Manav Energy Pvt. Ltd. established in the year 2012 with a vision to deliver safe and reliable products and services with a ‘know-why’ attitude with the best applicative concepts. Before this, the firm started its journey in the Middle East in the year 2008 as Manav Enterprise Middle East. Manav Energy’s sustained growth over the years represents the trust placed in its solutions by clients and partners. It is a pioneer in developing implementable & innovative solutions that will proactively protect life & assets.

In an extensive conversation with the Women Entrepreneur India team, Savitha Banerjee, MD, Manav Energy speaks to us about the various facets that make the company and her leadership a cut above the rest.

Take us through your early educational journey and the prior industry experience that you bring to the table.

Being the eldest daughter of a Deputy Chief Scientific Officer in Defence, I started my early education at various Kendriya Vidyalaya schools all over India. I completed my bachelor's degree in Electronics & Communication Engineering in the year 1990 from BDT college of Engineering Davengere, Karnataka. Started my career as a lecturer for the first year BE students and later joined as a PCB soak tester in a small-scale industry in Bangalore. I then got an opportunity to work in C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) as a Technical writer for 5 years from where my journey as a technical writer began. Worked with many IT companies like I2, and Netscape as a Senior Technical Writer. In the year 2004, I got an opportunity to join Intel India as Senior Technical Writer and worked there for 10 years. My experience in Intel was immense and made me very strong in my core area as a technical writer. The experience at Intel gave me an understanding of information management. While my husband had started Manav Energy in 2012, I joined as Managing Director & CEO of Manav Energy In April 2014. From then, a new journey began. Taking this role has changed my perspective completely. The learning curve has been immense. Every day I learn something new while being in this position.

What led you to found Manav Energy? Tell us about the underlying idea behind the company and some of its most unique features?

My husband, Sonjib Banerjee, first founded this company in 2008 after experiencing many incidents, accidents, and fatalities while working in electrical operations in many industrial domains. He found that the electrical safety system’s design and operations were neglected and were least focused during any project phase. As we got success in UAE by being part of many milestone projects world’s tallest tower Burj Khalifa (Lightning Management System), our safety solutions being used in many first houses and in many mission-critical establishments he planned to extend these solutions in India. To start this idea in Indian territory, I became a part of the company in 2014. From this point onwards the business focus and administration were handled from my chair and he has diversified in developing new products and solutions using modern technologies and patents.

We have completed many prestigious and missioncritical projects (1200+) worldwide, backed by leading global alliances, ISO certifications, and unmatched credentials. We have executed many medium and largescale projects across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Our team is trained to perform precision audits and installations in various geographies including deepsea, dessert, sub-zero, and high-altitude environments. Our team is capable of handling complex projects that demand continuous project management and optimum delivery.

Our expertise spans from the survey, study, measurement, design, audit, testing, commissioning, validation, root cause analysis, O&M Expert Services in the field of Earthing Management, Lightning Management, EM Management, Power Quality Management, Power System Studies, Control Systems & Instrumentation. We strive to exceed customer expectations by harmonizing experienced foresight and ethical engineering solutions. We follow IEEE, IS, BS EN, NFPA, NEC, NFC and other relevant national & international standards for all our services. Our tests and measurements are performed at the site in live condition (no shutdown) with a record of zero incidences & zero downtime.

The present pandemic conditions we are living through are being discussed in many forums across the world as a biological struggle which has resulted in the loss of lives and intense commercial constraints across the globe. The conflicts and concerns of tomorrow, always pressing and multiplying, will feature similar non-conventional chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) challenges around the world. Manav Energy recognizes these complexities faced by our clients and the rest of the world during such a prolonged emergency due to global climate change and CBRN. In this ‘New Normal’, free movement and availability of a trained workforce will continue to remain restricted.

Apart from being an OEM of many niche products & services, we have received a patent for the world’s first IoT based online remote fault-time earth resistance monitoring system (R-FERM®), which was developed looking at the human dependency on maintaining electrical safety systems during the recent pandemic. This system will help authorities and safety personnel to view the earthing system behavior during normal and fault-time using online cloud data management  system. Similarly, we have also brought a new concept of a lightning management system called LMAS (Lightning management & alert system). Along with lightning prediction and management, this system also uses IoT-based technology to alert authorities during lightning conditions so that they can take proactive safety measures to keep lives and assets in their environment safe during conditions.

“Manav is a core electrical and electromagnetic engineering company providing niche products and solutions to all industry segments”

What are the various roles & responsibilities that you currently shoulder at Manav Energy? What are some of the most pressing challenges that you face as the founder and how do you successfully tackle them?

As Managing Director of Manav Energy, my role is to ensure that our products and services are unique and they resolve the problems placed by our clients technologically and economically. Our core engineering expertise provides the best implementable solutions and delivers products that will instil electrical safety and enhance operational reliability at all times. I am also responsible to ensure the company follows set systems & processes as per ISO 9001 & 140001 standards. As we are a data-driven company, I play a vital role to ensure the company has the best data management and information security as per ISO 27001. The most pressing challenge I have faced is to drive my team from a know-how working model to a know why working model. The issues raised in the field of electrical safety and reliability are sometimes very unpredictable and challenging. Hence, the workforce having the 'know-why' attitude to address the issue and resolve it with minimal economic and environmental impact becomes essential.

My senior leadership members have deep knowledge in the core area of business and effective administration experience. They provide a strong balance between technology guidance and ensuring the highest levels of corporate governance through risk control and regulatory compliance. They also act as mentors for the senior executives in ideation, creation, and skill enhancement, whilst upholding our firm commitment to engineering ethics and business values.

In your opinion what have been some of the most significant milestones that you have achieved in your professional journey? What has been the driving force behind your success as a business leader?

Manav Energy started with a team of four members in a small garage, here in Bangalore. Delivering, innovative products & services with a strong and dedicated team to our esteemed clients, we could expand from a 4 member to a 100+ member company in 10 years. Today, Manav Energy has a dedicated workforce of multi domain core experts along with software, testing instruments and simulation tools under one roof to understand electrical and electromagnetic susceptibility during operation and contingency conditions. This capability allows us to provide the best-in-class technology solutions that can provide safe and reliable electrical network operations. I am proud of my team who are instrumental in ideating and implementing many tailored-made solutions for our clients.

The driving force behind my success as a business leader is the futuristic technology solutions that our company provides through an informed and dedicated team. The last few years have proven that any kind of unpredicted & unsafe environment can develop without a knock. With present geopolitical conditions chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) challenges can arise at any time and to be ready for such unsafe conditions is a necessity for all industry sectors. With the Manav Energy R&D team and knowledge base, I can foresee that we can provide unique safety and reliability solutions to any sector or segment. All members of our company have equally participated and walked the path with me during tough conditions. They welcome new ideas and are adaptive to any dynamic condition instantly. I am very confident that with all my team members and with senior management leadership, Manav Energy can be one of the best electrical safety & reliability solution provider companies in the world.

What steps do you take to keep yourself well aligned with periodic evolutions occurring in the field of electrical engineering? What is your vision for the company’s growth in the near future?

Manav Energy is a core electrical and electromagnetic engineering company providing niche products and solutions to all industry segments. Our field of work, Electrical Safety and Reliability play a vital role in today’s technological advancement. With these evolving technologies, asset management & risk mitigation for electrical and electronic systems in various environments is becoming more complex. These complex systems are susceptible to electromagnetic interference and prone to electrical faults resulting in accidents, service disruptions, and escalated costs in operations and maintenance. The company aligns itself with recent developments by attending to and talking in various forums to review periodic technological evolutions and align our products and services to meet industry needs.

Drawing from your experience as a successful business leader, what would your advice be to young women and girls who also aspire to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

As Ms. Sudha Murthy, an Indian businesswoman, educator, author, and philanthropist who is the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, quotes ‘Life is an exam where the syllabus is unknown and question papers are not set. Nor are there model answer papers.”, I urge all young women and girls to search for the why factor in their career and life. The 'know-why' attitude helps to understand the perspective of work and life in a better way and provides a unique perspective to chalk the life path.