Dr. Surendra Takawale

The magnate who Excelling in Establishing & Transforming Businesses

Dr. Surendra Takawale

Chief Executive Officer,

Vishvaraj- WWMSG GROUP

An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus & a seasoned business leader in the water and wastewater management segment with an impressive long suits career marked by consistent promotion, stakeholder satisfaction, and strategic insight, Dr. Surendra Takawale is known for accelerating business growth and driving bottom-line results. He is known for navigating complex business situations and invigorating businesses with a strong entrepreneurial drive and a keen business mind. Surendra specialises in energised team leadership and strategic vision to assist businesses in achieving high-impact outcomes. As an analytical and result-oriented professional, Surendra has a track record of building, developing, and motivating highperformance organisations that outpace the competition in efficiency, profitability, market share growth, and customer satisfaction. With a keen business mind and comprehensive industry knowledge, he is skilled at steering complex business situations and invigorating businesses with a strong entrepreneurial drive.
Surendra is a progressive, high-integrity customer champion who preserves a customercentric focus, mitigates risk and shifts direction as needed. His strong partnerships and ability to influence positive outcomes in a globally matrixed organisation are well known. As a skilled strategist, he transforms strategic plans into workable solutions through the appropriate use of financial acumen, business strategies, and stakeholder relationships. By collaborating with key decision-makers, Surendra achieves consistent success, and creates industry-based value propositions. A natural communicator, mentor, and team leader, he has a proven ability to motivate, energise, and lead to success. His acumen to partner with clients, business leadership, and teams to define needs and issues, evaluate risks and feasibility, and strategise plans is a notch higher. Surendra has also driven the introduction and adoption of technologies, standards, and best practices to improve productivity, enhance performance, and increase employee and customer satisfaction with operational effectiveness.
Today, he leads Water & Wastewater Management Solution Group (WWMSG) CEO and is engaged in organisation’s capabilities. In this interview with TradeFlock, Surendra shares his experience and the most versatile lesson he has learned over time. He also discusses his journey, the secret to his business transformation strength, and the challenges he faces as a CEO-WWMSG.

What has been your experience?

Business transformation is my forte. However, I developed the skill over a career spanning more than 27 years. I started my professional journey with Thermax Limited, working in their chemical division in sales and marketing. My last assignment there was as a regional head, and I later went to Oman Oil Industry Supplies & Services Co LLC as the country head and looked after water and wastewater business for over a year. After returning to India from Oman, I rejoined Thermax as a key member of water and wastewater service business, from there, I joined an MNC called VA Tech Wabag Ltd, where we took Operation business group to sizable business. I later joined Vishvaraj Group, where I have been more than five years. Since then, we have had Capture a sizable market share in water and wastewater in comparison of top water players.

What are the secret sauces that you have for business transformation?

We are in the water and wastewater business, where we manage the water and wastewater of the various cities, we operate in. Understanding the ecosystem and team building are the key strengths that help me transform businesses and provide ultimate stakeholder satisfaction. As the CEO of WWMS Group, I believe that strategic planning, collaboration with key decision-makers, and key relationship management are important to driving business transformation.

What are the important lessons you have learned through your journey?

Understanding the ecosystem, we operate in is paramount to any business model. Team building, strategic planning, collaboration with key decision-makers, and key relationship management are also essential skills. Without aligning them together, we cannot move towards success. When I started my career, I placed an emphasis on technology and infrastructure. But with time, I realised that people are the most important asset of any organisation. Hence, I have an open-door policy that allows my team to speak to me whenever and whatever they wish, personally or professionally.

As the CEO, what are the two biggest challenges that you foresee? How are you preparing yourself to handle them?

Customer demands and maintaining the quality and quantity of water supply to the public are the two biggest challenges we face. Due to digitalisation, technology upgrades, and increased awareness, people are demanding better quality and quantity of drinking water. Further, in the near future, water demand will spike tremendously. We must be prepared to meet these demands and maintain the supply through technology upgrades and even by upskilling ourselves.

What are your thoughts on embedding sustainability within your organisation and your solution?

Our business is recurrent and socioeconomical in nature. We are here to help the public and make a difference in their lives. Even today, most of our population struggles to get treated water. We aim to reduce this number as much as we can.

What is the plan you have crafted for your organisation and yourself?

Vishvaraj Group has a GWI rating and is recognised among the top 50 global private water operators in the world. We now plan to spread our wings globally. I want to be a people-oriented leader engaged in developing the next line of leaders.