Women of Mettle – Saritha Poovanna

Saritha Poovanna – General Manager – Manufacturing Operations & Engineering, Bosch Automotive Electronics India

Born in Bangalore, Ms. Saritha Poovanna practices in her career what she believes in her life – ‘Give a clear message that you mean business’.

Having finished her industrial engineering and management studies from RV College in Bangalore, Ms. Poovanna began her career in 1999 under Bosch’s Technical Graduate Training Scheme and steadily climbed the career ladder – from being an engineer in the inline pumps division, then technical assistant, an executive assistant, technical plant manager to oversee line function, then moving into manufacturing and engineering of common rail pump components and then later shifting to diesel systems to now heading the automotive electronics division since 2015.

Difference in opinion in a team is rather healthy in a work environment since Ms. Poovanna has always been ‘focused more on the WHYs of a certain action’. She quotes a challenging experience when she was implementing the Bosch Production System (BPS) in the Bangalore plant: “People were used to the old ways of production. Working with leaner systems and eliminating non-value activities in manufacturing processes by practicing something called Pull & Leveling in the value streams was different.” The existing talent was much older and so it was natural for some apprehension with regard to change.

When she joined the manufacturing department, Ms. Poovanna found the first few months difficult. Yet her ‘no-nonsense’ attitude helped when interacting with the team that had members – some older in age and experience while others younger and starting out in careers. If ever there were vibes of doubt regarding her capability to manage manufacturing, she put them to rest with her professionalism: “I was completely focused on the results and could provide reasons for the actions taken. I was firm on deadlines despite resistance if any and that was when the team realized that dealing with me was nothing different from usual. When I moved into the automotive electronics division, I was able to improve productivity by 20 per cent in the first six months itself with the help of my team, and they realized that I knew what I was doing.”

The art of juggling

The truth of the matter is that juggling both family and a hands-on career is an art which one learns through pain and acceptance. Offering an insight, she shares: “It is a trade-off between family time and career. I had to go to Germany for training when my son was just 3-4 years old. My supportive husband handled it well with the help of my in-laws. My kids’ examination time is when they need mom, so I log in some time with them during then. Now that they are a bit older, they know not to disturb me when it is time for ‘telecon’. It was much difficult when my husband was posted in Mumbai for four years because I did not have the option of him picking up the kids. That was the time when I really had to juggle everything. Fortunately I had a great team and a superior at the office.”

She has ensured, whichever departments she has managed till date in her career, that processes take precedence and they are implemented well so that it is not people dependent. And that is what makes Ms. Saritha Poovanna a woman of mettle in the automotive industry.