An industrial engineer by education, a certified lean master, and a six sigma green belt expert, Sunil Kanchi has been trained to constantly improve. He started a engineering co-sourcing services firm delivering end-to-end mechatronics product development located in Wisconsin, Germany, and India, based on his job expertise in the Manufacturing and Automation sector.
Sunil is UST’s Chief Information Officer as well as its Chief Investment Officer. Sunil is in charge of all internal systems’ IT, communications, and digital transformation, as well as mergers and acquisitions, corporate venture capital, and partnerships.
When UST purchased Kanchi Technologies, an engineering services business that provided a unique kind of outsourcing known as “co-sourcing,” Sunil joined as Senior Vice President in 2014. Sunil started Kanchi Technologies in 2009 and oversaw operations in the United States, Germany, and India. Sunil formerly worked with Larsen & Toubro as Director of Business Development and Rockwell Automation as Manager of Strategic Planning Projects. He started his work as a consultant with PTC.
In 2013, the Milwaukee Business Journal named Sunil as one of its “40 Under 40” business leaders to watch. In 2014, UST acquired Kanchi Technologies, and Sunil joined UST.
Below are highlights of the interview:
Why did you choose IT to specialize in?
Every business is now transforming itself into a technology business. The impact that IT has been able to have on business is greater than any other. Over the past 25 years, the innovation in information technology has fuelled more growth and more wealth creation than humankind has seen in a hundred years. UST has created boundless impact by bringing innovation leveraging technology to our customers.
Tell us more about UST.
For over 22 years, UST has been “Transforming Lives” of our associates and their families, our customers, and the society in which we work. For over two decades, technology-led innovation has been the tool kit that UST has been helping our customers innovate and leapfrog their competition. UST is a leader in the healthcare, retail, and technology industry domains, providing services in digital transformation technologies.
Two decades of organic growth are now supported by a robust partner ecosystem and an aggressive acquisition strategy. UST has grown during the pandemic by taking advantage of enabling our associates to work safely, efficiently, faster, and more effectively due to the technology investments made over the last few years. UST is poised for explosive growth to help our customers through the enhanced suite of digital technology solutions, products, and platforms and the recently added team members from new geographies of Eastern Europe, in addition to the current team members in 30 countries that are being reskilled.
What are your responsibilities as Chief Information Officer & Chief Investment Officer of the company?
I am a business CIO. For the last 7 years, as the Chief Information Officer, we have been transforming the lives of 30,000 associates across 30 countries. We have made our processes more efficient and added digital tools that provide personalized services to employees. The work we are doing has been recognized, including the Microsoft CNBC award for the best digital transformation for employees for 3 years in a row. As Chief Investment Officer, for the last 5 years, we have created a partner ecosystem comprising of large technology companies, innovative start-ups, universities, venture capital firms, and innovation centers of excellence, and this unique model was recently presented in a case study by famed management guru, Prof. Ram Charan, in his latest book, “Rethinking Competitive Advantage.” My M&A team is also responsible for driving the strategy for growth through the inorganic channel, growing new regions of business growth and bringing talent from these new regions into the UST family.
How do you ensure that your organization has a culture of integrity and innovation?
UST was born 22 years ago to transform lives using technology for the end customer, our employees, and the people of the regions where we work. From inception, the culture was based on humility, humanity, and integrity, while continuously innovating and providing a platform where employees are empowered to act as entrepreneurs so they can make the right decisions at speed. These are not just mere beautiful words on our walls, but values that we drive relentlessly from the CEO to all our 30,000 employees globally. The matrixed flat organization and the culture drive integrity and continuous innovation. We even have a tool called “iPod” driving innovation for our customers in 6 to 12 weeks.
What have you failed at and how do you overcome challenges?
Life is a continuous journey where we keep learning and continuously improving. I believe in learning about the things that could probably going wrong before anyone else and being ahead of the curve. Challenges and constant learning are part of the journey, and how we address these challenges is the key. Business success is only as great as the leader behind it, and self-awareness is one singular factor that sets great leaders apart.
Kindly describe how you will specifically know what success looks like for you.
Life, as in business, is a journey. I believe success is a journey where we continuously become better and, in the process, make others around us better as well as share the success with the team.
What advice would you give to the next generation of IT business leaders?
People are the key. Technology changes, tools change, but as IT leaders, it is vital to understand the problems of the people and how they can be fixed. At the end of the day, businesses are people doing business with people and making sure the employees are happy, so they can make sure the customers are kept happy. In this period of great resignation, people need to be kept happy, they need to be constantly reskilled and upgraded, and they need to be in a position where they want to be a part of the team.
What are your future plans to sustain the company’s and your success?
As a leader, we are not just about looking ahead but planning for what is ahead and behind the curve ahead of us, so we can plan for it and make the best of the opportunities that might present themselves.
Quotes: “Transforming Lives!!
Leadership is about enabling team members to bring the best out of them.
‘Success is a journey, where every participant feels like a winner at the end. Rarely is any success that is won single-handedly and especially in business, it’s a team effort.”
