CEO PROFILE
explained JJ . “ I was the director first and then CEO of that company in the copper division in Zambia , and I was there for five years , but my overall career in Vedanta was 18 years long , along with three years in ESSAR .”
He credits the numerous opportunities received during his career as catalysts for his fastpaced growth .
“ I became the president of a company in 2008 — I was 38 years old . Without having an MBA , becoming a president of a company is fast-track growth . I was clearly being groomed because there were certain roads that my previous employers wanted me to take and I was able to get ahead .
“ I got these opportunities because people had trust and faith in me . I want to give that back to others .”
People = Success True to his word , “ I focus on people a lot ,” he explained . “ One of my core strengths is allowing people to do what they need to do to perform . When employees understand the ins and outs of what it takes to run and maintain a mine , the outcome is usually far greater . You can only learn something by being thrown
JJ speaks with employees of Adani Mining .
in the pool . You can ’ t keep people standing up and try to teach them everything without putting them in the water .”
To assist in developing and nurturing young talent , Adani Mining partnered with QUT Business School in Queensland to open the doors for employees to become future leaders . Emerging leadership is a big focus for the CEO , and providing people with opportunities to grow is critical .
“ I generally believe 20 percent of the leadership workforce will need a natural pathway to become leaders ,” he said , “ however , that ’ s
10 April 2015