I want to provide my workforce with an environment in which they can personally develop with confidence and are free to indulge their passion for the job.
I first came into contact with KHS in 1993 when I was working for a local machine and systems manufacturer. It manufactured products under license for KHS and I was soon impressed by the company from Germany. Back then, there wasn’t yet a systems provider planning to set up facilities with its own production capacities in India. I started working at KHS in 1997 when the company entered into a local joint venture. I was the sixth employee on site; there are now over 300! My job at KHS finally enabled me to combine my talent for communication and sales with my training as a process engineer.
In my 26 years at KHS I’ve been promoted a few times and each promotion has marked a big leap in my career. I started out as manager of Business Development in 1997. Just two years later I was entrusted with the role of deputy general manager. Shortly afterwards I was then made vice-president in 2002 and ultimately joined the KHS India board of management as executive vice-president in 2011. In 2023 I started working as joint managing director with Yatindra Sharma – and you can say that we tackled just about every kind of challenge together! Since the start of 2024 I’ve been running the company on my own authority as its managing director.
After 25 years of operations in the country, I strongly believe that KHS India has just embarked on what I fondly refer to as an ‘orbital shift’. We have big and ambitious plans at the moment; most of our challenges will stem from these. We need to expand our infrastructure, our product portfolio and our qualified workforce – in other words, rapid all-round development of our capabilities is required so that we can write a new chapter in the success story of KHS in India. Here, as in the rest of the world, the megatrends of sustainability and the circular economy are playing an ever greater role. What’s more, automation, digitalization and artificial intelligence are becoming more and more important, especially in an extremely cost-conscious country like ours, plus there’s a sharp focus on world-class quality and productivity.
“There is of course an endless number of books and clever texts on good management but I prefer to lead by inspiring, supporting, guiding and promoting my colleagues.”
I want to provide my workforce with an environment in which they can personally develop with confidence and are free to indulge their passion for the job. There is of course an endless number of books and clever texts on good management but I prefer to lead by inspiring, supporting, guiding and promoting my colleagues. My employees are in a better position to say whether this makes me a good leader or not! One of my strengths is my power of observation. I always try to see things from the perspective of the person I’m talking to and understand how my remarks come across. This is especially important when working with people from so many different cultures. My leadership style, I believe, also mirrors my strong conviction in putting clarity over confidence, competence over charisma, commitment over choices and communication over control.
If I have time in the evening after a full day at work, I listen to music. I like local songs in Hindi or genuine oldies by John Denver, Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez or Jim Reeves. But my real love is my sarod, a long-necked Indian lute. I hope that I can revive this passion once I retire! If I hadn’t become an engineer, being a musician would have been my dream job. Or a mountaineer.
“I’ve learned to master challenging tasks with lots of commitment and to combine my job with a functioning family life.”
“All in all, my job is a combination of safety shoes and high heels – quite literally!”
“We always try to find the distinctive characteristics of each specific client - this makes KHS unique!”
“I love my work at KHS, the products and the challenges these bring. We’re like a family and I’m very happy about that.”
“The fascinating products and the opportunity to work with colleagues coming from all over the world are the reasons why I chose KHS in the first place.”
“It’s a great feeling to have solved a complex technical problem – every single time.”
“Time and again I realize just how important personal contact is for the results of our work.”
“Being able to familiarize myself with production at our international plants proved extremely informative and is still of immeasurable value to me today.”
“Learning a technical occupation at KHS is useful for all those who wish to work on an international level.”
“As an electrical engineer you solve both technical and economic problems. That’s what I love doing!”
“I’m especially moved when local workers on international assignments come and thank me for my support.”
