Rohit Chandra, CEO, OMC Power, selected as a Top Ten leader in Green Energy

Leading by Passion and Perseverance

Committed to add value to the industry and lead a change in the country’s current energy portfolio Rohit Chandra co-founded OMC Power in 2011. OMC Power builds, owns, and operates power plants and smart mini-grids to serve telecom towers, businesses, and communities in rural off-grid areas. Under his leadership, the brand supplies reliable and affordable power to lakhs of people, thousands of businesses, and hundreds of telecom towers. Today, OMC Power’s Pioneering ABC model is established as the largest, and one of the most successful, mini-grid company in the world.

To know more about Rohit’s journey and the company’s contribution to the world, CEO Insights engages an exclusive interview with him.

Enumerate your educational background and professional background.I have completed my Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Aligarh Muslim University in 1986. My entry into the telecom sector was enabled by this qualification and this was at a time when the sector was just beginning. I joined Phillips in the telecommunications and data systems division at their headquarters in Mumbai. Thereafter, I have worked with Forbes & Campbell (a Tata Group company) in their communication division and subsequently, with Wandel & Goltermann GmbH as the country manager for India. I then took on leadership roles in Ericsson, Aircel, and Telenor India.

Highlight your experience and achievements that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction and helped you in the journey.

I have over 25 years of senior management experience in telecom. As COO of Telenor India, I led the efforts of launching a nationwide brand and was key to the fastest IT Infrastructure and Network roll-out in India and also set up Telenor India’s sales and distribution network, and recruited key staff for launch. As Executive Director at Aircel, I made the company into one of the fastest-growing operators in the country with 11 Mn subscribers acquired in record time. I led 3000 staff members – securing Aircel the No.1 position across several states in India. I was also EVP at Ericsson India, managing Sales & Marketing and in charge of the Technical Solutions Division – gaining the company a 42 percent share of the mobile infrastructure market.

My professional experience has been in MNCs and large Indian corporates. I have been involved in starting up two MNOs and have also managed end-to-end responsibilities in smaller corporates. This experience has helped me hone skills that are required to set up a startup as a co-founder. What has also helped in my journey so far is the ‘small company behavior’ which I have adopted as my approach. By this I mean a corporate culture that is a combination of passion, speed, agility, innovation, transparency, and a hands-on, multitasking leadership style.

As a CEO of OMC, one of the most fulfilling and proud moments has been the discovery and development of OMC’s ABC business model – an innovative business model to provide affordable access to energy to rural businesses and communities. It was very heartening to see the conversion of this idea into reality with the launch of OMC’s first plant

in July 2012 in a village called Jangaon in rural Uttar Pradesh. Since then, we have been able to scale up the model to 200 plants in India and have also expanded into Africa and Asia. I am also very proud of our partnerships with some of the most prestigious global brands like the Rockefeller Foundation and Mitsui & Co. The social and environmental impact we can make with this project gives me joy and fulfillment.

How do you manage to balance your personal & professional life?

As a co-founder and CEO, a balance is hard to achieve. It is a continuous challenge, as for me OMC is not just a job but a way of life. Amongst other things, I live to do what I do at OMC and I am passionate about it. I would like to applaud my team, which has successfully helped me lead the company from a startup to the current growth phase where the management is decentralized, business processes are stable, automation of processes has been introduced and key partnerships (such as Mitsui & Co.) have been achieved. Mitsui & Co. as our partner is deeply involved in the business. We have Mitsui team members on secondment who are now an integral part of our management team and help us drive growth. Mitsui’s support for our future expansion is key to our success. All of the above has significantly contributed to making our work lives time-efficient.

How has been the support & inspiration from your family in your journey so far?

My biggest inspiration has been my father. From him, I have learned commitment, values, relationships, and a never give up attitude. My family has been extremely supportive. While there have been many times when I have had to trade family time with work commitments, the family has been understanding and encouraging. Friends and colleagues have also been extremely supportive. I can proudly say that for me and my team OMC is not just a job, it is our passion and what we look forward to each day.

The Leader’s Role in his brand

“At OMC, I have taken up all of the above roles and more. To begin with, I have been instrumental in setting the vision and mission for the Company. I have led the company and my team from the front. The Company as it stands today is attributable to a professional and high caliber management team that I have built and have been managing. As the CEO, I see myself as the custodian of the Company’s culture and values. Therefore, I play a multi-faceted role.”

Excerpted from the interview on CEOInsights.

OMC’s layered services for rural communities

As well as providing power to homes, businesses and other organisations in rural areas, we offer a number of other services including refrigeration for agricultural produce and electric vehicle charging points.

Read more here: OMC Power For Communities

Economic Times article on OMC’s recent funding round

OMC announces that it has secured new funding from its strategic partner Mitsui & Co., Ltd, Japan to boost its financial resources for investment in renewable energy-based mini-grid projects and other future developmental needs.

This funding will help accelerate the deployment of OMC’s mini grid-based power solutions for customers currently without access to reliable electricity and ancillary services. India has experienced rapid economic growth, consequent to which the demand for reliable electricity has been increasing. In the medium term, OMC aims to operate 5,000 renewable energy-based mini-grid power plants (totaling a generation capacity of 250 MW), which would deliver power to more than 50 million people, and enable us to be one of the largest private sector players leading the transition towards reliable access to energy in rural Uttar Pradesh. In this journey as a new age private sector micro-utility aggregator, we see ourselves as complementing the excellent work already done by the Government.

Rohit Chandra, CEO of OMC Power private Limited, commented: “In the face of a pandemic and a global economic downturn, OMC and its customers not only weathered these challenging times but saw record growth that positions the company for an even stronger year ahead. With 275 plants in rural Uttar Pradesh, the Company is well poised to tap into large capital pools for its future expansion. OMC currently supplies Energy to over 200 Telecom Towers, 3,000 rural microenterprise, and 17,000 rural households. OMC has a deep penetration in rural Uttar Pradesh with a distribution network of 250 Kms along with a distributed generation capacity of 15 MW.

Go Mizoguchi, Dept. General Manager in charge of infrastructure projects in Mitsui and a board member of OMC mentioned “Until now, rural electrification in India has been primarily covered by fossil fuels such as diesel and kerosene, but OMC Power’s mini grid solution by combining solar power generation and battery storage is more reliable, environmental-friendly and cost-competitive than existing solutions, and contributes not only to the development of the regional economy but also to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Our collaboration with OMC in this sector will be extended to other services for the communities around its mini-grids, as well as expanded to rural electrification of other regions beyond India, such as Africa and other parts of Asia.”

Pariphan Uawithya, Director of the Power and Climate initiative at one of OMC’s partners The Rockefeller Foundation, commented: “We are excited to see that our financing and technical assistance has enabled OMC to unlock close to USD40 million of public and private capital. Throughout our collaboration, OMC has demonstrated the ability to continuously provide green and reliable electricity in rural India, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. This has contributed to The Rockefeller Foundation’s goal of ending energy poverty, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and spurring economic development in rural communities. We applaud the trust Mitsui has given to OMC and believe this new investment will further OMC’s ambition to help transform the lives of rural communities.”

ABOUT MITSUI

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (8031: JP) is a global trading and investment company with a diversified business portfolio that spans approximately 64 countries in Asia, Europe, North, Central & South America, The Middle East, Africa, and Oceania. Mitsui has over 5,600 employees and deploys talent around the globe to identify, develop, and grow businesses in collaboration with a global network of trusted partners. Mitsui has built a strong and diverse core business portfolio covering the Mineral and Metal Resources, Energy, Machinery and Infrastructure, and Chemicals industries. Leveraging its strengths, Mitsui has further diversified beyond its core profit pillars to create multifaceted value in new areas, including innovative Energy Solutions, Healthcare & Nutrition, and through a strategic focus on high-growth Asian markets. This strategy aims to derive growth opportunities by harnessing some of the world’s main mega-trends: sustainability, health & wellness, digitalization, and the growing power of the consumer.

Mitsui has a long heritage in Asia, where it has established a diverse and strategic portfolio of businesses and partners that gives it a strong differentiating edge provides exceptional access for all global partners to the world’s fastest-growing region, and strengthens its international portfolio.

For more information on Mitsui & Co’s businesses visit, www.mitsui.com.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation to enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We work to promote the well-being of humanity and make opportunity universal. Our focus is on scaling renewable energy for all, stimulating economic mobility, and ensuring equitable access to healthy and nutritious food. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at rockefellerfoundation.org and follow us on Twitter @RockefellerFdn.

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Read the original on The Economic Times website.