Shekhar Sardessai, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of the Kineco Group – the Presenting Sponsor of the Business Goa Awards for Corporate Excellence 2026, speaks on the driving force of his company
First of all cheers to Harsh and Urvija for what they have achieved. It is phenomenal, inspirational and deserves one more round of applause and the Business Goa team, you guys are truly inspirational for all of us and I think we need to honour you all for doing all that you have done to the fraternity of entrepreneurs and business people from Goa.
Over the years, the Business Goa Awards have played a very important role in shaping Goa’s business and entrepreneurial ecosystem. You have celebrated innovation and success. Its recognition has created entrepreneurs including myself. I have been awarded at the Business Goa Awards, before, and I felt very good about it. So I am sure all you awardees would have felt the same appreciation for what Business Goa is doing for you.
I will be brief about KINECO’s journey. It is in many ways the reflection of the same level of excellence that Business Goa has delivered over the years. We started small, with very limited resources, a small team and a simple conviction that we could build something world class from Goa. Today, we stand as a Goan multinational, working across aerospace, defence , railways, wind energy with 9 plants across 3 countries.
But this journey has not been easy and along the way a few simple mantras apart from what Dr Annurag Batra mentioned in his speech – as ‘luck’ have benefited us. And it is such a coincidence that Dr Batra mentioned the three Cs, three Gs and three Hs, we in our ethos have three ‘I’s – which have been the guiding principles for the last many many years.
The first is ‘Intent’. Our intent is always transparent. Our customers, our suppliers, our ecosystem or bankers everybody understands our intent very transparently.
The second is ‘Intensity’. We give the highest level of intensity in everything we do including the smallest things. The last is ‘Integrity’. We have an uncompromised integrity in our entire business. These three ‘I’s are the mantras that have evolved KINECO from a small beginning to what it is today.
Beyond this there are two more improvement mantras that we have always followed as a company; and I have followed as an entrepreneur. Single minded focus. No Plan B, I had to make Plan A work. There were many occasions when it felt like taking a step back, but I never diverted. I never did any other business and I never did any other investments. I have no investments in the stock market and real estate. My only investment is KINECO.
And the last was never to say quits. There were moments where we had closed shaves with bankruptcy twice in this 30 year journey. But we never said ‘let us quit’. My team is here, three cheers to them. All of them have been there with me for the last several years – contributing to our growth story. These principles have not just shaped us but shaped our identity.
As we look ahead, our ambition is bold and if luck favours us and the intensity we are trying to give to this business, I promise you that Goa will have a 5000 crores company in next 10 years.
I have one message that I want to leave here today is that, if KINECO’s journey proves that a company built in Goa can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world, what matters is not where you come from but how strongly you believe and how relentlessly you perceive. As we move forward we invite the next generation from Goa looking for careers and I really invite those who aspire to be ambitious and to be part of our journey. We are hiring a lot of talent going forward. Please get in touch with us if you want to be a part of our journey. Thank you Business Goa for this privilege, we really value it
