Dipak Katti : Leveraging Extensive Expertise & Experience To Revolutionize The Indian Automotive Aftermarket Industry
Dipak Katti
Founder & Director
In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Dipak sheds light on his overall industry experience and educational back ground, his leadership approaches, and much more.
Give a brief account of your profes-sional background and experiences.
Apart from my BE in Mechanical Engineering from Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, I also have completed my PGDBA and my MBA in Marketing. Currently, I am pursuing my Ph.D. in Marketing. Coming to my professional experience, I have around four decades of extensive experience in the automotive sector working in a diverse range of roles for various reputed automotive organizations, such as Ashok Leyland, Greaves Cotton, Timken Group, Schaeffler Group, Jai Suspension and so on. In 2017, I started my automotive aftermarket solutions provider firm, Diptej World.
In the last seven years with Diptej, I have gained excellent experience while working on some of the most
advanced Auto ancillary organization projects, which include developing OEM for Lubz Corporation, establishing dealer networks for firms, such as Siddhivinayak Engine Parts, ZXL Bearings, Norma Group, and Hyner Corporation, sales and network development for SPS Automotive and Bhagawati engg, workshop acquisition, warehouse establishment, supply chain Management, and new product development for ‘Greaves Care’ division of Greaves Cotton.
Tell us about the unique experiences Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat offers and what you learned from the campus beyond academics.
Apart from the learning, during my days at SVNIT, I had some of the most wonderful experiences. While I completed my BE in 1984, SVNIT was one of the best educational institutions in India. One of the key take aways has been the healthy senior-junior interaction. People from different states across India come to study at SVNIT and communicating with a diverse crowd always has its advantages. The other thing that the institution has helped me with beyond academics is giving public speeches or addressing a gathering. The forum format was to pick up a random topic from a box and give an impromptu speech based on that. While I was initially apprehensive, my seniors pushed me and to my surprise, I found myself quite good at it, which, in turn, vanished my stage fear completely.
Define Diptej World as an organization and its current position in the market.
After more than 32 years of extensive experience in the automotive aftermarket, I decided to start my venture and that's how Diptej World started. In the begin-ning, I had only four employees working as freelancers in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai, with each of them looking after one region. To my surprise, we got many projects over the years and have successfully delivered them. Currently, we are still having ongoing projects from Greaves Cotton and others. As a full-time consultant, currently, my responsibilities include supply chain management, workshop development, introducing
Network is net worth – create a wide reliable network, which will always help you
Tell us about the unique experiences Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat offers and what you learned from the campus beyond academics.
Apart from the learning, during my days at SVNIT, I had some of the most wonderful experiences. While I completed my BE in 1984, SVNIT was one of the best educational institutions in India. One of the key take aways has been the healthy senior-junior interaction. People from different states across India come to study at SVNIT and communicating with a diverse crowd always has its advantages. The other thing that the institution has helped me with beyond academics is giving public speeches or addressing a gathering. The forum format was to pick up a random topic from a box and give an impromptu speech based on that. While I was initially apprehensive, my seniors pushed me and to my surprise, I found myself quite good at it, which, in turn, vanished my stage fear completely.
Define Diptej World as an organization and its current position in the market.
After more than 32 years of extensive experience in the automotive aftermarket, I decided to start my venture and that's how Diptej World started. In the begin-ning, I had only four employees working as freelancers in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai, with each of them looking after one region. To my surprise, we got many projects over the years and have successfully delivered them. Currently, we are still having ongoing projects from Greaves Cotton and others. As a full-time consultant, currently, my responsibilities include supply chain management, workshop development, introducing
new products at the pan-India level, and so on. In terms of market position, the firm is well-known within our circle. Instead of advertisement, we opt for wide industry contacts as well as word of mouth to acquire projects.
Tell us about your leadership approach. What is the future destination you are heading towards?
As a leader, I believe in democratic leadership. Some of my leadership guidelines include driving the team with passion and motivation. You also need to be caring and empathetic while making sure the instructions are effectively communicated to the teammates to ensure that both of us are well-aligned in terms of organizational vision. Apart from that, I prefer taking everyone's input during the decision making process and ensuring that all of us as a team are on the same page before making a decision.
As part of the future roadmap, I have plans for further expansion of the firm by increasing the employee strength. We are also working on building a dedicated network of Aftermarket experts, where we will be providing Aftermarket support to various organizations. We are also planning to provide online Aftermarket support and are coming up with a new startup, named Autoparts Meet, for the same shortly. Autoparts Meet is planned as a platform for manufacturers and channel partners to collaborate and work together. While the website and app for the new venture are ready, we are planning to launch after a successful pilot.
Dipak Katti, Founder & Director, Diptej World
An accomplished leader and automotive professional with four decades of extensive expertise and experience in Automotive Aftermarket solutions across various reputed organizations, Dipak Katti started his Vadodara based Automotive After market solutions provider firm Diptej World in 2017 and is currently working as the Founder & Director at the firm. An empathetic leader with a strong focus on democratic leadership, he has done his BE in Mechanical Engineering from Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, and also has a PGDBA degree as well as an MBA degree in Marketing.
•Hobbies: Attending various seminars, webinars, and courses
•Favorite Cuisine: South Indian
•Favorite Book: Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
•Favorite Travel Destination: Hill Stations and Beaches
Tell us about your leadership approach. What is the future destination you are heading towards?
As a leader, I believe in democratic leadership. Some of my leadership guidelines include driving the team with passion and motivation. You also need to be caring and empathetic while making sure the instructions are effectively communicated to the teammates to ensure that both of us are well-aligned in terms of organizational vision. Apart from that, I prefer taking everyone's input during the decision making process and ensuring that all of us as a team are on the same page before making a decision.
As part of the future roadmap, I have plans for further expansion of the firm by increasing the employee strength. We are also working on building a dedicated network of Aftermarket experts, where we will be providing Aftermarket support to various organizations. We are also planning to provide online Aftermarket support and are coming up with a new startup, named Autoparts Meet, for the same shortly. Autoparts Meet is planned as a platform for manufacturers and channel partners to collaborate and work together. While the website and app for the new venture are ready, we are planning to launch after a successful pilot.
Dipak Katti, Founder & Director, Diptej World
An accomplished leader and automotive professional with four decades of extensive expertise and experience in Automotive Aftermarket solutions across various reputed organizations, Dipak Katti started his Vadodara based Automotive After market solutions provider firm Diptej World in 2017 and is currently working as the Founder & Director at the firm. An empathetic leader with a strong focus on democratic leadership, he has done his BE in Mechanical Engineering from Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, and also has a PGDBA degree as well as an MBA degree in Marketing.
•Hobbies: Attending various seminars, webinars, and courses
•Favorite Cuisine: South Indian
•Favorite Book: Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
•Favorite Travel Destination: Hill Stations and Beaches