Dilipkumar Khandelwal
PGPMAX Class of 2013
Managing Director, SAP Labs India and Senior Vice President, Suite Engineering,
SAP
Present Occupation: Managing Director, SAP Labs India and Senior Vice
President, Suite Engineering, SAP (The Suite Engineering organisation focuses on
developing and supporting applications in SAP Business Suite and Strategic
Industries)
Sector: Information Technology, Business Software
Work Experience: 14 years
Interests – Professional/ Personal: Spending time with friends, watching
soccer and Formula One (F1)
Can you tell us a little about your family background/ history?
I come from a business family that is originally from Rajasthan. I am the oldest
of four brothers and I was the first in the family to challenge the status quo,
tread into uncharted territory and break out of the traditional family business
to pursue an industry role. After I earned my engineering degree, I started my
career in the IT department of a large Indian manufacturing company. During my
association with this company, I had the opportunity to work with some of its
leaders. Those experiences were influential in shaping my perspective and making
me understand the need to have a clear purpose in everything I do.
Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including
recent awards/ special projects).
Personally, my biggest strength is my upbringing and the importance my parents
placed on family values. I try and instil the same values in my children.
Watching them evolve into little personalities learning the concept of right and
wrong, I am reminded every day of the importance of being aware of my actions
and keeping myself in check because I see how much influence I have on them. I
have to mention how strong a support my wife has always been throughout my
journey. I have also had the privilege of working for those in need over the
years, and with my recent appointment to the advisory board of the HOPE
Foundation, I look forward to more opportunities to give back in my own little
way.
Right from the very beginning of my career, I have always been able to work
closely with customers, something I value even today. This has strongly
inscribed customer centricity into my working style and philosophy. Here at SAP,
I have had the chance to work with some of the most innovative minds in the
business over the years. I was awarded the “SAP Leader of the Year 2011” and was
recently appointed the Managing Director of SAP Labs India. To see people put
their trust and confidence in me is a strong affirmation of the value of my
learnings thus far.
Tell us about your profile pre-ISB, and recap your professional life after
ISB, including your career progression.
Starting off as a technology consultant, I had the opportunity to learn about
customers and their businesses early on in my career. I was able to understand
how large customers realise their business through intelligent IT investments.
This gave me the much needed traction for my growth. I went on to drive the
set-up of a quality governance and production team in India. After seven years
with this team, I joined my current team where I am now the global head of Suite
Engineering. We develop and support solutions around our on-premise business
solutions. It was in my role as the Senior Vice President of this team that I
had the opportunity to enrol in the PGPMAX course at ISB. We have seen our
organisation grow steadily in its portfolio over the last few years. And now,
stepping into the role of the MD for Labs India, I see most of my learnings
being put to use and contribute to my decision making capabilities.
Describe your fondest memory of ISB.
ISB brought my college days back to memory and gave me an opportunity to relive
them again. Working on late night assignments and then going out with friends
for street food was such an amazing experience. We had a fantastic time
together, and some of our families were able join us and be a part of the
experience. We lived and breathed with our teammates. We developed a strong bond
with people we had never met before, establishing a strong network that we could
leverage in the future. It was really about plugging into a new community.
In your personal life, how have you changed post-ISB? Do you see yourself
doing something differently because you went to ISB? What has left a lasting
impression?
I see my association with ISB as an honour and a point of great pride for me.
Though I had to do a lot of balancing and negotiation (in terms of my schedule)
in order to attend the programme at ISB, my primary focus was on how I could
leverage the programme to deliver increased value to my company as well as my
customers. The takeaways from the people, professors and network you build at
ISB are truly remarkable. The experience creates and nurtures a spirit of
studentship in all of us, which will last a lifetime. The thorough yet
simplified structure of the course made it possible for us to manage our
businesses even while we were away learning. I also believe that the
opportunities to learn from peers who were at similar points in their careers
also greatly benefitted us.
How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
Going back to school after, say, 10 odd years of working, is a whole new level
of getting in touch with your inner self. It makes you more agile and a better
multi-tasker. The programme has enhanced my ability to better structure my
thoughts and priorities.
If you have to sum up ISB in one word:
Enriching.
What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
It was a rewarding experience on the whole. ISB extended an opportunity to
connect with a set of great minds from academia as well as industry. To meet
senior industry executives outside of work, in a classroom environment, creates
a special kind of learning opportunity indeed for all of us.
Word of advice for the current class?
We all arrive expecting to be buried in books and case discussions for most of
the year, but I would advise you to start your year remembering to make the most
of your time at ISB. Each person in your class comes with a treasure trove of
experience and learning, and I would personally recommend building strong bonds
with them and making the most of this rock-solid network of peers, friends and
faculty. This course provides you many avenues to better your stand in every
area and aspect of knowledge and you really can get there with ISB’s help and
the right focus.
What was your favourite course/ class at ISB and why?
The courses are designed keeping the executives at the centre of the learning
and making sure that it is teamwork that results in learning for all of us. I
really enjoyed the case discussions, which threw up different perspectives from
people from very diverse environments, with our professors acting as enablers
who nurtured the collective wisdom of the group.
What are the areas in which you can contribute to ISB?
As an alumnus, I am happy to support ISB wherever I can. I believe thought
leadership is one area where I can put my experience to use. Guest lectures,
understanding the research offerings, etc., are some avenues I find interesting.
What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
I do spend a significant amount of my time travelling as part of my job and
enjoy the various aspects of it. I get to see a lot of cross-cultural talent and
it helps that I am a people-person at heart.