Sampath is a seasoned professional with over 9 years of experience in diverse roles in corporate social responsibility. He works as a Deputy Manager, Community Development and CSR at Coal India Limited.
He is currently managing CSR for South Eastern Coalfields Limited as Deputy Manager Community Development & CSR at Coal India Limited (the largest coal-producing company in the world and a Maharatna public sector undertaking with the CSR Budget of more than 500 Crores).
Having been with the organization since 2014 right from the inception of the CSR mandate, he is also the one of the key drivers of the CSR initiative of SECL which partners with local communities and builds their capacities to mitigate issues and challenges the communities face.
He is working closely with relevant government departments, technical agencies, civil society, and academic institutions to provide financial support under the mandate of CSR in his organization.
He began his career with Aditya Birla Group in their forestry sector in their Pulp & Fiber business and worked for 30 Months in the units of Grasim Industries, Harihar Karnataka & Birla Lao Pulp & Plantations, wherein he served as Divisional Incharge covering Plantation, Contract Farming (Captive Plantations) & Marketing of farm forestry models of Eucalyptus.
Email – [email protected]
LinkedIn ID– https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampath-gelam-463b6524
Q) How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?
A) The journey from IIFM to my present role has been encouraging, enjoyable & enriching. I was like a Fresh Clay, when I joined IIFM, it moulded my career and provided me the opportunity in this corporate world. IIFM played a prominent role and added value to my skill set and most importantly it gave me a wonderful opportunity to connect with people of a similar mindset, so I will always be deeply embedded to IIFM. I also got the opportunity of being the Placement Coordinator for my batch (PFM 2010-12) which gave me a wonderful chance to develop and build a great rapport with Alumni, my immediate senior batch, my batchmates, and juniors. I was recruited by Shri Ashish Mishra Sir who gave me a great chance to start my career at Aditya Birla Group (ABG) in their Pulp & Fibre Business, in the Plantations & Farm Forestry Department. I along with my 3 IIFM batchmates joined ABG and got a great opportunity to work abroad in their Laos team for an Overseas Assignment. It was one of the best starts for my career. I still remember my countryside trips with my IIFM batchmate Ankit Malani to visit the Block Plantations which were located in very difficult and kind of normally inaccessible areas so we usually walked/trekked 8-10 Kms (one side) along with limited local food options, however, these events prepared us well to survive in the field!! Later after the completion of training, I was posted as Divisional in charge in various districts of Karnataka where I got ample opportunities to work on the ground level and understand the Forestry Sector & its relationship with farmers through Farm Forestry models, etc. I even managed satellite nurseries with the production of 1.5 million seedlings. While I had a great time with work opportunities at ABG, it also gave me time to move forward in life by finding the role that matched the foundation I had developed at IIFM, bringing me into the mainstream social/development sector with Coal India Limited. I started my journey in the development sector and discovered my interest and aptitude for academic and development research and project development. I have been lucky that I got my posting in one of the subsidiaries of SECL at Bilaspur which also happens to be my Home Town. Apart from 2.5 years in the Forestry sector, I’ve been in the Development sector for the past 7 years now and I find this to be the perfect fit for me. At SECL, I have the leverage and also the opportunity to use my experience and skills to develop meaningful projects along with ample financial budgets ensuring a direct impact on communities in Chhattisgarh & Madhya Pradesh. Overall, it has been an enriching journey so far.
Q) What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A) As a Nodal officer for Swachhta Initiatives, I received the award for Best Swachhta Initiatives on behalf of our Organization on Coal India Foundation Day in the year 2018 from Hon’ble Piyush Goyal, Cabinet Minister.
Q) What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A) Working in a Maharatna CPSU gave me ample opportunities to work in the field of the development sector and aligned me with government priority areas. Also, it gave me the platform and financial leverage for drafting the CSR proposals and presenting the same before the board for approvals. I am born & brought up in Bilaspur, so it gives me a great sense of pride and satisfaction to work in my hometown for the betterment of people at a place where I spent my childhood. Also during COVID time under all sorts of restrictions, I was actively involved with our team and worked day & night to provide all possible support to district administration & also got involved in sanctioning projects worth more than 50 Crores, for creating local medical infrastructure apart from providing food for shramiks. This enabled us to provide all possible interventions for prevention against COVID-19 which gave me the best reward of my professional career while assisting the needy in the critical time in the best possible way.
Q) Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A) IIFM has played an important part in shaping my career and whatever I am today has its roots in IIFM. The different positions like Placement Coordinator & also Mess Secretary at IIFM helped a lot in understanding and facing the challenges in the corporate world ahead in different kinds of departments. I also learn the art of Coordination & Networking to build a good personal relationship which is so critical in today’s world. Also, the deadlines for assignments at IIFM helped me in increasing my efficiency multifold under stress and timeline pressure!!
Q) Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles?
A) The biggest influencers in my career are my teachers & my friends (including seniors, juniors & batch mates). My advice to younger batches would be to dive deep into their interest areas and also to take up their career as a choice and not under compulsion. I believe hard work and learning never go to waste. I am still using many of the things which I learned at IIFM and am still always ready to learn new things.
Q) What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A) Every day was a fun day at IIFM and I always cherish the best memories of my life spent at IIFM, so selecting a moment would be difficult because life at IIFM is like a dream journey. Still remember the Sunday Special Biryani, Friday Night Badminton matches, late-night rooftop parties, occasional visits to seniors wing for playing cards especially during exam time, the activities of different clubs activities (Adventure/ Sports/ Movie, etc), IP wars, and sharing movies through IP during exam time, the jungle trips & visiting IIFM Caves, the Fresher’s Parties, the Farewell Parties, the New Year and birthday celebrations, the cricket/football/volleyball sessions, all the activities during Kalpaturu, the lucky prizes, the group assignments, the Mess Selection election, the also the tiring & inspiring works of Placement committee, the questions asked by friends after you complete a presentation, the visit to Zamzam, Hakim, Jehan Numa during Happy Hours, the field trips, lectures & the events at 119- IIFM was a very special Journey of 2 years and flashes almost every day in my life.
Q) In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, alumni. Anything else!!) or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A) IIFM has contributed immensely in shaping me as an individual even though I was unable to use the vast resource the institute has, the Teachers/Professors are the best and are always ready to help in whatever way possible.
Also the IIFM Alumni with special reference to Ashish Mishra Sir (PFM1995) for recruiting & guiding me in the initial phase of my career, Shailendra Sir (PFM 2008) for always mentoring & advising me like an elder brother and friends like Eshan, Pulak, Ankit Malani, Lovesh, Praveen, Aishwariya, Nirbhay, Arihant & Krishna for being wonderful colleagues at Aditya Birla and also at CIL.
Q) The best buddies/seniors/faculty at IIFM? Some memorable titbits that you like to share?
A) Faculty: Prof. Amitabh Pandey Sir for always being a guiding force behind me & also a special thanks to Prof. Parul Rishi Mam for mentoring me and helping me in the field of CSR. A special mention to my wing buddies especially Shubham, Shashi, Sandeep & Banerjee for all the bakar! Also, it was an honour to be a part of the J-Gang of PFM2012 & being one of its founding members. I would like to also mention that I have always been surrounded by IIFM Alumni at the workplace and it gives immense pleasure in sharing that we take out time for at least 15 minutes every day to have a tea session for chitchat just to catch up as a daily ritual for past 9 years after passing from the institute.
Q) As an alumnus, what’s your advice to freshers or those who are joining IIFM to get the best out of the 2 years there?
A) Along with the studies, I would advise the juniors to enjoy the 2 years of Life at IIFM by participating in events, extra-curricular activities organized by various clubs as it will bring the best out of you and it will also help in overall development. Make a strong network with seniors, friends, and juniors and create memories that you will cherish for your life.
Q) What is your typical day at the office? (We want to know what your day job looks like…)
A) My day at the office is just like a routine: reaching the office on time, checking emails, replying to them, as most Government Institutions require taking lots and lots of approvals from the higher authorities for each work. So convincing the management is also the most important skill which I developed being in the government setup. And finally, our everyday tea sessions with IIFM Alumni is an important part of my routine
Q) You would like to share about your typical weekends… Hobbies… Family…
A) Weekends are a total me time and since I stay in my home town, so I spend the weekends with my family, IIFM friends & also my engineering batchmates. I also explore new eating joints and do a bit of online shopping on weekends. Cooking is my hobby and my passion, so I always try to learn new culinary skills to enrich my taste buds. I use my holidays traveling to new places & exploring new cuisines. I travel a lot every year actively, spending around 15 days, exploring the Indian Culture- visiting places like Leh, Agra, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath, Srinagar, Pondicherry, Goa, and almost all the places in Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra, Telangana, MP & Chhattisgarh. I also made it a point to visit all the National Parks of MP, Karnataka & Chhattisgarh.
Q) Favorite Books, movies, authors
A) I am a regular viewer of all the good Web Series/Movies in various languages – Hindi, English, Telugu & Kannada, Books like Wings of Fire –APJ Abdul Kalam, The Monk who sold his Ferrari– Robin Sharma, Connect the dots –Rashmi Bansal, etc.
Q) IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?
A) I’m always available for interactions regarding any career-related topics, opportunities in the CSR Sector, and life in general with IIFM’ites. I will always try my best to support the institute in all possible ways as “Anything for IIFM” remains embedded in my heart so feel free to connect anytime.
Q) What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? What do you think is a positive change and what is not?
A) Every Batch of IIFM is special in a unique way and hope it remains the same. This COVID pandemic has impacted campus life. Hence, I hope that things get normal soon so that both the batches get to stay inside our lovely campus and make the most of it.
Q) Any suggestions on who from our alumni you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A) Each one of us has something special to offer, would love to see profiles of Shailendra Kumar (PFM 2008), Atul Singh (PFM 2008), Nakul Dogra (PFM 2011), Karan Girdhar (PFM 2011), Sahil Wali (PFM 2011), Pulak Kumar (PFM 2012) & Arun Sreekumar (PFM 2012).