Journey so far!
Born and raised in Kashmir, I am proud of my heritage. Coming from a family of educationists, I credit my success to the values taught by my parents while I was growing up. My penchant for numbers got me to finance and my ‘go-for-it’ attitude helped me through various senior assignments in different industries. Though I have all along been a finance professional, yet I never confined myself only to finance or accounting.
I was always inquisitive about various aspects of a business enterprise like operations, planning, marketing, capacity, optimisation, etc.
I joined Delhi Cargo Service Center as a Chief Financial Officer nine years ago. At the same time, I also took a deep interest in the business operations of the company and the group. I was captivated by the dynamics of the air cargo industry. I took over as Chief Executive Officer in April 2018, and that gave a wider perspective to my responsibilities. It let me further my knowledge and allowed me to integrate everything that I had learned from my past assignments. Doing things like forging and mentoring strong teams, motivating people and achieving targets were all learned along the way. The role comes with its inherent challenges and sometimes it gets lonely at the top, but success comes at its own price.
Major transformations
Leading a company that has been built on trust, efficiency and has consistently delivered value to its customers, the use of information technology in achieving automation and standardisation form its core. I believe, in the last few years, digitisation is a major transformation that has taken place in the industry. When I joined this industry, digitisation of business operations was marginal. But now many businesses have transitioned from paper documentation and communications to digitisation in a major way. The trend continues and many businesses in the air cargo industry understand its benefits. Undoubtedly, Delhi airport has emerged as the biggest gateway airport in India. When we look at the volume of cargo Delhi airport handles now, and compare it with the past, we realise that we have come a long way. It is heartening to see how the Government of India is prioritising to improve the airport infrastructure of the country.
Biggest challenge
In order to build efficiencies and deliver high levels of service to customers, business processes must be continually improved and revamped every now and then. Keeping up the quality of business information and its timeliness is a major challenge in the current scenario. Sustained digitisation and technology adoption are the keys to improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability. The rules of the game are constantly changing, and one must keep finger on the pulse.
Hobbies & Interests
Work is my first love and I enjoy it thoroughly. Apart from work I love driving. I am a passionate motorist and I enjoy doing long trips and driving to new places. It started with riding a bicycle. When I was a kid I would ride long stretches on a bicycle and my parents would get anxious about it. I am an avid traveller and I like visiting places of natural beauty.
Mantra for success
Love what you do. There are a lot of sacrifices to be made when you set out to achieve your dreams. You must work hard and wear many hats. But if you love what you do, it never feels like work and you love it. Build your teams and empower them. I push forward with my goals in mind.
Message for aspirants
I would like to tell to the readers and logistics aspirants that digitisation is the future. Please keep the march towards digitisation robust, because it is the way to success. We have come a long way, and nothing can stop us from becoming the world’s best.
