“Passion and commitment for my work”
With a belief that skill sets are not cast in stone and need to change as the situation changes, Radharamnan Panicker, Managing Director, DGM India (winner of Game Changer at India Cargo Awards– West & South 2015) shares what keeps him motivated.
principles. Passion and commitment for my work and righteous living are my value system. Together they form the core of who I am. All achievement is through teamwork. In business, I have worked for the benefit of my customers. Have been always transparent with them and had the humility to accept my mistakes. This allowed me to build strong bonds.
How did you decide to enter the niche segment of ‘dangerous goods’?
When I started working with CSC in 1995, as fully owned subsidiary of KLM, we were responsible for the complete cargo handling activities of KLM Cargo. It was then I realised that Dangerous Goods (DG) regulation was being violated for small gains. I established strong systems for acceptance check of DG cargo. During one of my journeys abroad to attend an IATA DG conference, I came across an ex-KLM employee Frank Pettilon, Founder, DGM Netherlands and DGM Network. We hit off and during my next visit to Netherlands, he asked me explore the idea of setting up DGM India. In 2006, along with an old friend, I decided to start DGM India. But my job with CSC didn’t allow me time to pay much attention to DGM India so it remained focussed largely in DG training. What are the things to keep in mind while transporting dangerous cargo?
Dangerous goods are dangerous only when spilled. Then it can create a hazardous situation such as toxicity or flammability.
As a UN committee defined it, the key to managing the risk of transporting dangerous goods is to correctly classify and properly identify the dangerous goods, pack them appropriately and finally mark, label and document them correctly. What is your success mantra? The mantra for success is good leadership, courage to accept your mistakes, trust and belief in the ability of your people to deliver, being jack of all trades and master of some, knowing your finances well, having the ability to select good people and be a risk taker but don’t be rash.
There should be a vision for a big picture, creative and innovative ideas, ability to understand technology and willingness to change the way the game is played. Your inspirations are... My inspiration comes from my father who provided an open environment, without giving me the opportunity to become a spoilt brat. Other people who inspired me were my ex and current employees.
