There's no doubt that technology has overhauled the entire business landscape across industries, and the engineering sector is no exception. However, it’s significant to witness the engineers dexterously demonstrating their expertise stepping up to the challenges and outbreaks through development of processes & implementation of agile technology across the solutions in an innovative manner. And, Harshita Jain, is one such revered leader adeptly exhibiting her astute competence across the infrastructure industry. Through her Jaipur-based family-owned infrastructure engineering consulting company, Consulting Engineers Group (CEG) Harshita caters to the design, planning, engineering, consulting and construction management solutions for the infrastructure development across the country and globe.

What makes Harshita stand conspicuous amongst the leaders in the industry is her in-depth knowledge of the infrastructure engineering, and the insightful business development skills and strong professionalism that she displays through her project leads at the CEG.In an invigorating conversation with the WEM team, Harshita takes us on a detour of her inciting professional journey and shares with us her views on the profoundly evolving infrastructure engineering and consulting industry. Here are select excerpts from the conversation.

Give Us A Brief Overview Of Consulting Engineers Group. What Are Some Important Features About Your Expertise As A Business Leader?

Consulting Engineers Group is a family-owned infrastructure consulting company leveraging its three decades’ of extensive experience across a diverse range of civil engineering consulting services like designing, supervision, operations and maintenance of infrastructure projects in India and worldwide. Working in this very niche sector, not only do we handle a variety of projects ranging from highways, expressways, bridges, any structures, tunnels, airports, railways, metros, urban development, and water resources, but also assist our clients along the entire life cycle of these projects. Our clientele list primarily includes the government, followed by private contracting companies working in the infrastructure sector.

Our USP is that we accomplish all our projects with full commitment, and integrity, while also adhering to the highest ethical standards and compliances marked.

What Motivated You To Venture Into The Infrastructure Engineering & Consulting Industry? What Have Been Some Of The Most Significant Milestones Achieved By The Company So Far?

I am a graduate in civil engineering from University of Bath, UK, the topmost rank civil engineering university in there. I hold no prior experiences despite CEG because I directly joined the company (the family-owned enterprise), post completion of my degree. Also, my motivation to join the civil engineering sector since always have been my parents. Also, being born in a family where everyone- my father (a Civil Engineer), mother (a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering), including my elder sister (a Civil Engineering graduate from University of Southampton, UK) are working in the civil engineering sector, it was natural for me to follow their footsteps and choose civil engineering as my career domain.

Getting to hear their discussions day in and out about the construction of highways, bridges and roads really fascinated me and intrigued me even more, and so here I am. However, when I went to UK it was never my intention to stay back there and work, instead the day I completed my course I was back to India because I wanted to give my learnings back to India and contribute in the nation building. I worked at the CEG for three years, and again thinking to take myself one level up and foray into the managerial role, I headed back to the UK and did an executive management course from London School of Economics.Well, in terms of significant milestone achievement, it has been the appreciable to witness exponential growth in the company’s turnover in just a span of 7 years, since my joining with a current turnover of more than 170 Crores.

Currently, we are handling a massive 2.5 lac crores of construction cost of projects worldwide. Such, things really fill me a sense of accomplishment. Also, amongst other achievements one that makes me feel proud is to get nominated as India’s representation in the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), in their Future Leaders forum.

Being The Director At CEG, What Roles And Responsibilities Do You Shoulder? Tell Us About The Aspects Of Your Role You Find Most Challenging And What You Do To Overcome Them?

Being the CEG’s Director, my basic responsibility is the business development hence, I look after the whole business development part of the company- how to get new clients, what new projects should we work on, what are the different sectors we should foray in and in which country as we are doing / completed projects in 15 different countries with total of 52 offices in the world, out of 13 are international. We have etched our reach to countries like Gabon, Zambia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan & Liberia, Ethiopia, more, where many Indian companies are yet not present and that’s one of our great advantage over others.

"I believe that success can never be achieved alone, it comes when you surround yourself with the people who are equally committed and dedicated"

Also, in India being one of the largest civil engineering consultancy stakeholders in the metro sector in India, we are working on projects like the Line 5, 7, 2B, 6 of Mumbai Metro, Surat Metro, Bangalore Metro, Chennai Metro, Nagpur Metro, Navi Mumbai Metro. We are also the project management consultants for Mumbai Ahmedabad High speed Bullet Train Project being built on Japanese “Shinkansen” High Speed Rail Technology which is also the first bullet train project of India. Likewise, having brought in such works to the company while fulfilling my business development responsibility in the last seven years of my tenure, my future aim is to draw in more & more new projects from new sectors & departments that upcoming worldwide.

I’m have not limited myself to only nationwide growth, but the whole world is my playground.In terms of challenges, I don't find anything challenging because I do everything with full conviction & passion, and it’s my rigorous determination & perseverance that leads me to success everytime. Here, everyone is equal and it’s deeply ingrained. Amidst this male-dominated industry, working hard along my team thinking of myself as one of them I have made my way up here starting from the bottom-line of food chain in the company. I’m proud of the sense of accountability & responsibility with which each employee works here and that’s the confidence built in our working always keeps me overcome any challenges without wavering.

Throw Some Light On Your Guiding Leadership Philosophy As A Business Leader And How Does It Aid In The Growth Of The Organization And The Employees?

I believe that success can never be achieved alone, it comes when you surround yourself with the people who are equally committed and dedicated. So, being a leader doesn't mean that you have to be the brightest mind in the room, but it means that you find the right kind of people who work with you together as a team and reap results. I'm very fortunate, to have surrounded myself with such talented personas, who are significantly lending me a hand to accomplish my responsibility as a leader and conclusively lead them forward to nurture and help them become leaders themselves in their lives.

In Your Opinion How Has The Infrastructure Engineering Consulting Industry Evolved Over The Past Few Years? Give Your Advice Be To Young Women Aspiring To Become Business Leaders And Entrepreneurs In The Future?

At the moment, even though there are ample of opportunities in Civil Engineering Sector in the country, it is still seen as a challenging sector for women having to work on-site, handling both work, and other things together, universally. But, on the good side the sector is evolving, and I would like to see the numbers grow a lot more than it actually is. Hence, my suggestion to the women aspiring to become a civil engineer or be future leaders & entrepreneurs is that have faith in yourself and never give up on your dreams. Learning and growth go hand in hand, always be ready to embrace new learnings. If you are passionate and talented enough to bring a change, then nothing can stop you, regardless of age and gender, because neither do they play any role in terms of success nor do they define your chances at success.

Harshita Jain, Director, Consulting Engineers Group

Having pursued a Certificate Course focused in Business Administration and Management, General from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), she is a strong and skilled business development professional with a demonstrated history of working in the civil engineering industry.