Vivek Jaswal: Leveraging Experiences Across Infrastructure & Renewable Energy Sectors To Help Meet & Exceed Customer Expectations Through High Performance Teams
Vivek Jaswal
Director - Projects Onshore Wind, South Asia
CEO Insights engages in an exclusive interaction with Vivek, who is regarded as one of the top notch project leaders in the country and who has been implementing turnkey wind projects with safety, operational efficiency, and quality of execution.
Give us a brief detail about your educational and professional background before GE Renewable Energy. How has your professional background helped you in molding the company's operations?
I left home at the age of 11 to join RIMC a coveted boarding school in Dehradun. Five years in RIMC, built in me the right tempering, discipline and survival skills to deal with challenging situations that I would face in years to follow. After passing-out of RIMC, I got selected to join the National Defence Academy at Khadak vasla. Subsequently, I passed-out second in my batch at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun and got commissioned into the Corps of Engineers. During my 21 years with the Indian Army, I have worked at the Directorate General of Military Operations, a nerve center of strategic operations, trained with the NATO forces, served with the United Nations, operated with the Special Forces, and commanded an Engineer Regiment.These cross organization tenures across regions, territories, communities, and cultures have tempered my style of leadership. I have had the privilege of leading large renewable and infrastructure projects, forged strong teams and led people with conviction.
The positions that I have been entrusted with have come with loads of challenges across the vast geographical expanse in South Asia and Africa in a multinational and multicultural environment. These high-budget projects need to be led with an acute focus on various factors. Thus, integrating technology across platforms is imperative. As Head of Projects with Senvion, we successfully converged enterprise resource planning with
geospatial systems to provide resource control infographics under a digitali zation initiative called the 'Projects Cockpit'. Thus, an innovative and entrepre neurial approach to proble solving is mandatory first. This has been the fundamental principle on which I have operated with my teams.
What different roles & responsibilities have you been undertaking at GE Renewable Energy? How do you ensure the perfect execution of projects and deliver the best results?
The DNA of the company must reflect in the projects that we execute forour customers. At GE Renewable Energy, I have had the opportunity to lead the onshore wind projects team for SouthAsia, conceptualize and create the Projects Engineering Centre of Excellence. In projects, as in every other dimension of business and life, the key is to hear and decipher the unstated expectation of the customer and bring it to reality. A typical 300MW wind farm is the size of New Delhi, with approximately 300 km of roads, 450 km of power lines, and over 100 wind turbines. Wind turbines have a rotor diameter greater than that of a 100-meter racetrack and higher than a 45-story building. Each wind turbine has a geospatial information system to ensure near-seamless commissioning of projects.
Please share with us about your contributions in driving business goals towards Onshore Wind Projects, Project Engineering, Sales &Operations Management, Budget Forecasting, Process Controls and Reporting across various verticals.
I have been involved in forecasting, planning, and executing wind power turnkey and limited scope projects (500-1000MW). I have worked on capacity building and organizing projects on a cross functional matrix structure by consistently working on systems and process controls to bring clear visualization of health, safety, environment, quality, time, cost, and risk. Having established Projects Engineering, Centre of Excellence to support EPCI turnkey projects in South Asia, I have led cost out programs to support the bottom line.
Being an adroit professional in expanding business partnerships, forging customer relationships, and driving strategy to execution, what was the most challenging and most successful project you ever had to complete?
The most challenging project in which I got involved was the construction of infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh. The lines of communication back in those days were long, arduous, and were subjected to frequent disruptions. The long haul for movement of construction material started from Kolkata,across the great Brahmaputra, and into the Himalayan ranges to Menchuka and Hayuliang. The critical success factors lay in detailed planning, empowering the frontline project leaders, and quick decision making.
How do you develop your project strategy to ensure that it meets the vision and goals of the company? How do you connect new ideas to your business strategy?
Project strategy at its simplest is to
What different roles & responsibilities have you been undertaking at GE Renewable Energy? How do you ensure the perfect execution of projects and deliver the best results?
The DNA of the company must reflect in the projects that we execute forour customers. At GE Renewable Energy, I have had the opportunity to lead the onshore wind projects team for SouthAsia, conceptualize and create the Projects Engineering Centre of Excellence. In projects, as in every other dimension of business and life, the key is to hear and decipher the unstated expectation of the customer and bring it to reality. A typical 300MW wind farm is the size of New Delhi, with approximately 300 km of roads, 450 km of power lines, and over 100 wind turbines. Wind turbines have a rotor diameter greater than that of a 100-meter racetrack and higher than a 45-story building. Each wind turbine has a geospatial information system to ensure near-seamless commissioning of projects.
Business strategy at its simplest is creating a winning solution for your stakeholders and contemporary ideas with the right adoption experimentation fit right in!
Please share with us about your contributions in driving business goals towards Onshore Wind Projects, Project Engineering, Sales &Operations Management, Budget Forecasting, Process Controls and Reporting across various verticals.
I have been involved in forecasting, planning, and executing wind power turnkey and limited scope projects (500-1000MW). I have worked on capacity building and organizing projects on a cross functional matrix structure by consistently working on systems and process controls to bring clear visualization of health, safety, environment, quality, time, cost, and risk. Having established Projects Engineering, Centre of Excellence to support EPCI turnkey projects in South Asia, I have led cost out programs to support the bottom line.
Being an adroit professional in expanding business partnerships, forging customer relationships, and driving strategy to execution, what was the most challenging and most successful project you ever had to complete?
The most challenging project in which I got involved was the construction of infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh. The lines of communication back in those days were long, arduous, and were subjected to frequent disruptions. The long haul for movement of construction material started from Kolkata,across the great Brahmaputra, and into the Himalayan ranges to Menchuka and Hayuliang. The critical success factors lay in detailed planning, empowering the frontline project leaders, and quick decision making.
How do you develop your project strategy to ensure that it meets the vision and goals of the company? How do you connect new ideas to your business strategy?
Project strategy at its simplest is to
bake in the risks wisely, estimate correc tly and execute relentlessly.Each project comes with its vision that is driven by the DNA of both the project company and the customer. The key is to widen the arena of collaboration that both partners value. This requires the team to remain on its toes to pivot across fast changing situations. Trust, flexibility, and integrity become bedrock.
New ideas are always around us. We need to develop a keen eye, a sensitive ear, and a sniffy nose to detect the same. The real challenge is not about finding novel ideas, but finding the right audience to bite into them. Business strategy at its simplest is creating a winning solution for your stakeholders and contemporary ideas with the right adoption experimenta tion fitright in!
In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction both as an individual and as a CPO?
The utmost satisfaction was turning around a mega infrastructure project strungout across in the Upper Himalayan ranges. The project was delayed by over a year when I took over, and we had to pull all stops to get it back on track. The toughest part was coordinating the movement of resources to far flung areas with inadequate communi cation infrastructure using barges, heavy trucks, airlifts, and mules.
Share some of your awards and recogni tions with us that not only marked the significance of your achievements, but also inspired you to keepmoving ahead?
Although there have been many honors and awards bestowed on me during my glorious career, some of them are close to my heart, as they putforth me as a commend able individual both at a personal and professional level. In 2010, I was conferred with Lt. General PS Roy Trophy for Bison Blue Waters Expedition, and Harkirat Singh Memorial Gold Medal for excellence in Innovative Engineering Design. In 2009, I was awarded UN Force Commander's Citation for facility support to the Indian contingent in Sudan, and before that, in 2005, I received `Vice Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Card' in developing Infrastructure Information System. In 1996, I was bestowed with ‘Gold Medal' for ranking top in the Integrated Engineering (Mechanical as a major) and I got the‘Chief of the Army Staff's Commen dation Card' for scaling Mount Abi Gamin (24,130 feet), India in 1992. In 1989, I was the Silver Medalist & Best Motivated Gentleman Cadet from the Indian Military Academy, and in 1988, I was awarded Best Army Cadet Gold Medal from National Defence Academy, India.
Col.Vivek Jaswal, Director Projects Onshore Wind South Asia
With 30 years of experience in leading projects with The Indian Army, Enercon India, Mahindra & Mahindra Senvion, Col. Vivek is the Director Projects, South Asia for GE Renewable Energy. An Indian Military Veteran, a mountaineer and an expedition leader, he has received numerous accolades from the Indian Army &the United Nations, the National Defence Academy, and other institutions. Col. Vivek is an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, NMIMS, Indian Army War College and the National Defence Academy.
Quick Facts
Hobby:Mountaineering, photograph and aeromodelling
Favourite Cuisine:Indian cuisine
Favourite Book:Reimagine !By Tom Peters
Travel Destination:Lakshadweep Islands
New ideas are always around us. We need to develop a keen eye, a sensitive ear, and a sniffy nose to detect the same. The real challenge is not about finding novel ideas, but finding the right audience to bite into them. Business strategy at its simplest is creating a winning solution for your stakeholders and contemporary ideas with the right adoption experimenta tion fitright in!
In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction both as an individual and as a CPO?
The utmost satisfaction was turning around a mega infrastructure project strungout across in the Upper Himalayan ranges. The project was delayed by over a year when I took over, and we had to pull all stops to get it back on track. The toughest part was coordinating the movement of resources to far flung areas with inadequate communi cation infrastructure using barges, heavy trucks, airlifts, and mules.
Share some of your awards and recogni tions with us that not only marked the significance of your achievements, but also inspired you to keepmoving ahead?
Although there have been many honors and awards bestowed on me during my glorious career, some of them are close to my heart, as they putforth me as a commend able individual both at a personal and professional level. In 2010, I was conferred with Lt. General PS Roy Trophy for Bison Blue Waters Expedition, and Harkirat Singh Memorial Gold Medal for excellence in Innovative Engineering Design. In 2009, I was awarded UN Force Commander's Citation for facility support to the Indian contingent in Sudan, and before that, in 2005, I received `Vice Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Card' in developing Infrastructure Information System. In 1996, I was bestowed with ‘Gold Medal' for ranking top in the Integrated Engineering (Mechanical as a major) and I got the‘Chief of the Army Staff's Commen dation Card' for scaling Mount Abi Gamin (24,130 feet), India in 1992. In 1989, I was the Silver Medalist & Best Motivated Gentleman Cadet from the Indian Military Academy, and in 1988, I was awarded Best Army Cadet Gold Medal from National Defence Academy, India.
Col.Vivek Jaswal, Director Projects Onshore Wind South Asia
With 30 years of experience in leading projects with The Indian Army, Enercon India, Mahindra & Mahindra Senvion, Col. Vivek is the Director Projects, South Asia for GE Renewable Energy. An Indian Military Veteran, a mountaineer and an expedition leader, he has received numerous accolades from the Indian Army &the United Nations, the National Defence Academy, and other institutions. Col. Vivek is an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, NMIMS, Indian Army War College and the National Defence Academy.
Quick Facts
Hobby:Mountaineering, photograph and aeromodelling
Favourite Cuisine:Indian cuisine
Favourite Book:Reimagine !By Tom Peters
Travel Destination:Lakshadweep Islands