by Dr. Iain
Corness
The managing director of the combined TRW Steering and
Suspension Company and Lucas Varity (Thailand) is a very young Indian
national, Dham Dhamodharan. At only 34 years of age, he has had a
chequered career in the multinational automotive manufacturing business
world. He is also an enigma, a man who has retained some very basic Indian
cultural ties, and yet has made it in the international, multi-cultural
world.
Dham
was born in a village outside Madras in India, the only boy of four
children born to a school teacher mother and a school principal father.
With both parents pedagogues, it should come as no shock that the young
boy was raised in a household where education was the top priority, and he
rewarded them by being a top 5% student.
Again, with a far-sightedness way beyond his years, he
chose mechanical engineering as his path after secondary school. He
reached that decision after talking with as many engineers as he could and
enrolled at the top ranking engineering university in India. “The demand
is always consistent, and I always enjoyed the ‘hands on’ approach.”
In his final year of university he was selected by a
TRW Joint Venture company in India to come and join them. This he did,
working with them for four and a half years after graduation. “I worked
for them day and night,” he said, with no trace of animosity. “It was
a stage of localization of the business. The pressures were very high. End
dates were given, so I had to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week to meet
the target.”
This was not said with any bitterness. “I came out
with a maturity level that let me compete with people with 15 years of
experience. It was great. I have no regrets.”
Following his stint with the TRW JV, he joined Toyota
but was attracted by an advertisement for a job that required project and
manufacturing experience. The company? TRW again!
He rejoined and was sent to Korea to design and
commission 30 CNC (computer numerical control) machine tools. This took 6
months and much travelling between Korea, Japan and the USA, but Dham did
not mind. “When I was in school in India, I was not planning to remain
in India. I initially wanted to go to the United States!”
It was during this time that he realized the importance
of building up good relationships. “Approach and relationship is what
matters. That is what helps get things done.” Mind you, he did say in
the next breath, “A fair amount of drinks always helps!” He was also
demonstrating that people in the auto business world were not concerned
with race or colour. “Talent and ability is what you are judged upon.”
Having the 30 CNC’s up and running and installed in
the TRW Thailand factory, Dham settled here. He admits that he worked hard
for the company - but only 5 days a week. On the other two days he drove
to Hua Hin to do a part time course to enable him to add an MBA to his
Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical).
Undoubtedly Dham is a “driven” man. “I have very
high expectations of myself.” These expectations were actually fostered
by his mother who gave him the concepts of goal setting. The ideals
espoused by western society.
But Dham is not a dislocated Indian in a western world.
He married two years ago to an Indian girl from the same region as
himself. “I saw my wife for the first time three days before our
marriage. It was all fully arranged by my parents. The maturity of your
parents helps in the choosing. They know you and your tastes. They had
known me for over thirty years to make that choice, where otherwise you
personally end up making decisions having only known a girl for a couple
of months.” He is very happy with his parent’s choice and at the time
of the interview was looking forward to the imminent birth of his first
child. With the soaring divorce rates in the West, perhaps mother does
know best!
For this cross-cultural man, success is twofold.
Professional growth is important. He is proud to be the MD of a
multinational business here. However, personal growth is also important,
whereby he can take increasing care of his parents and his own expanding
family. “Management is the thing I focus on for the majority of my time.
I am helping develop the Thai people (working for me). By making good
relationships and having the power to make things happen, this makes you
look different.” By this, he is demonstrating again the fact that he has
climbed out from under any perceived racial barriers. In fact, talking to
Dham, you get the distinct impression he recognizes no barriers.
On querying about his ambitions, he initially said he
would like to retire when he was 45 years old. When I pointed out that
this did not fit in with his current hard-driven, working persona, he
admitted that this was the case, and he would have to plan alternative
work, probably of a consultative nature.
When I asked about his hobbies he even came out
directly with, “I’m a real workaholic, which I really need to
change.” However, I do not think that even an Indian leopard would
change its spots! He may say publicly that he needs to change, but looking
at his history, this is unlikely. He has got to where he is because he was
not afraid of long hours, and long weeks. The mental tapes given to him by
his mother are still being played over and over again. He is conditioned
to that working lifestyle and it is not conceivable that he could slow
down and espouse the life of the couch potato.
Dham Dhamodharan is a driven man, but he is also a man
that will drive his own successful destiny. He is an interesting man and
is certainly a man with a bright future.
