Dear Team,
Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali! I hope the coming year brings you joy and prosperity.
This past month, my focus has been on making impactful changes in our R&D to ensure we are building and delivering valuable new products for our customers. For the past two years, I’ve felt that our progress has been slow, and we haven’t fully met the promises we made. The energy in our leadership and team seemed to be lacking, and the scattered efforts weren’t yielding the expected results. To launch new products in the market, we need strong, stable processes, and I felt our efforts were not as organized and scientific as they should have been.
After discussions with the team, we made some important decisions:
– Mr. Ramjee Subramanian has stepped down from his leadership role, and we are now looking for a new leader. Meanwhile, Mr. Satish Chamivelumani has taken on the interim leadership.
– We invited international experts to help improve customer alignment and activities. Mr. Alan Gregerman and Mr. Mark Dorfman spent time with the team to share their insights.
– We also received valuable guidance from UPM’s Janak Sapkota and our new US leader, Mr. Vishal Bansal, who visited our Bangalore and Ayodhya locations.
– We decided to strengthen our R&D base in Bangalore to allow us to collaborate more effectively with customers, talent, and other partners.
– A worldwide search is underway to bring in the right people to strengthen our team further.
Earlier in the month, I spent time with the US team and felt the need to accelerate progress there as well. As a result, several changes were made:
– Mr. Ted DeHaan stepped down from his leadership role, and Mr. Vishal Bansal was selected as the new leader. With 25 years of experience in launching new products and markets, I believe Mr. Bansal will bring new energy and focus.
– Mr. Satish Chamivelumani was transferred from India to the US to lead our molded fiber products.
– We will focus on flexible packaging and molded fiber while holding off on our paper trade activities.
– A strengthened partnership has been established with Carvajal.
– Mrs. Nalin has been selected to lead marketing and branding.
The month began with a visit to Guatemala, where we collaborated with Finland’s Ikigai Company for the Kawok Project, focusing on technology selection. Ikigai will work with vendors worldwide to help us build a world-class plant, and Mr. Mikko also spent time in India to understand our position.
In addition, we made progress in securing bagasse supplies from sugar mills for the Kawok Project, and the land acquisition process advanced.
As we reach the midpoint of the year, it’s essential to assess how we can meet our goals. I look forward to having a session with the team by the end of October to reflect and discuss our way forward. It’s crucial to keep challenging our thinking and actions to create global impact.
I pray to Maa Lakshmi for prosperity, to Lord Ganesha for guidance, and to Maa Durga for the strength to achieve the seemingly impossible.
With best wishes,
Yours,
Ved
