth with the workers, you won’t learn how complex the industry is.
After Bajaj, I applied for the position of a Quality Control Engineer at Thermax. Mrs Deshpande was the HR head then. She said my experience wasn’t up to the mark. I assured her that I am a quick learner. My soon to be reporting manager then asked me what my confidence level about learning fabrication technology was? I told him it was 8/10. I guaranteed it in writing, that if I didn’t learn within the stipulated time, I would resign. He pondered over my answer and after 15 minutes, I got my appointment letter. Within 3 months, I was confirmed by the company.
Thermax was a completely new experience as I got an opportunity to interact with customers directly. I dealt with project teams and sales teams. I found their jobs to be very interesting. After a while, I decided to change my career to sales. I realised it wouldn’t be easy, though. I had observed that sales people were more flamboyant, well versed with English and much more confident. I had studied in a Marathi-medium school. I wasn’t that confident. However, I wanted to learn. Sales also involved having indepth knowledge about the domain. In water treatment, there was a lot of chemical processing involved. It is a complex job, so I began to learn as much as I could after completing my regular work. One of the managers I interacted with introduced me to his team. I tried to pick up as much as I could through interactions with them.
That evening, after coming back from inspection, I was confronted by my existing manager. By that time, my mind was made up. I told him about my ambition to change my career. First he declined, but after three months, he noticed that I was really serious and determined to change my career path, so he changed his mind and transferred me to the water treatment project with the condition that I work both for QA and the new role till they find my replacement. I readily agreed. However, I realized I may have bitten off more than I could chew. Doing nearly two different jobs one after the other was no walk in the park. It was very hectic for the next eight months. I used to do a shift of 13-14 hours daily. However, nobody forced me to do it. It was my initiative and it is one which has paid me back manifold in my career. Thermax is an outstanding place to learn and grow. A lot of what I am today, I owe it to Thermax.
One of the things that I find lacking in millennials is not really the fault of the students but of the nature of upbringing today. We teach our children all the necessary skills to be successful but we don’t teach them to be good human beings. I think we should look to build our students not just academically, but also holistically"
I have been associated with the pharmaceutical industry in the past, and the effect of ‘Make in India’ initiative has made a huge impact there, as the majority of the medicines imported by countries like the USA come from India. In fact, there is not a single drug in the world that is not manufactured in India. I feel the defence sector too will benefit a lot from ‘Make in India’. If you ask me about the manufacturing sector specifically, any initiative on this scale takes some time to actually show effects. It would take a minimum of five years for the effects to actually show. I think the results in manufacturing sector will start to become more visible only by 2019-20. I applaud PM Modi’s initiative, and I have no doubt it will show yields. But one must be patient.
Yes, there is. The challenges students face are really different. Failures teach you a lot more than successes. Learnings from failures make an everlasting impact. I have been recruiting trainees for a while now, but what I observe is that more often than not, freshers lack the training to last in the field. A fresh graduate has bookish knowledge, but not much practical experience, so they struggle in the real world. It is the industry’s fault as well. They should be contributing to the grooming of students. This is mutually beneficial—both to the students as they get to learn a lot more practical knowledge, and to industries, as the quality of trainees will inevitably rise. It’s a win-win situation. However, The onus also lies on individuals to upskill themselves. I believe that a smart individual will always shine through in an interview. A good degree opens many doors, but eventually it depends on the individual on how they perform. There is a difference between qualification and knowledge, and application of knowledge. Knowledge is acquired every day in the life. Take Dhirubani Ambani for example, he wasn’t academically well qualified but he was extremely knowledgeable. Successful people are those who are able to apply their intrinsic skill-sets optimally in any situation.
"If you ask me about the effect of ‘Make In India’ on the manufacturing sector specifically, any initiative on this scale takes some time to actually show effects. It would take a minimum of five years for the effects to actually show. I think the results in manufacturing sector will start to become more visible only by 2019-20"
For the last 15 years, I have been coaching and mentoring my teams and building bonds with my colleagues and customers. We use each other as sounding boards. The more you discuss with people, the better ideas you have. I am a transparent person. I encourage multiple viewpoints from my employees. This has brought synergy to all the organisations or even teams that I have led.
In 2000-2006, I was the country head of another company called Tranter, which is US based. They had entered India, but they weren’t able to get a foothold in the manufacturing sector here. The company was bleeding money from 1998 to 2000, and due to sustained losses they planned to shut down and exit India. Had that happened, I could have moved to another job quite easily, but several employees might have lost their jobs and I felt that should not be allowed to happen until every effort has been made to salvage the situation. One of the higher- ups from the company had come to India to tell us that we would be shut down. I met him in the evening. He said nothing could be done. I asked him to give me till the morning to change his mind. He was extremely skeptical, thinking that there was nothing that I could say that would convince him to change his mind, but he indulged me anyway. I sat up all night thinking of a solution. The next morning, I met him and requested for a year's time to turn around the company. At that time, the annual losses were of around 2 lakh rupees. I told him that `2 lakh is a drop in the bucket for such a large company, and they would not be risking a lot by giving me a year to try to make the company profitable. On the other hand, if they did shut down, so many employees would be without a job. After a lot of convincing, he agreed, but on a few conditions. I was given a year to reverse losses or the company would be shut down, but I would be given no extra funds, and we would have to manage with the revenue we managed to generate on our own, even for salaries. For three and a half months, I couldn’t pay salary to my staff, nor did I take a penny myself. But we persevered. At the end of the year, we made a net profit of 25 lakh, which was a remarkable turnaround by any stretch of imagination. People stood by me, and I in turn stood by them.
The second thing I am proud about is ACG Compaq, which I have been running for past 10 years, this was a part of the ACG Group that wasn’t doing that well earlier. There were challenges in customer engagement, working capital management, and product development. There used to be a lot of customer complaints, untimely deliveries—basically a lot of issues. In a span of two years, we broke those barriers and turned the company around. We found that it was the lack of communication that was hampering the operations. There was no transparency. I ensured that the organisational culture of the company is changed from the grassroots to the top. That did the trick. In four years we has tripled the turnover and achieved five times the bottom line.
Work-life balance is not the amount of time you spend at either work or home, but the quality of time that is spent at both places. I believe in doing things that I enjoy the most, and I enjoy work as well as spending time with my family. I don’t try to differentiate between work and personal life. I let it blend.
In my organisation, it’s not the case. People are well paid. We ensure that everyone is sufficiently compensated for their hard work, irrespective of designation. If the report is accurate, then it definitely a cause for worry. Everyone from the CEO to the shop floor worker is responsible for the success of a company, so there shouldn’t be a big disparity in pay in any industry.
"I would advise students to never give up learning. They should always read newspapers, magazines, and management books, but their focus should be more on learning through actual experience, as well as the application of what they have learnt. Context and perspective are very important..."
I am a workaholic. So most of the time I find relaxation in work. If, however, I find I am not able to make any headway in an assignment, I stop working on it for the time being. But I also like to cook and clean my home. I am an avid movie buff as well. I like to switch off my cell and enjoy a movie with no distraction.
I would advise students to never give up learning. They should always read newspapers, magazines, and management books, but their focus should be more on learning through actual experience, as well as the application of what they have learnt. Context and perspective are very important to everything that someone learns.
One of the things that I find is lacking is not really the fault of the students but of the nature of upbringing today. We teach our children all the necessary skills to be successful but we don’t teach them to be good human beings.
That includes me too. We get so engrossed in teaching our children the tools to make a career that we forget to shape their character. In life, success also means the amount of humanity a person has. I think we should look to build our students not just academically, but also holistically. However, there comes an age when youngsters have to shape their own lives and take responsibility for their own actions. Parents can only guide them till a certain age, not beyond that.
I am an eternal optimist. I always see the glass half full. As a leader, that is the most important quality. I would not have been able to turn around Tranter had I not been an optimist. Secondly, I believe in making mistakes, and learning from them. And finally, I feel asking for help is not a weakness, but strength.
By Neeraj Varty
