The Silent Architect of Scalable Business Growth
YOOGESH SUTARIAA
Ex-VP - Business Development
Calidad Infotech
Before the charts spike or the headlines celebrate, true leadership begins in the quieter spaces where clarity, conviction, and care converge. For Yoogesh Sutariaa, this isn’t just a metaphor. It’s been his operating rhythm for over two decades, long before KPIs and pitch decks joined the conversation. Yoogesh doesn’t just build GTM strategies: He builds ecosystems. With a career rooted in industrial automation, software & IT services, and speciality chemicals, his style of leadership thrives on adaptability, depth, and a powerful sense of presence. He leads from beside, not above—collaborating across cultures, aligning diverse teams, and translating complexity into clear outcomes. Whether co-creating new verticals, unlocking international markets, or integrating legacy systems with new-age tech, Yoogesh brings a blend of business empathy and systems thinking that sets him apart. Precision meets pragmatism. Data meets instinct. Execution meets reflection. In this conversation with TradeFlock, he shares what’s shaped his journey, why strategy starts with active listening, and how he stays entrepreneurial in every chair he occupies.
Your journey spans over two decades across diverse industries. What has shaped your leadership approach most?
It’s never been a single turning point, instead more a series of crucibles where stakes were high and change was constant. One such phase was my time at Kothari Infotech. I wasn’t just heading Sales & Marketing, I was tasked with building two distinct business lines from the ground up: Industrial Automation and Speciality Chemicals, while also expanding software product sales into international markets. I had to lead across cultures, manage hightech OEM partners in Japan and Europe, and support frontline engineers solving real-time issues on shop floors. That’s where I embraced what I call ‘earned authority’: leadership that comes from showing up consistently, building trust through technical insight, and leading from context rather than command. These experiences helped me evolve from an individual contributor into a leader who scales through people, systems, and culture. It also taught me that clarity under pressure is non-negotiable.
Walk us through a complex project where you integrated IT and automation.
A standout project involved a North Indiabased client utilising high-end Japanese printing systems, machines that offered no native support for remote diagnostics or real-time data monitoring. The client wanted to digitise production visibility, tracking everything from utility consumption and output rates to downtime reasons, accuracy logs, and customer job data. Since these machines lacked digital interfaces, we adopted a sensor-based retrofit approach. I led the requirement mapping on the ground, working closely with plant engineers to translate their needs into technical specifications and aligning our Japanese OEM partner to design a PLC-driven, IoT-enabled monitoring system. The result was a real-time dashboard that enabled centralised production tracking, downtime analytics, and even predictive maintenance. I wasn’t coding the system, but I served as the strategic interface between shopfloor realities and OEM engineering delivery. It reaffirmed how critical cross-functional alignment and precise communication are in complex tech-led transformations.
You’re known for your entrepreneurial mindset. How do you sustain that within established organisations?
For me, entrepreneurship isn’t about ownership: it’s about accountability. It’s how deeply you care, how willing you are to feel uncomfortable until you solve the problem. That mindset has stayed with me across all roles. In 2023, I co-founded a firm that partnered with a leading Chinese automation company, bringing their advanced systems into India’s textile processing sector. We closed two highvalue deals worth over $650K. Simultaneously, I led business development at Calidad Infotech, scaling its software quality engineering (QE) services through a strategic roadmap that focused on brand repositioning, team coaching, and building delivery excellence to maximise profits in global markets. Whether it’s a startup venture or a legacy business unit, I lead with the same principles: clarity, curiosity, and customer obsession.
You’ve led business development across automation, software & IT services, and chemicals. How do you tailor your strategy for each industry?
Each industry has its own rhythm: its own decision drivers and hidden levers. In industrial automation, it’s all about credibility, productivity outcomes, and long sales cycles. It demands deep relationship-building, site-level understanding, and patience. In chemicals, you’re navigating compliance, logistics, and competitive pricing dynamics. Technical specs matter, but so do reliability metrics and sustainability credentials. In software & IT services, especially in agile environments, speed is king. At Calidad Infotech and earlier at Kothari, we positioned our QE services and software respectively through consultative selling: solving real business problems through tech, backed by data-driven ROI and time-to-value metrics. The common thread? Context-awareness. I don’t transplant strategies across industries. I start from first principles: understand the stakeholders, define value in their terms, and co-create outcomes that matter.
What trends are redefining business development strategies today?
We’re moving from transactional selling to outcome-based partnerships. In automation, companies are no longer selling machines: they’re selling performance, uptime, and predictive insights. This servitisation trend is transforming how solutions are scoped and monetised. Sales automation is another big shift. Tools like AI-driven lead scoring, CRM intelligence, and real-time engagement analytics are helping teams prioritise better, personalise outreach, and close deals faster. Business development now spans across tech, marketing, and ops, requiring deeper domain knowledge and sharper agility. Another game-changer: ESG and compliance. These aren’t back-office checkboxes anymore: they’re front-line deal influencers. The future belongs to leaders who can weave together tech, compliance, and value into one unified go-tomarket narrative.
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