Traditionally, engineering might have been a male-dominated field but today, women are making their mark in the engineering and technology field. With the change in the patriarchal mindset of society, women are playing essential roles in this sector. To inspire emerging women leaders in the engineering industry, Jayita Sengupta, Co-Founder & COO, TreisTek India engages in a conversation with Women Entrepreneur Magazine. Jayita is an extremely skilled business leader with expertise in Strategic Planning, Program Management, Enterprise Quality, and Business Process Optimization. She has explicit experience with various industries like IT, Media, Telecom, and Engineering and has enriching experiences in working across departments of R&D, Design, Implementation, Sales, Support Services, Finance, and HR, generating sustainable growth for organizations by identifying pain points and suggesting suitable solutions.

Joining hands with her husband Arindam Sengupta (Co-founder, TreisTek India) Jayita is defining the vision, mission, and values of the organization while leading large-scale projects and bringing strategic innovations in marketing and other genres of the business. She is currently working on the next Gen Automation tools. “My vision is to look deeper at cross-functional integration, not just collaboration; Marketing, Sales, and Development working as if they were ‘one’ team”, says Jayita.

Let’s hear it from the influential leader as she shines a light on the impact that she has been making in the engineering industry.

Tell us about the vision on which the venture was established. What are some of its most unique features?

TreisTek India was built with the vision to be a world-class integrated offshore company, delivering Engineering and GIS services responsibly, and sustainably balancing risk and opportunity. We have a very young and energetic team who bring fresh perspectives and different ways of thinking to your business that makes our vision achievable. Our uniqueness lies in our values- Integrity, Respect for co-workers, Teamwork, and Excellence in everything that we do.

The unique features of the organization involve our ability to pay attention to details which is the key to successful projects. Our long-term experience shows higher & positive outputs and we constantly develop ourselves and inspire our employees to meet challenges and execute bold ideas. Most importantly, our clients are our main focus and all our efforts are concentrated on guiding and helping them with customized solutions.

What are the different responsibilities you shoulder as the co-founder & COO of TreisTek India? What are your primary focus areas in terms of driving growth for the company?

As the Co-founder and the COO, I look after the overall business development responsible for driving company sales playing an integral role in the company’s longevity. I head the marketing departments and work with the technical leads to handle the technical aspects of the business. I also play an instrumental role in many HR responsibilities and lead the HR staff to implement various projects. My major focus areas involve Business Process Optimization where I indulge in redesigning core processes to promote efficiency and strengthen the alignment of individual processes with overall strategy and goals yielding real business improvement. I focus on program management that broadens the efforts across the entire organization creating a significant competitive advantage, better customer service, and much more efficient operation.

Throw some light on the most critical business challenges you face in your current role. What steps do you take to overcome them?

There were many great reasons why I stepped into being the co-owner of the business; working for myself, having a more flexible work schedule, and expanding my skill set are all among them. Despite all of the positives, building a business has its difficulties. But the risks and challenges are usually worth the rewards. One of the biggest challenges was to establish ourselves in Bangalore which is a haven for the construction business. But with our unique innovation in engineering, accuracy in fetching solutions, and support of a specialized team we were able to make a benchmark in the region. Apart from Bangalore, today, we are open in Kolkata and have offices in Dubai and New Zealand.

"If a girl picturizes herself as an engineer, she should be as encouraged as she would be in any other role"

TreisTek India is completely into the construction of urban development, and our clients are mostly various government sectors involved in construction and infrastructure development. Our profits depend on the revenue from clients based on the projects we handle for them. In that context, another major challenge has been the time of Covid 19. The pandemic made our business standstill. We had a tough time balancing our financials during that period but what kept us afloat was our transparency with our employees as well as clients. Creating trust among our co-workers helped us to overcome the difficult phase and we were back on the track as soon as the market resumed its operations.

"Our exceptionally skilled research team helps us to remain in tune with trends & technologies in the market to ensure that our offerings remain relevant"

How has TreisTek India’s growth journey been so far? Tell us about some of the key milestones achieved by the firm.

TreisTek India has grown tremendously over the past five years working with some of the major projects not just in India but abroad as well. We have worked with the Singapore government to develop a 3D model for the entire region and also for Singapore’s Changi Airport. We have grown from being one team member to almost 150 members team within two years working on India’s most reputed projects in various locations. For our exceptional services, we have also been awarded the Most Promising Engineering Company in India in 2000. Recently we have also received the India Icon Award for the Fastest Growing Engineering and GIS Company in Bangalore.

What are your key leadership mantras that you leverage as a business leader to keep your growth constant in the market?

It has been a challenge to grow in the market with multiple competitors in the same field but we have been able to overcome that and place ourselves among the well-established names in the region through dedication and a lot of passion for our work. Our never-give-up attitude has helped us to grow an abundance of positive thoughts and also channel the path toward a better future. As a leader, I believe in hard work, perseverance, and learning new ways or technologies to solve problems. Our exceptionally skilled research team helps us to remain in tune with trends & technologies in the market to ensure that our offerings remain relevant.

How do you foresee the Indian engineering and GIS space evolving in the next few years?

In India, BIM (Building Information Modelling) has a lot of scope and potential to grow with the emergence of BIM in the sector. In other words, we can say that BIM is the future of the construction industry. By using BIM, the sector can work toward better outcomes for the built environment, create technology-enabled processes and increase the understanding of a project. BIM aids construction and design teams involved in any project to communicate between themselves, clients, and the public where needed. Though BIM has not yet gained popularity in India, we have already started working toward it and soon it will yield greater opportunities in the coming years. The industry is constantly changing and various new technologies are being developed currently like AI, AR, and VR creating abundant potential in this sector.

What is your take on the current state of women’s representation in the Indian engineering sector? How do you think we can bring more women on board, especially in leadership roles?

Engineering is widely regarded as a male-dominated field. When it comes to choosing a stream such as civil, mechanical, or electrical engineering, women often hear things like ‘this field is not for you.’ The skewed gender inequality in the sector is still insufficient to dissuade women from pursuing engineering careers. All girls who want to pursue a career in civil engineering should not be discouraged. If one has the aptitude, nothing can stop them from attaining their goal. I strongly believe, the envisioning of a career and shaping of ambitions begins at a very small age for children. If a girl picturizes herself as an engineer, she should be as encouraged as she would be in any other role. We must let her know that engineering is open as a career for girls and they can grow up to design, create and build world-changing solutions.

Jayita Sengupta Co-Founder & COO, TreisTek India

Having an mba degree in marketing and brand management and over 15+ years of enterprise experience, jayita enables businesses to achieve their growth, innovation, and performance excellence goals