NITian , IIFM’ite, a Go-getter and now a spiritual follower is what people know Mandar as in his family and friends.
Mandar Samvatsar B.Tech, NIT Calicut and MBA (PFM 2004-2006) currently the CEO of ACE Techno Services (An NIT-IIT Alumni Enterprise). He started his career with Olam International at Gabon where he got selected in IIFM campus placement. Later he moved to his home town-Aurangabad- to focus on developing Agri-business, Seed Testing, Calibration of Instruments, Agri – processing and Frozen foods and then there was no looking back….
Mandar enjoys studying and likes to see things from a different perspective altogether and was always top in his class … Thus IIFM Gold Medal, World Record 2018 for highest patents in a day, and Limca Book of Records 2020 quite logically followed … The inventions he did in the Agri-processing sector are going to be a game changer in the coming times.
He built a business and had a great time while doing it and is now looking at a new phase of exploring the corporate world and creating further records in volume and value to the recruiter.
Mandar wants to read books on yoga-meditation-spirituality while exploring beautiful beaches!!
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/samvatsarmandar/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/samvatsarmandar
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?
A. IIFM to this role has been very exciting and challenging journey. Attitude, orientation and focused approach were the key factors in my journey. I got PPO from Olam International while at IIFM after doing my OT( now called SI at IIFM) at Olam International in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea . I enjoyed the work as Olam is a great company. During my stay there for 3 to 4 years, I created a base of business modules and interfaces and also got time to better understand my likes and dislikes in life and career. That is when I thought I should do something in India which can have a direct impact on Agriculture in testing, inspection, certification and agri-processing field and hence I joined ACE Techno Services (An NIT-IIT Alumni Enterprise) for the same and rest is history!
So in short that is my story so far post IIFM from 2006 to 2022.
12 years period is like 1 tap as our Vedic literatures put it which I completed recently as an entrepreneur. Now getting set for the next one 🙂
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. Learning and milestones are not two different things. Each learning is a milestone in itself. Name – Fame –Publicity – I got all in my journey with many medals and World records and Limca Records at national and international level which I got me accolades and felicitations from many eminent personalities in our country which definitely is a matter of pride but I never got carried away by it as that was never my goal.
For me, what mattered most was the impact of my work on the industry and people which is what you can call the real learning. What you do for your country is the real thing. Rural Housing is one patent which I will like to share with you as that is very relevant for IIFM world. This work of mine is extensively being used as it helps the existing city buildings to go green with a massive drop of upto 4 deg C and the best part is the very affordable costing here. I hope many of my work helps in making our country a better place in coming time.
All my patents are filed either on 15th August – our Independence day and 26th January – our Republic day as they are the most important days for me as well as most of the Indian citizens. India has gone up very well recently in the field of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and hopefully we continue moving up every year on the world stage.
Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A. No time bindings… which means I can work on Sundays and relax even on a week day sipping a cup of coffee and chatting on anything and everything with my friends and family and thinking of various ways and means for improvements all the time which drives me every single day.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. IIFM has a huge role to play in my life; it gave me lot of confidence as well as comfort by preparing me to take on my professional journey.
IIFM gave me the ability and skills which enabled to go for the sky in real sense. I was lucky to meet and learn so many things inside as well as outside the classrooms from our esteemed faculties who were the best in their field including some IAS/IFS Officers. They taught me to always go for my “passion” and follow my “instincts” which is what matters in life and differentiates people. Also being logical and mathematical in Business is what I learnt from IIFM.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers?
A. My Father-an IIT Kharagpur alumnus- is the biggest driver in my career. He taught me one big thing that only who takes risks can claim opportunities. He also taught me risk management, mitigation, and minimization techniques.
https://www.divyahimachal.com/2020/10/pita-putr-ne-ooncha-kiya-ourangabaad-ka-naam/
My spiritual guru and driver is my Mother whose words always keep me grounded. Also constant support of my wife helps me to keep my experimenting instincts alive.
Q. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.
A. I will advice them to do good introspection in their 2 years at IIFM and also in the initial 2-3 years of the career. Don’t start running in a rat-race. Analyze what you want from yourself first. Plan in cycles of 3 years and have a long-term plan. Be rest assured that if your intentions are good and energies are channelized in sync with your plan- you will always succeed. One should make ‘Review and reorientation of efforts’ an unavoidable part of life to stay on track in the long run.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. Field trip in Rajasthan with my Backbenchers team is my favourite memory. We still laugh today and get relaxed when we talk of the memories of that trip. Many things which we did during the trip we can’t even believe it is we who did this after all these years!! Learning at it best with Fun and Masti was the best part of that trip. It developed a bond amongst us never to be broken.
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (magnificient buildings and the forest merging with the goal of the organization 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. I spent quite a time reading magazines in library because I loved it. That helped me in connecting the course work to the real world in a better way.
Faculties were excellent who taught from their heart and had absolute pure intentions for all students to excel which is the best part. Without their blessings all this was not at all possible.
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?
A. Alok Kashyap, Avijit Kishore, Rahul Singh, Mukul Kumar Jain, Pushkar Parashar…. the connect that I made with them is forever … maybe even the next life…. Thanks to IIFM for giving me such good friends.
Q. As an alumni, what’s your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
A. Don’t join IIFM for a job and never get stuck in the rat-race trap. You can lead this race any day you want if you create good base for yourself here at IIFM. Do things by your choices and not by looking at the availability of choices. Never bank on luck, keep studying as that is when you get lucky too! Choose your summer training/project work seriously and give your best shot there as the Organization should get some value additions because of your presence.
Always try to be innovative. Make inventions. File patents!!
And finally Enjoy life as IIFM is one of the best place to be….
Q. What is your typical day at the office?
A. Office day is quite hectic. Starts with opening meeting and closes with more meeting. I normally start at 9 AM and close by 7 PM. Many a time travels are there which makes it more compact. Time and people management is such a skill which I am still learning and its flavours ever demanding!
Q. And how about weekends, Hobbies, Family and anything else you want to add?
A. I like to read books on spirituality – yoga- meditation. I also teach yoga for free on weekends as it keeps me charged and makes my weekends very fulfilling. Spending time with kids , playing games with them is also a must for me. Once in a while dinner outside is also included to add to the fun. Sometimes I also cook on weekend for the family. I enjoy cooking and they also get some rest and my children like the food cooked by me so that is “ON DEMAND”!! On a lighter note my wife Medha also cooks well :)!
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors
A. Any book by any spiritual guru of any religion I read … I do not follow any particular author however Swami Satyananda Saraswati , Swami Mukundananda , BK Shivani and Sadhuguru get higher priority on my reading lists.
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 can come down and have an Alumni Interaction session which can be organized after a yoga session by me so everybody comes at a same plane and then I can take them inward to look at their careers. I am sure this will help them steer through pandemics, personal and society stress management.
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. I am presently not connected much with the institute, however my hunch says that many are coming only from a Job perspective and the passion for the field is mostly missing…. I am not sure on this I can be completely wrong also but that is a big negative for me.
On positive side the strength has gone up which is good as we were very few for activities as well as bigger group discussions. Time is available. Huge funds are available in the world as Environment, Forests, and Climate Change are the future.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. I am very confident that with such strong base at IIFM all the alumni will be an inspiration. Each journey can bring in lots of aspects and nuances which is the best part for the readers.
You can have next as my close friend and philosopher- Alok Kashyap.