Dear Team,
It has been a very exciting month for us and I see things taking shape towards our vision.
Rethinking Materials
This was a conference held in London earlier in May. We were platinum sponsors to the event which gave us a lot of visibility. The idea behind the conference is to bring those who are working towards sustainable materials together so that more development can take place.
Our objectives were
Launch our GCA platform and make the community more aware so that we get users registered.
Build more research tie ups specially for the flexible packaging solutions.
Explore partnerships and tie ups for funding as we look to grow internationally for our pulping.
We had interesting development for each of the aims.
The GCA team launched the platform well and got over 40 registrations. The idea behind the platform is to solutionise and we are building more intelligence and contacts for the same.
The innovations team could not be there in person but they attended virtually. There were numerous interesting technologies and tie-ups that were initiated ranging from nano-metallisation to different suppliers in the bio-plastics space. Together we will be evolving better products.
I had various interesting discussions for funding. I met some really large investment banks who showed interest in our plans and also found some aligned organisations who may help us find the right funders and structures.
There are many companies and customers who are very interested in change and we are very well placed for the same. We need to keep building our skills in handling agri fibers and expanding effectively to provide solutions to this world for better packaging.
Paperex
It was wonderful to be at paperex and see the interest that the customers displayed for us. It was wonderful for me to see all stakeholders have a high regard for the team. My congratulations to you. Business is all about finding the right market and serving it well and you are clearly doing a great job for the same. My compliments also to the branding team for setting up such a wonderful stall that also won an award.
The compostables team found a long list of people interested in partnering us in producing which is crucial for us going forward.
Team Excellence
We have been struggling in this area and have gone through numerous HR heads. Our challenge is alignment towards the kind of organisation we wish to create. It is my dream to provide a place which is free of fear and aligned towards reaching our highest potential. This has been really tough as we all get so conditioned by our ego’s leading to hierarchy, submission and fear. We need to build differently.
Our mentor Susan Basterfield agreed to play a larger role and leading change. This is a great blessing for us. Although there will be cultural differences but it is important to have the core ideas aligned as we build a global organisation. I am excited to see how we evolve with her guidance and deeper involvement. She will also be involving more people internationally as we look to strengthen Culture, Hiring, YSP, Leadership and Skills.
Pakka Foundation
We need to do more with our neighbours and society to contribute towards our surroundings.
We have started programmes in the sphere of education, employment and ecology but we need strong leadership to channelise and take them forward.
I am really happy to have Sarita Upadhyay join us to lead the foundation. She comes with a strong background in development and skilling and there will be change going forward.
We are looking to build stronger education for children, training for youth, development for women and improvement in village ecology.
Organisation development
Our organisation is growing. We have the central pulp and paper team leading the charge with strong performance and profitability and that is enabling the growth towards our dream of a cleaner planet.
We have a strong core team of leaders now and that gives me a lot of courage going forward.
I am developing myself more through reading, interactions and learning to be able to provide required service to my team and build their confidence. I will invest more time and effort towards this goal so that I am able to provide the assistance they need.
We have launched a bunch of websites that provide insights into what each of the organisation is doing and what their aims are. Please check those and provide feedback to the branding team so that they can do an even better job.
YashPakka.com: we have a new website for the pulp and paper business. It has been designed with our dream in mind and has been made more user friendly.
Pakka.com: This is our website for the international investment arm and provides an insight into the entire organisation.
PakkaImpact.com: This website is for the innovation team that is taking the step of forming a separate profit centre and opening itself to more tie-ups.
GCAImpact.com and GCAHub.com: These are website and platform for our technology business where we will look to solutionise.
We will also look to build better websites for foundation as we gain more clarity about the users and the purpose.
The coming month is about setting these different arms on the path they have undertaken and enabling leadership more at pulp and paper and compostables to take the large steps they are planning.
I will spend more time in India this month and look forward to getting time with all of you.
Best wishes.
Yours,
Ved