Management

"I want to drive the market – I don't want to be driven by it. My guiding principle is : change the market before it changes you."

A powerful idea, simply expressed. An idea that Mr. Kunwer Sachdev has brought to life over and over again. When he created Su-kam, the power back-up industry in India was completely unorganized, characterized by poor product quality and low technology. Mr. Sachdev first built a foundation of technology, then took a creative leap, guided by his inherent understanding of the consumer's needs. Today, the company is the unquestioned market leader and Mr. Sachdev is genuinely admired for his passion, vision and innovation.

Mr. Sachdev's early life was marked by a burning desire to become a successful entrepreneur. He first graduated with Honours in Mathematical Statistics, then completed his Bachelors degree in Law, both from the University of Delhi. Soon immersed in understanding how an inverter works. Or should work – the product he had bought broke down at a distressingly frequent rate. He taught himself physics, delved deep into the technology behind the idea of power back-up, spent countless days with his engineers and ended up as an expert himself. He has always revelled in rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty.

He realized that in a country with a perpetual shortfall in power generation vis-à-vis demand, the consumer would decide that a reliable power back-up solution is a necessity, not a luxury. And he was determined to give India, the finest products based on the most advanced technologies.

Instead of slavishly imitating products from overseas, Mr. Sachdev chose to carve his own path, with innovation as his mantra. He set up a vibrant R&D department, which has produced product after product that his competitors now imitate. He was an early champion of green technologies, having begun research into solar solutions long before anyone else.

With a string of patents and awards behind him, Mr. Kunwer Sachdev has proved that a commitment to technology, dreaming big and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge can be a potent mix for enduring success.

Leading senior professional with over 45 years of management experience; two decades as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director level of billion-dollar-plus listed enterprise. High impact leader with demonstrated corporate performance over sustained period of time. Has had lasting impact at board, R& D, shop floor, marketing and sales, and HR and industrial relations levels. Has been a high profile and major influencer across industry bodies, academia, state and national government, local and investor community. Active advisor, mentor and coach to several companies and entrepreneurs as non-executive, independent director focusing on corporate governance.

Chairman

Century Plyboards (India) Limited

Peerless Trust Management Co Limited (“Peerless Mutual Fund”)

Non-executive Director

The Calcutta Stock Exchange Limited

Paharpur Cooling Towers Limited

Emami Limited

Magma Fincorp Limited

Powermax (India) Private Limited

WBIDC

Sundarban Infrastructure Development Corp

Non-Corporate

President, Indian Football Association (WB)

Member, Board of Governors, Hertitage Institute of Technology

Member, Board of Governors, Sri Sri Institute of Management

Trustee, Academy of Fine Arts (Kolkata)

Member, Governing Council, Globsyn Business School

Member, Board of Governors, IISWBM

Executive Committee, Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Member, Bharat Chamber of Commerce

President, Balananda Brahmachari Hospital & Research Centre

Exide Industries Limited (1986-2010)

S B Ganguly was Chairman Emeritus between 2007-10; prior to this, he was Chairman & CEO between 2000-07, Chairman & Managing Director between 1993-2000, and Managing Director between 1991-93. During his stewardship of the company revenues grew from $61 million to $850 million, and market cap from $30 million to $1.9 billion, and from 3 manufacturing units to 8. He joined Exide (then known as Chloride) as director of manufacturing in 1986 and took responsibility for industrial marketing within a short span, before his elevation to managing director in Dec 1991.

Dunlop India Limited (1964-1986)

S B Ganguly’s last position at Dunlop was Director – Research & Technical Services; he headed the R&D function between 1976-82; and worked across various manufacturing and technical functions in India, and the group units in UK, Brazil, Europe and Japan. He joined Dunlop as a management trainee in 1964.

Education and Professional Qualifications

Chemical Engineer

Fellow of the Plastic & Rubber Institute, London

Fellow of Institute of Chemical Engineers

Fellow of the Institute of Chemicals

Advanced Management Program, INSEAD, 1993

Other

Past President (2000-01), Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Past Chairman (2002-03), CII Eastern Council

Past Member, CII National Council

Past Chairman, Bengal Initiative

Former Deputy Chairman, MSA (India) Limited

Former Board Member, ING Vysya Life Insurance Co

Former Board Member, Woodlands Hospital

Former Member, Executive Council of Netaji Subhas Open University

Former Member, Governing Council, Viswa Bharati CMS

Former Member, Technical Advisory Committee - Indian Statistical Instt

Former Chairman, NABAT, New Delhi

Former Trustee, Indian Craft Village Trust

Former President, Calcutta Management Association

Past President, Rotary Club of Calcutta-Inner City

Former Chairman, Consultative Committee of WEBEL

A Management Graduate from University of Delhi, Madan brings to the company, the wealth of over 31 years of experience with him.Prior to joining Su-Kam he has been associated with Tudor India Ltd(Indian arm of Exide Technologies of USA) as CEO, Willard Storage Battery Ltd, heading sales and marketing and Champion Spark Plug in sales and marketing etc.He has turnaround many of the company in the past.

Madan has attended varied training programmes in reputed institutes like, Retail Management from IIM,Ahemedabad, Kaizen-from Shingijutsu Co. Japan, Lean Manufacturing Systems from PWC -USA and EPP from LMI- USA.etc. He has extensive experience in the battery industry and has been exposed to sales and operations in Europe,China, Australia and USA.

At Su-Kam, Madan has complete charge of the manufacturing operations, post sales, marketing, corporate communications, channel sales of batteries, inverters, home UPS systems, high capacity inverters and UPS systems, along with institutional and telecom business. He provides the focus and strategies to strengthen the Su-Kam brand in every corner of the country.

His vast and varied experience covers managing the entire gamut of a company's operations, including profitability, business strategy, branding, product management and planning, developing and implementing the marketing strategy and more. He has also initiated the creation of nationwide distributor networks.

Madan enjoys the challenge of managing a company in a competitive environment. He is a quick decision maker and adapts easily to change. He ensures cost control, while never compromising on product quality. Always a champion of employee empowerment, Madan believes in complete transparency and maintains the highest standards of business ethics. He sees himself as a change agent and leads from the front.

Brij is an experienced trainer, facilitator and a professional coach. His long and varied corporate stints allowed him to develop expertise in Learning and Development, Leadership Development and Human Resources.

His consulting and engagement work since 2003, has involved working with both MNCs and Indian Companies in the areas of Leadership Development, Professional Skills Development, Coaching and Customized L&D Solutions. Besides all parts of India, his work has taken him to Sri-Lanka and Singapore.

In his career of over three decades prior to consulting, he worked with NIT- Krukshetra; Indian Airlines; Modi Xerox (later Xerox India) and Motorola (Motorola University). Major part of his work in this period had been in the area of Learning and Development; ranging from Technical Training to Management Training, TQM, Management Development and later as Executive Director - Human Resources and Quality at Xerox India.

With his academic background in Mechanical Engineering, OR & SQC and Systems Management, Brij has the ability to easily relate to different business and developmental needs. He is certified as Coach and Counselor on 360 Degrees Profilor by PDI, accredited for MBTI Step II, DISC, SL-II, Energy-for-Performance of HPI, and for ‘Managing Business Today’ of Business Today International, RSA.

Sanjeev Saini received the M.Tech degree in Instrumentation Engineering from REC Kurukshetra in 1998. He has over 13 years of rich experience in the field of Research and Development mainly in Power Electronics, Control and Embedded Systems. Prior to Su-Kam, he has worked for Central Electronics Engineering Research Institution (CEERI). He is having 1 IEEE paper published while in CEERI and has filed over 35 technical patents, over 40 design patents & over 110 copyrights during his stay in Su-Kam so far.

As the technology head of the company, Sanjeev ensures that his team stays abreast of developments in the field all over the world and devises ways of using today's science and technology to create newer, better products for tomorrow. He is responsible for research and development, technical advancement, product innovation, Quality, process improvement, automation and IP etc.

Vijay Kumar's key responsibilities include development of the solar business in both the domestic and international markets.

Vijay Kumar is highly experienced in strategic planning, business development, profit centre management, product management, sales and marketing in sectors like banking and solar power.

With a B.Sc. in Agriculture, Vijay Kumar went on to acquire in-depth experience in management, leading and motivating teams in diverse corporate environments. He specializes in profit centre operations, strategic planning, business and thought leadership, organic business growth, channel management, new product launches and much more.

Vijay takes pride in building, leading and motivating teams and has repeatedly delivered sustained business and revenue growth in changing markets. His integrated set of core competencies is related to Operations, Business Management and Client Relationship Management.

In his previous job, he essayed a stellar role in steering the organisation to achieve the leading position in the solar thermal industry and rapidly increased the number of customers by penetrating new regions across India. Vijay oversaw the successful introduction of company-owned outlets and initiated direct selling through company employees, dealers and distributors. He ensured that high customer satisfaction levels were maintained and won a Customer Service Rating of 3 – 4 on a scale of 4.

With both length and depth of experience in the world of manufacturing, Manoj is a technocrat who leads his team by example. A topper in Mechanical Engineering with Specialisation in "Tools & Die Making".from Tool Room & Training Centre ( An Indo-Denmark Joint Venture) Engineering Institute affliated to BTE ( Board Of Technical Education) under Delhi Govt, Manoj went on to complete his MBA, with specialisation in Operations & HR.

Manoj specialises in the best management practices deployed to enhance productivity, maintaining quality standards, setting up new facilities, 6-sigma based PIP, resource management, quality assurance and more. He has successfully managed the entire operations of manufacturing plants, from production planning, maintenance and projects to human resource management, industrial relations, and supply chain management, among others. He is familiar with SAP and other ERP tools.

Manoj is a true team player, who takes pride in gaining quick acceptance from his seniors, peers and juniors alike. He has developed strong analytical and logistic skills and excels in process improvement. He uses his time-tested interpersonal skills to build and lead highly effective and motivated teams. A target oriented and result-driven professional, Manoj is happy to work in cross cultural environments, where his communication skills come in useful. He is a quick decision-maker, especially when managing a crisis. He enjoys working autonomously, but has a great ability to report proactively.

At Su-Kam, Manoj has the complete Production & Logistics charge for all inverter, transformer and battery manufacturing. He is responsible for achieving all targets relating to overall productivity, quality, safety, maintenance, production and dispatch at the minimum cost possible. He develops strategies for short term and long term goals and leads the implementation of techniques like TPM, Kaizen, Kanban, Poka-Yoke, 5S, Lean Manufacturing, JIT inventory control and SMED, to achieve the highest productivity and quality levels consistently.

Dhananjay has been instrumental in making Su-Kam a trusted household name in over 70 countries across the world. He articulated, designed and implemented the global business model for the export of inverters exports from India. He has helped to create the right platform and foundation for Su-Kam emerging as an Indian multinational and a globally preferred brand.

With over 10 years' experience in the industry, he has established the brand in more than 70 countries across the world and more are in the making. He has travelled extensively, gaining hands-on experience of the markets in more than 60 countries. He has participated in over 120 exhibitions and conferences related to power and renewable energy.

He and his team have built up a global network of dealers and distributors and are always responsive to customer needs and preferences in various countries and disparate cultures. He makes sure that Su-Kam is a prominent participant in exhibitions, trade fairs and buyer – seller meets in the most significant international markets.

Su-Kam has been recognized as the best brand in the West African and East African markets. Under his leadership, the company has established offices in the UAE, Bangladesh and Nigeria, apart from an assembly plant in Nepal.

Dhananjay is a Commerce graduate, with a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management and a Post Graduate in International Marketing GDIB from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi. He acquired extensive experience in the FMCG sector before joining Su-Kam.