1.Can you please give an overview of your professional background leading up to and including your current role?
I started my career as a Procurement and Supply chain professional being equipped with a M.Tech in Packaging Technology ,Diploma in Materials Management and an MBA with specialization in Finance . Worked in several Indian companies from 1990 to 2000 in the mid management level mainly in the Supply and Logistics function till I joined SHV Energy ( SUPERGAS) in Hyderabad, a Dutch MNC and one of the largest LPG distribution and marketing companies in the world as General Manager ( Supply and Logistics ) in the year 2000.
It was the beginning of the journey of being an entrepreneur without being an investor in SUPERGAS. Me and my colleagues together moved SUPERGAS from the project phase to the business phase and a profitable one at that from 2000 till day .It has been a fascinating journey as we evolved as a company having a common vision “ To lead in providing energy solutions through LPG.”Along the way we can say that we have had 3 Strategic direction adjustments to build our business to what it is today based on prevailing environment and market conditions in each of the strategic phases .
In between I moved to the Philippines in 2010 to 2014 as the Managing Director of Liquigaz another SHV Energy company with a short assignment of maximizing profits and divesting the Liquigaz business from SHV Energy Portfolio as it was not aligned to downstream distribution business model of SHV . After having completed the assignment ,I returned to SUPERGAS in India to join the team to take SUPERGAS to greater heights .
2.What have been some of the significant highlights of SHV Energy Private Limited history?
SHV Energy entered India under the brand name SUPERGAS in the year 1996 to participate in marketing and distribution of LPG in the domestic market with assurances by the Government of removing subsidy from the sector and making it a level playing field for foreign and local private players .The initial 5 years was focus on building the SUPERGAS brand, the infrastructure of terminals and filling plants and create a domestic customer base by self subsiding the market with the hope of pricing for profits later once subsidy was removed .
In 2000 SUPERGAS India management decided not to wait for the Government to fulfill its promise of removing subsidies but instead strategize for profits . It is around the time that we decided to shift focus from the domestic to the industrial and commercial segment in bulk and cylinders The team of Senior Leaders and middle management went through the process of reinventing the company in creating our Strategy for the decade from 2000 to 2010.
SUPERGAS for the first time had a positive EBITA in 2005 which was the start of the turn around and getting the shareholder confidence back .
In this period most of the MNC’s and many other private companies wound up the LPG business operations as it was not possible to compete with the 3 giant Government Oil companies and the subsidy in the domestic segment .
SUPERGAS through our Vision , Goals and strategy created a niche for ourselves in the Industrial and Commercial segment and became a leader in providing Innovative solutions , Reliable quality , Highest standard of Safety and Customer service to our customers . We also changed a commodity business into a knowledge-based business where our young Engineers and Sales Managers learnt the art and technology of converting various industrial applications from polluting fossil fuels to a cleaner fuel like LPG . We stopped selling LPG and sold “Peace of Mind” to all our customers.
In 2010 to further strengthen our infrastructure and penetration in the state of Tamil Nadu we acquired the Caltex LPG business and improved our profitability further by introducing and growing fast in a new business segment ie Auto Gas .
In 2019 I took over the reins as the CEO of SUPERGAS and we re-strategized and set new ambitions with the team . The year 2020 was a tough year for us with Covid impacting economy and crippling our Industrial and Commercial business .However we used the period to restructure the company to make it even more efficient and focused on Operational Excellence through Digital transformation and starting the LEAN journey .
We also believed in the Indian business and were able to convince our shareholders to allow another big investment of INR 500 crore for expansion of our terminal in Tuticorin from a Storage and trading hub to a full-fledged manufacturing facility . Despite the hardships during the Covid period our Project team did a great job of commissioning the expanded new terminal facility in 2023 to enable us to enter a new business stream of providing storage and job work services to the Government Oil companies to take SUPERGAS to the next league .
Subsequently banking on the Pillars of Commercial , Operational and Social Excellence we made a quick recovery in 2022 and 2023 and have ambitions to grow faster in the coming years .
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