Archives: Employee Stories

As I look back on my journey of 18 years with Thermax, a total of seven relocations, as many role changes marking new milestones, learnings, and plenty of priceless experiences, come to the top of my mind as I write this blog. The multiple roles in my overall journey took me to cities like Mumbai, Baroda, Surat, Ahmedabad, Jakarta, Chennai and finally, Pune. I take this opportunity to share with you all, this treasure trove of learnings that might relate to many of your journeys as well.

It was in 2002 that I joined Thermax after a short stint of two years in sales in a capital goods multinational company. I was recruited as a Sales Engineer in the Absorption Cooling Division (erstwhile ACD) at the Mumbai Office. This short stint in Mumbai, helped me learn the basics of Absorption Cooling.

I was then transferred to Baroda as a Sales Engineer where I handled sales for Absorption Cooling in the Baroda market. I was independently handling concept selling till the closure of the order. This prepared me for my next role.

The next calling for me was Surat where I was appointed as a Resident Engineer. This has been one of my most memorable experiences as the role was a multi-faceted one. A Resident Engineer’s job spans 360 degree – from being an office boy to the Sales Head, meaning, handling all meagre tasks like couriering documents to addressing customer grievances to managing the boiler and chiller sales. This role allows an individual to be at the customers’ service and thus, earn their faith and trust as a person and as an organization’s representative. The operations front was particularly challenging here, as I had to face a tough competitor from China who had a strong influence on the market & we also lost our frontend dealer to the same Chinese competitor. Eventually, I was able to turn around the tables and reinstate Thermax’s base in the market. Lessons on relationship building and representing the customer’s side in our organization were my key takeaways from this stint.

Post a small stint in Ahmedabad as Gujarat Sales Head, my horizons expanded when I was offered the position of a Business Manager to take care of the entire Western Region. The previous experience had prepared me for this big responsibility. Here, I had the opportunity to experience life in Mumbai, the city that never sleeps. Life seemed to get into a fast gear, analogous to the transition between various mediums of transport viz. from the BEST bus to Mumbai locals (switching between three different lines), to a yellow top cab to travel to various customer offices and manufacturing units! While leading sales for the Cooling business, I got to engage with many corporate customers. I also learned some people management skills while leading a small team of eight sales engineers. It was gratifying when in FY’12, we received the honor of being the best performing sales team.

As many of us aspire, I too hoped to pursue a professional stint overseas. After a much satisfying term of four years, the Absorption Cooling division then entrusted me with the role of spearheading sales for Southeast Asia based out of Jakarta. From regions, now my scope was expanding to countries – it was a big opportunity as much as it was a responsibility. The dimensions of life changed again – right from facing a different language, culture, to interacting with customers of varied nationalities. In 2014 Thermax geared up to foster its footprint internationally through the launch of “Project Genesis” which was undertaken in partnership with McKinsey for selective internationalization & one Thermax Approach for the product businesses. I went on to become an inherent part of the Indonesian IBG team, leading the sales team from the Jakarta office as a Regional Sales Manager and representing Thermax for all its products. Managing a mixed team of expats and locals, international customers, and engaging with an external consultant efficiently were my takeaways from this international stint.

I would like to urge all aspirants to take up at least a brief stint of 3-4 years outside India whenever the opportunity comes your way. It will change your perspective towards life.

The next destination in my corporate career was South India. Post work in Indonesia, I was thrilled to have been considered for the role of a Corporate Regional Manager (CRM), wherein I took over regional functions. I relocated to Chennai, the city of temples. This role was a dynamic one allowing me to represent all verticals of the organization and manage customer relations. It provided me with hands-on experience in setting up new offices for Chennai and Hyderabad. I learned one of the most crucial skills of people management in the shoes of CRM while managing a team of over 130 members in the matrix structure.

Three years on from here, the senior management offered me yet another role of a much higher responsibility – a PU Leader. I took over as the PU Head of Heating Services during the turbulent times of the pandemic in April 2020. It has been a challenging year so far managing the P & L for a business. After learning the tricks of the trade required for various markets, it has been great to understand how things work at the backend across various functions like engineering, planning, materials, projects, stores, commercial & Exim. It also gave me immense exposure to managing a vast customer base of the flagship vertical of our organization through field services. Currently, through the Thermax NXT initiative, all the members of this unit are directed to a pathway that we have charted for ourselves, and I look forward to leading and contributing.

As I summarize, I would like to acknowledge two important role players in my journey so far – the senior leadership of the organization, who trusted me for some very important projects; and second, my family whose staunch support made it possible for me to maneuver through these transitions smoothly. Without them, this enriching journey, spread across geographies would not have been possible.

The wide exposure to experiences has benefitted me in more than one way. Today, when I encounter a real-life problem, I have a plethora of experiences to bank on, perceive and overcome it with my learnings.

The message I will like to leave here is – Never say no to any change, or to move out of your comfort zone; it is always for something bigger and better in store for you!

– Bharat Pathak
PU Head – Heating Services in Cooling & Heating division.

My simple approach to talent mobility has been to “Make yourself redundant in the existing role so as to explore different opportunities available in the organisation”. Organisations benefit the most from talent if they are flexible and have a fearless attitude to accept role changes, perform, and excel in new business areas.

I started my career in detail engineering (Oil & Gas) of the Heating division (erstwhile Process Heat division (PHD)) and was blessed to work on interesting projects right from the first day of my career in Thermax. We won the first-of-a-kind order for a 22 TPH twin furnace oil fired Shellmax boiler from a very reputed client, Hitachi Zosen Japan. Soon after, my manager, who was the brain behind these boilers, left the organisation and I was made the Lead Engineer of this project. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise and a crucial responsibility for a young engineer. During detailing, I answered more than 150 fax messages on technical queries and in the process, learnt the importance of on-job learning, which included discussions with experienced colleagues before making the replies. We completed the commissioning of the project successfully and my learning curve went on an exponential trajectory. This experience was appreciated by the senior management of Thermax. I was nominated to work with Saacke UK for a week in England to redesign and optimise the Shellmax boiler (packaged oil & gas fired boilers) sizes supplied to South East Asia. This exciting assignment in the early stage of my career gave me a different outlook to challenge the current status quo, learn from competition, look at one design in multiple ways, and strengthened my techno commercial abilities.

My experience in Heating engineering offered me many exciting opportunities to hone my techno commercial capabilities and this helped me move and take up the role of Proposals Engineer. Working on proposals gave me an exposure to collaborate and interact with experienced marketing and sales teams. I remember an incident when there was an order finalisation meeting with an esteemed client in Dubai and our International Sales Head was to travel to Dubai for the same. He decided to pass on this opportunity to travel for this very important meeting to me and informed our Middle East Head about the same. The confidence and respect shown in my abilities by these inspiring leaders taught me how to respect, empower and motivate young engineers. I implemented these important learnings as I trained and eventually handed over my proposal job to a young engineer from the marketing department, post my transfer to the UK office!

I was transferred to UK for anchoring Heating’s entry in the European market. In this role, I had the opportunity to work with the senior respected British managers who were experienced across the boiler industry of England. While I worked with them, I learnt the British way of thinking and approach towards the markets by standardisation, reliability of product and components, aesthetics, automation, keeping things simple with first-time right approach and last but not the least, the importance of a right go to market strategy.

After returning home to India after more than three years, my learning curve in the Heating division started tapering down, and I moved out for a short stint outside Thermax. I quickly realised that I had picked the wrong job. Without any egos or negotiations on either side, I returned to Thermax and pursued an opportunity with the Power division. I was leading the Oil & Gas EPC sales function and worked extensively with gas turbine OEMs. My PhD engineering foundation helped me to configure cogen plants and combined cycle plants independently. This knowledge was instrumental in earning respect from reputed oil and gas clients across the country.

In EPC Sales, I had an opportunity to win an order for a Rs. 300 crore project of bottoming cycle power plant for a public sector company in north-east. Then came the day when I transitioned from Sales to becoming an EPC Head for this project. I took over the project when there were serious civil design (piles) issues, and we had lost 11 of the 25 monthscontractual schedule. Every minute of this execution experience was challenging yet exciting, pleasant and action packed. I learnt the basics of civil design, site management, operational challenges of contracting clauses, the importance of planning, risk mitigation, subcontractor management, labour laws, contractor billings, Account Receivables management, and so on. In short, this project gave me an experience of executing a project from concept to commissioning and made me a complete engineering professional. Even today, this important and enriching operations experience helps me in making critical business decisions as an SBU Head.

After a six year stint in Power, I was moved to lead the western region in the capacity of Corporate Regional Manager (CRM). I implemented a simple practice to meet one customer a day, even if there were no order transactions and finalisations. The discussions and information sharing that happened in those meetings were important for our next opportunities with them. I met clients irrespective of the size of their business with us, sometimes to say a big “thanks” for their trust in the Thermax brand. I always have been a true believer in the philosophy of operating as ‘One Thermax’ while approaching the clients which was truly appreciated by the clients and my regional colleagues. Even today, I practice the same while working in business. I truly believed regions are not just meant to be “near” to the customer but to “be” with the customer. I loved the fact that in the CRM role, I got to learn how to bring in business alignment for the ever-changing markets, lead a matrix organisation, operations and success factors of channel management and importance of branding through services.

Then came the most exciting moment in my career, and I took over as the SBU Head for Power SPP business and even today, I pinch myself to believe that it is true. To sum it up, I have never worked for any positions or roles. My competition is always my yesterday, and I try to better my performance with each coming day. I have been blessed to work with many inspiring leaders in Thermax throughout my career who gave me new opportunities and responsibilities and have constantly motivated me to perform and excel in every new role. I am genuinely engaged and passionate about my work at Thermax which is a respected brand acknowledged across the globe.

I have enjoyed working in different roles and functions across BUs and geographies which shaped my career in the right direction. I urge each Thermaxian to traverse your own path and grab the opportunity to work in a new function/ SBU across the organisation. Every role change should be viewed as an opportunity to unlock your potential and to shape your career.

– Deodatta Deshpande
SBU Head – SPP in Power division.

It was August 2000. Eight months earlier the computers had not crashed, planes had not fallen from the sky and banks had definitely not collapsed. Y2K demon had been exorcized. Things were looking up and amidst all this I stepped into Thermax as a GET, full of hope and confidence.

“You will have to report to Hyderabad office for service module of your training”, said my training manager. Hope gone, confidence draining out, I looked at him perplexed. It had been less than a month since I had joined Pune office in PHD (now Heating Division) and here I was – being asked to move to a different city! My tryst with mobility, albeit in terms of physical movement, had begun almost immediately upon joining Thermax. Little did I know that I will have to prefix ‘begun’ with ‘just’ -considering six location and as many role changes that I have had.

As destiny would have it, I continued to be in Hyderabad for the next three years in services function. I was lucky to have some excellent mentors during this time – people who transformed me from a carefree young graduate into a professional. It is this period that I regard as the most enriching phase of my career. The product knowledge which I gained during this tenure help me later in my sales stint to correctly position products, gain customer’s confidence and crack many deals. It taught me the importance of sound technical knowledge as I moved on to handle products of other divisions. My experiences during this period defined me and even today continue to influence the way I think. Even now, be it review of a new product or a customer complaint, the service engineer between my ears exercises its control.

It was in the summer of 2003 when I got a call to join the then-infant channel group at Chennai as a Channel Manager. I was beginning to get settled but the prospect of being in sales plus the thought of having the word “Manager” in my designation forced me to unsettle myself. And unsettled I was. It was a time when the ground level strategy of the channel was still being deployed, channel partner territory realignment was still being worked out, product wise sales initiatives were still being chalked out, loads of data was being crunched, excel sheets and word forms being filled on daily basis, all of us were undergoing a mindset change from selling products of one division to those of multiple divisions and somewhere amidst all that was a sales budget that had to be delivered. I went into another learning curve. While I learnt a lot by observing my managers during sales calls, the real learning came in post call debriefs, follow-ups and weekly reviews which we had religiously. What I learnt on sales and sales call planning is something I would reserve for a different blog but what I would like to lay emphasis upon is the insight I got on the use of data, to simplify information, to get meaningful insights, to conclude on actionable points and to have stringent review on those actions. It was something I had never done before and something I would do frequently in future. Years later when I would be in Hyderabad and would have a tough year in sales, it was data and stringent reviews that I would draw into for a course correction.

In 2007 I moved to Bangalore as Zonal Manager – Channel. I became a “Manager” for real as I had two Territory Managers reporting into me. My strategy was a cut copy paste of what I had experienced in my previous role, demonstrate sales to TMs, use data and have stringent reviews. It worked for my entire duration of stay in Bangalore. By 2009 I was asked to take additional responsibility of Area Manager. While it meant a dotted line reporting with entire office, in front of customer, the dots disappear and you are, to put it simply – responsible. Cross divisional nuances had to be addressed locally. I quickly realised that neither requests nor commands were going to help. The only way I can handle the additional responsibility was by making the team shake away their divisional skin which I theorized, could be achieved only if they had a strong interpersonal bonding. With the help of some senior colleagues, we did end up building a great bond. From power division colleague supporting a water treatment sale, to a service engineer going for sale of spare, to a steam engineering person selling a boiler the examples of success are galore.

Settled again the next move to Hyderabad was a painful one for two reasons, one I did not want a change and two because of what happened when I did move. I was once again happily settled – this time in Bangalore – when I was asked to move to Hyderabad. My wife had a steady job, daughter going to arguably one of the best schools and an extended family which had just moved to Bangalore. There was no incentive on personal front for a change. To add to it, my role was to remain the same, dual responsibility of ZM Channel and Area Manager. Only addition was that the business volume both in terms of value and number of transactions was double to that of Bangalore. Realizing the fact, that for my growth I needed to handle higher transaction volumes, I decided to move, and I must admit the support of my family here because a simple no from them could have meant that this blog would not have existed.

This brings me to the second reason of why the move was painful. I landed in Hyderabad and set out to implement exactly what I had done in Bangalore -demonstrate to TMs (read ‘try to be in every case’), review, and build a good team bonding in the Area office. A few months in and the business was a complete opposite of what I had expected, the harder I worked and the more I travelled around with the TMs the lower was the order intake. The move to Hyderabad was looking like a gamble gone awry. With my learnings from Chennai during channel’s initial days, I drew back into data for insight and found that the premise of business had changed. Sponge iron, cement, and edible oil, three of the top four industries of the zone were down. First, I cursed myself for missing a market trend at such a macro level. Then I dived deeper into data, bounced it off with number of colleagues in Hyderabad office. Using it they pointed out to several opportunities which were hiding in plain sight, most of the suggestions I must admit, coming from my own TMs. This brought me to another learning, do not just demonstrate to your subordinates on how to work, learn from them as well and give them a free hand. It is a learning I would have to use extensively when I would move on to become the PU head of Steam Engineering.

Next came a change which possibly is the aspiration of any regional employee. It was also a watershed opportunity. In 2015 I was asked to move back to Chennai as Corporate Regional Manager (CRM). It is one of the few roles where one wears a single hat – that of Thermax. No division no department. Just Thermax. My experience as an Area Manager which in a way was miniature version of a CRMs role helped me slip under this hat effortlessly. Added to that, having handled almost all the zones of South proved to be a blessing as I was not only able to establish connect with clients but also connect with the issues faced by colleagues and support them better. Multiple teams and spread-out geography meant that I could not be present everywhere. To overcome this, I banked on something which I had learnt earlier, a strong review process. It helped me stay on top of work be it commercial, sales or services. With insight that I got from reviews I was able to pre-empt issues and take corrective action in advance. A big team with multiple dotted line reporting structure meant I had my experiences with conflict management but more importantly, I understood the power of leading by influencing, thus in a way, preparing me for my next role as PU Head of Steam Engineering.

When I shifted to Steam PU, I underwent a paradigm shift. I had never experienced operations from a back-end perspective. As a front-end person, I had taken many of the back-end activities for granted, things which should happen. What any back-end person will vouch for is that things just don’t happen, people make them happen-against all odds. Leading teams from Manufacturing, Materials, Engineering, Audits, about which I had no experience and each of which was being led by domain experts was overwhelming to say the least. My experience of Hyderabad came handy. I learnt from each of the teams – not how to do their jobs but how to tie up each of their work for a smooth order to cash cycle. With a shared aspiration, teams suggested the changes and improvements we need to make to smoothen our execution and increase our business. Many of the suggestions have been implemented. The result has been a good increase in turnover with a very healthy profitability. My front-end experiences, I believe, helped make the back end more adaptable to the needs of the front end. It is a journey I am currently undertaking in which the learnings of data handling, listening to the team, customer facing approach, the salesmanship I learnt and most of all the service engineer between my ears have been my guide.

Benefit of hindsight is that it makes us wiser. In hindsight, I have made many a mistake that I would like to correct but the one thing that I would not change is the mobility I have had. Each change was a journey into a new learning ground and a steppingstone towards the next one. It is important to realise that change doesn’t come easy, but its benefits far outweigh its challenges. While we are a part of a great organization that encourages and hand holds us through such changes, we need to be aware of what stops us from taking the plunge and what support systems we need. Many times, we get into our comfort zones unwilling to chance upon opportunities that beckon us. The needs and compulsions of day-to-day lives bind us to where we are. It has happened with me before every single move, and I cannot but thank my mentors, colleagues, and my family who have supported and encouraged me to move on and to the managers who have nudged me to take on newer journeys.

– Manjul Patlia
PU Head – Steam Engineering in C&H Heating division

From a Control Room Engineer to a Global Sales Head, my professional journey has been filled with experiences that have left me with some insightful learnings and a sense of confidence to remain. As I reminisce, I often wonder what made me stay back in this company for so long, was it the constant career moves, an opportunity to learn from different assignments, the freedom to implement and test out maverick decisions or was it just the comfort? I can go on and write things about why employees love their jobs and what keeps them ticking, but I am no HR expert, and the answers are never easy.

I joined Thermax in 2005 through a walk-in interview, perhaps the third employee after the Business Head & the Operations Heads. I was posted to work at Alathiyur – a site located deep in the south of India. Unaware of the travails of 48-hour travel from my hometown in North, I arrived fatigued and exasperated and most certainly determined to return within a day and resign from the assignment! It was perhaps an instinct that pushed me to go on. I arrived at the site to witness a spectacular creation of plant and machinery which left me deeply curious about its working and performance. It was love at first sight, and from then on, I never looked back. Through the next 6 months I was drawn into the commissioning and stabilizing activities of the Power Plant and found myself embracing the opportunity to experiment and learn the nuances of operating a plant. That is when I learnt my first lesson – Never Quit Without Experiencing Difficulties. You Have Nothing to Lose!

Close on the heels of the Madras Cements project, new EPC orders started flowing which opened multiple O&M opportunities. As we added new plants the operations expanded, and I was called into to support the head office work. This was another turning point where I could have chosen to stay back at the plant, but my keenness to work with new things nudged me to take on this role. This event significantly impacted my career. That is when I learnt my second lesson – Embrace Change, Cause You Never Know What Destiny Has In Store For You!

With a frugal team of two, I was thrust into challenges of the new role – supporting Site Execution, Buying Sub-Contracts, creating and aligning to new business processes and above all the financial discipline. This was clearly a start-up environment and I count myself to be incredibly fortunate to be a part of the journey. The evolution that you witness in a start-up gives you a first-hand view of building a business brick by brick. And this is exactly what Power O&M was going through. Observing my seniors wade through tough decisions of retaining customers, acquiring new orders with challenging timelines, collection of bills from reluctant customers, handling customers with serious complaints and more. It was a deluge of events and activities that kept me busy, not to mention the constant demand of keeping our plants running round the clock.

As a part of a team that created the first Business Processes for O&M in 2006-2007 which formed the base for the current operating structure, I was able to co-relate the purpose of each process with the operations in the field and the checks and balances that it brought to the business. Along with Business Processes, I worked on EAM (Maintenance Management System for O&M Sites) with my current site execution responsibilities. This gave me a completely new perspective to view business from another dimension. After successfully crafting the processes and setting up the EAM, I was handpicked for leading the “Transcend” initiative for cost reduction and sustaining growth for SBU with Accenture. Another move across the business.

While I was moving from one cornerstone to another, I was gaining exposure to a multitude of activities including problem solving, creating new systems and for the first time I felt a bit overwhelmed and that is when I learnt my third lesson… Take A Pause, Reflect, And Decide What You Want To Do Next. Focus On Where You Want To Move And Why?

With a rich and diverse experience in the O&M operations I decided to try my hand at sales. I took on a fulltime sales role. Thanks to my seniors, who trusted me and gave me an opening to handle the domestic market albeit a challenge to get into a completely new market. We tried hard and came agonizingly close to bagging a few orders in the Large Power Plant Segment but somehow, success eluded us. Another lesson for me… Not All Moves Give You Immediate Success But Their Experiences Prepare You For The Future!

The next big change came my way in 2014 when I got the opportunity to handle International Sales. Creating a go to market strategy in the backdrop of playing in an alien territory, communicating in a foreign language, working in a new culture, coupled with complex issues of Entity formation and immigration was a unique assignment that pushed me to think hard and in different directions. Pushing through these odds I managed the first success which became a game changer for an SBU like ours. Suddenly our revenue and profits jumped multi fold and I was pleasantly reminded of lesson number 2 Embrace Change, Cause You Never Know What Destiny Has In Store For You…

My penchant for moving across and successfully adapting to new roles made me visible to key stake holders and I was offered to lead global sales in 2019. This was the next big thing that placed me in the middle of a key leadership deliverable of man management!

When you take on new roles you get opportunities to test yourself against diverse requirements which help hone talents and skills that may have otherwise remained dormant. I have come to believe that each experience sharpens you in its own unique way. Once you have accepted the new role – commit to it wholeheartedly, expect the first few months to be challenging. You may even find yourself in a wobble like you do when you learn to ride a bike for the first time. Embrace this key phase, invest in new relationships, and create a new future. Perhaps you were the expert in your last role and now you will be the beginner but don’t let that shake your confidence. You have made this move for a reason, give it your best and don’t look back.

Moving within the organization requires a unique plan, a process and above all an open mind to remain curious. Getting a guide and a mentor is a key factor. Invest some time to do it right, and you will increase your chances of landing in your best job.

I cannot thank the organization enough for helping me with opportunities to build an all-round experience and a big thank you to my superiors and mentors who stayed by my side in this interesting and intoxicating journey.

– Anurag Chincholkar
Global Sales Head, Power O&M division