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Veteran at the helm

A never-say-die attitude has helped Suresh Virmani build BEC into a force to reckon with
Mayank Singh

"I started playing golf at the age of 56, my only regret is that I did not start early," says Suresh K Virmani, 64, managing director, Bahwan Engineering Company (BEC). Being on the wrong side of 50 could have deterred lesser beings from developing a new hobby, but then Virmani is of a different mettle. The gentleman went about mastering the game with the energy and drive of a 20 year old. He now plays golf for hours at a stretch, almost four times a week. Exasperated by this new found love of her husband of 38 years, Rani Virmani took to the game two years back as she realised that this was the best way to ensure that she gets enough time with him. "Friends say that we have started dating each other now, after being married for close to four decades."

Virmani says he is a firm believer in giving everything his best shot – half measures are just not good enough. It has been precisely this resolve that has helped him build BEC from a 14-member team in 1977 to a company with a staff strength over 10,000. "I reached Muscat on May 8, 1977, on a hot summer day. Surroun-ded by the dry mountains, it was like being in the land of Mackenna's Gold."

BEC was a start-up and had no credentials to brandish. Virmani tried to market his prior experience with Voltas in India only to be reminded rudely that “Oman is not India.” Undeterred, the team persevered, bagging their first order after three months – fitting one package of seven tonne ACs in W J Towell's International Furnishings. While this may be a far cry from the multi-million dollar projects that the company now routinely executes, "the joy of getting this order was indefinable."

It was his relentless efforts that was instrumental in achieving a breakthrough with PDO, which marked a turning point in the company's history. The petroleum major had three contractors on its panel and was in no mood to consider any other company.

Virmani, along with two of his colleagues, decided to be unabashedly pushy. "Every week, we would go without an appointment and sit outside the office of a Dutch gentleman who was in charge of contracts. On seeing us he would say the same thing. 'Why are you here? We already have three contractors.' This went on for six months. Finally we were asked to quote a price for fitting ACs in ten villas that were being built at Ras al Hamra."

BEC went on to win the contract for two reasons. One, its bid was 25 per cent lower than that of the others'. Two, Virmani worked out a deal with the company, which said that in case of a delay in the installation of the ACs or non-performance, the occupants of the villas would be put up in the Intercontinental Muscat at BEC's expense till the work was completed. BEC delivered, and there has been no looking back ever since. "The contract established BEC's credentials, we were never questioned after that."

Managerial imprint
Just as he sets high standards for himself, he expects the same from his colleagues. His drive for perfection and efficiency has earned him the reputation of being a tough taskmaster. "I am seen as being strict, demanding and finicky." There are times when he has thrown a fit about people not switching off the lights or ACs after a meeting is over or about the lack cleanliness in the office premises. "These may look like small things, but they do send out a message and help establish the culture of the organisation."

The same holds true for finances. His zeal for cutting costs is legendary. The laptop in his office was installed at his personal cost as he did not want the company to pay for it. His argument was simple. "I use my laptop only for checking personal e-mails, so it will be unfair to make the company pay for it." The transition from Voltas, a professionally mana-ged organisation in India, to BEC, a family owned firm in Oman, was smooth. Virmani knew every baiza saved was a baiza earned for his employer. "I considered the money at the disposal of the company to be my money and would constantly question whether something which cost RO5 could be done for RO2."

Human touch
Virmani has made a conscious effort to temper his drive for efficiency and perfection with a humane attitude and fair play. Every day when he drives into BEC, there are a host of people from different ranks who crowd around him in the parking lot, voicing their grievances. He listens to some, promises others to pass on their complaints to the executives conc-erned and so on.

In an organisation like BEC, which operates out of multiple project sites and offices and has a staff strength that runs into five figures, easy accessibility to the managing director acts as a catalyst in keeping the employee morale high. Within the office he walks around interacting with people everyday. "If I see someone who is looking gloomy, I try and speak to him about what is disturbing him."

Over the years he has tried to make BEC an organisation which puts people's problems first. In January 2001, when Bhuj region in Gujarat, India, was hit by an earthquake, every employee from the affected area was allowed to go on leave immediately with a free ticket, some money, a blanket (as it was winter) and the assurance that BEC would render any other help that was required.

The family man
Rani fondly recalls the time when he cut short a six-day official trip to the US to join his youngest daughter Ritu on her 18th birthday. When his three daughters were young, he used to make it a point to pick them up from school every afternoon, as he figured out that it was the best way to spend more time with his children. The family would take a holiday once a year giving him the time to catch up.

Travelling also gives him the time to indulge in his other passion – reading. At any given time he is between 4-5 books. The two genre that remain an abiding favourite are biographies and books on the philosophy of life. "I like to read about people like Lee Iacocca, JRD Tata, Nelson Mandela etc, and try to understand what enabled them to reach where they are." A firm believer in gurus, he believes that one can learn from a number of people in life.

Speaking about gurus, he counts Sheikh Suhail Bahwan, chairman, Suhail Bahwan Group as a great example. "Despite a lack of formal education, his innate intelligence is unparalleled. He has a gift for HR identification, of choosing the right person for the right job. I would say the best MBA institutes in the world would struggle to produce an HR expert like him."

The other thing that Virmani has learned from him is the art of delegation. “The freedom that he gives you is frightening. You are given the power to take a call on multi-million dollar decisions without batting an eyelid.”

Despite being showered with soubriquets like CEO par excellence, visionary and go-getter, Virmani's philosophy of ‘keeping one’s feet firmly on the ground and head towards the sky,’ has enabled him to take success and failure, of which he has not seen much, in his stride.