Swati Salgaocar represents a seven-decade-old diversified conglomerate that has sprung from the depth of Goa’s quest for self-reliance. As a third-generation entrepreneur, she has made forays into new territories of tech-enabled startups, while holding strong to the diversified interests of her business group. She also actively takes up causes espoused by business organisations like CII
Swati Salgaocar has recently been named as the Vice Chairperson of CII Goa Council. She is also actively associated with the CII Western Region, taking up key responsibilities.
An architect by training, Swati earned her B.A. (Arch.)(Hons.) from Yale University, USA and later attained her Masters from Columbia University, USA. Her business card states that she is Director of the Vimson Group and President V. M. Salgaocar & Bro. Pvt. Ltd. The group, headed by her father Shivanand, traces its history seven decades ago, when her illustrious grandfather, Vassudeva M. Salgaocar established what would later become one of Goa’s most respected conglomerates – straddling across many verticals that include mining, hospitality, healthcare, construction – and yes, known the world over for its football team!
Vimson Group, headed by Swati’s father Shivanand Salgaocar, traces its history seven decades ago, when her illustrious grandfather, V M. Salgaocar established what would later become one of Goa’s most respected conglomerates
Talking about leading a home-grown business group, Swati seeks inspiration from the matriarch of her family. “In many ways I like to think of my great grandmother as the original entrepreneur of the Group because as a young widow in Portuguese Goa with three children, no family support and no formal education or training, she chose to start her own small business to make ends meet. Talking about V M Salgaocar, she adds, “A lot of information on his entrepreneurial prowess and business achievements exists in the public domain, but I think his main achievement that stands even today is that the culture and values of the organisation that were set during his time. The professionalism, high level of ethics and respect for every stakeholder whether it was employees, customers, government or the communities at large in which we operate in. The culture of genuine philanthropy and CSR, before they became buzz words, was set.”
V M Salgaocar was 68 when he passed away suddenly in 1984. Swati’s father Shivanand, then 30 years old, had to quickly learn the ropes and shoulder the responsibility of the organisation. Once things settled down, the company made forays into other business verticals while preserving and expanding their core businesses.
Swati’s brother Vivek manages the Group’s international expansion, trading and strategic investments from Singapore; while Swati works closely with her father from Goa.
Future Proofing Business
Swati is involved in all aspects of the business from strategy to operations across the verticals that the company is present in. “Not being equipped with formal business training, it’s the best way to learn rapidly. I spend a lot of time on our investment portfolio, especially evaluating and managing investments on the private markets side,” she says.
“We took a conscious decision a few years ago to actively diversify our portfolio and invest in next generation and new age businesses. Apart from this, I also focus on diversification and new business development to explore opportunities where we can leverage our existing strengths and domain expertise while future-proofing the organisation. We have been exploring strategic investments and supporting startups to this end. Our core values remain integrity, respect, fortitude and excellence, but we are now also concentrating on agility to take advantage of new ideas and businesses,” says Swati about the work that has been cut out for her.
On the philanthropy side, Swati is actively involved in the Salgaocar FC Youth Development and Community outreach programs which benefit over 800 footballers a year. “We have successfully transitioned our Goa Pro League team to comprise entirely of players who have come through our program and been with us since the age of 14-15. Unfortunately, we have had to pause our Community Outreach efforts due to the pandemic but hope to resume soon,” she says.
A Third Generation Challenge
“In a family business you can’t think from quarter to quarter. Your time horizons are in generations, so you need to make sure that the decisions that you take always keep the long-term picture in mind and the way you operate is sustainable.
We have always functioned keeping in mind the welfare of our team, the communities that we operate in and the environment, so you have to constantly balance upholding values and growth – you can’t compromise on one for the sake of the other. It is a tremendous responsibility to ensure that you don’t destroy value, both financial and reputational, that has been built up over several decades,” states Swati about the responsibilities of leading an organisation steeped in tradition.
Talking further on the challenges of her business, Swati adds, “on some level the challenges have been the same any next generation faces in a family business – how do you contribute to making the organisation future-ready without sacrificing the values and culture, how do you leverage the organisation’s strengths and domain expertise while exploring new avenues for growth, how do you transform the mindset of the team as you look at diversification, especially when people have been used to doing things in a certain way for extended periods of time.”
Goa Calling
Swati moved full time to Goa around 2012 to work on some architecture projects. It was around this time that the company was looking at diversifying into real estate development as it did not make sense to ignore the land bank that the group had. “Given my training in architecture it made sense for me to spearhead this effort. I also took a more active role in learning about and managing our investment portfolio, especially in terms of angel investing, venture capital and private equity. Eventually I cut down on my architecture projects and got more involved in other aspects of the business as well. We rebranded and reorganised after a family business restructuring a few years ago, and that is when I joined Vimson full time,” discloses Swati about her move back to Goa.
“On some level, I always knew that I wanted to return to Goa because I knew I could contribute meaningfully. I felt that the exposure that I had gained internationally would help me approach things differently and I would also be able to adapt and implement what I had learned elsewhere to local challenges,” says Swati about choosing to return to Goa after stints abroad.
“I always wanted to return to Goa because I knew that I could contribute meaningfully. I felt that the exposure that I had gained internationally would help me approach things differently and I would also be able to adapt and implement what I had learned elsewhere to local challenges” Swati Salgaocar
An Industry Captain in the Making
Swati has been associated with CII over the last few years and is part of the State Council’s leadership team today. “It is a great feeling and a validation of the work that I have been doing in CII over the last few years. Last year in Goa, I was the Convenor of the Task Force on startups and was also appointed as member of the Joint-Consultative Task Force between the Goa State Industries Department and CII Western Region. Apart from this, I was Co-Chair of the CII Western Region Committee on startups and innovation. On a national level, I am a member of the CII National Mining Council and the CII National Startups Council,” says Swati about the various roles that she plays in the 125-year old industry organisation.
“CII, as an organisation, is the premier industrial body in the country and its focus on policy advocacy, capacity building and knowledge dissemination by forging partnerships between government, industry and society at large are what drew me to getting more involved. Through its various initiatives, the Centres of Excellence and international offices, it exposes you to ideas that are crucial to the future of business. In a lot of ways Goa is isolated from developments in the rest of the country so this is a great way to be in touch with best practices and innovations in industry,” explains Swati about her association with CII.
Being part of a national industry organisation demands a lot of preparation, study and depth. “In terms of mentors, I would have to say that I am quite fortunate to have my father’s guidance and mentorship. Having been Chairman of CII Western Region more than twenty years ago, he has a wealth of experience and has helped me navigate CII and make a meaningful contribution,” says Swati.
On being asked what areas of business she would like to impact, Swati says “for any economy to grow successfully, there must be a deep alignment of key stakeholders including the government, academia, established industry and next generation businesses like startups, so there can be a continuous feedback loop for improvement. Rather than leveraging each other’s strengths, these sectors operate in siloes and this needs to change. I feel these linkages are not as strong in the Indian scenario as they are across the globe; and it is definitely an area that I would like to focus on.”
On managing her business and various industry commitments, Swati accepts that it is not easy. “I have always ensured that I only take on responsibilities and positions that I can contribute or do justice to in terms of commitment and time – I am not interested in resume/CV building or being a figurehead. I enjoy learning new things and interacting with people who are highly accomplished and vastly different from myself. Often, there’s a lot of cross pollination that happens subconsciously, so you can apply learnings from one part of your life to another, and that’s what I enjoy the most,” she says.
Management Style
Swati insists jocularly that one would have to ask her team members to get an accurate answer on her management style. “I would like to believe that I am humble and willing to listen to everyone’s point of view – great ideas can come from the shop floor just as much as from the boardroom. Since I am a recent entrant to the organisation compared to a lot of our senior team members, I respect them and learn a lot from them. But this doesn’t mean that you do everything by consensus – you need to take all the inputs and ultimately decide what’s in the best interest of the organisation. I feel ultimately a leader needs to lead by example, have a clear vision and enable or equip the organisation to move collectively toward a common goal. With new ideas, I think you need to do a certain amount of capacity building within the organisation to get everyone on board. You can’t expect people to buy into an idea just because you say so. I also have a strong sense of ethics and this constantly informs my decision making – it cannot be about growth at any cost. This has been of great importance throughout the history of our organisation and it is something that I take very seriously.”
Swati looks up to leaders who go beyond just financial profits and make significant contributions to reduce social inequality as well as safeguard the environment. “Balancing the triple bottom line of profit, people and the planet is key,” she affirms.
An Architectural Perspective
Swati completed her B.A. in architecture from Yale University, she gained work experience for a year at Arup Associates, London in 2003-04. After completing her Masters in Architecture from Columbia University in 2007, she returned to India and started her own practice as an architect in Mumbai and later in Goa.
Although Swati does not currently practice architecture, there are several aspects of the profession that gives her perspective in business today.
Paying attention to details while keeping track of the bigger picture: “As an architect you need to be able to design right from a joint to a room to a building to a city block. Similarly, in business you need to be detail oriented but not lose track of the overall direction that you are heading and how various parts of the business work together as a whole,” says Swati.
Being a team player: “Whether you are the lead architect or a draftsman/model maker, unless the whole team works together you will not accomplish anything. In business too, you are only as good as every team member,” she adds.
Keeping track of budgets: “Forecasting/estimation, costing, budgets are just as important in business as they are in any architecture project,” she explains.
Planning and execution: “Just as you need to plan and execute an architectural project along with budgets, approvals, coordination between various teams, the same is applicable in any business project that you undertake,” is the parallel that Swati draws from her erstwhile vocation to her current business challenges
“Startups are the cradle of innovation”
Swati Salgaocar’s various roles as industry insider has given her access to insights into the startup ecosystem
Swati has been speaking on various forums as the CII Goa State Convenor of the Task Force on startups and also in her capacity as Co-Chair of the CII Western Region Committee on Startups & Entrepreneuship, and as a member of CII National Startups Council. Her involvement with startups as investor and mentor has been increasing over the last few years. She is one of the founding members of the Goa Angels Network and is also an advisor to the Columbia University Urban Works Challenge which supports startups solving the most pressing problems in Indian cities. “As we look to the future of business and industry, it is inevitable that a lot of innovation is going to come from startups. In a personal and professional capacity, I have been evaluating and investing in startups for several years. We mainly look for founders that we believe in, and businesses that identify crucial gaps in the market and solve real unaddressed needs. As we get comfortable with the founders’ ability to scale the business, we increase our investment in subsequent funding rounds,” she says.
On the role that she has played as an industry facilitator for startups, Swati says, “through CII, we have been able to provide an industry connect to startups. Given that corporate venture capital in India is at an extremely nascent stage, we provide a platform for next generation businesses and established industry to collaborate. Apart from strategic investments, startups are looking towards industry for mentorship, technical inputs, validation of their proof of concept and opportunities to pilot. Similarly, industry can benefit by looking at startups for disruptive technology to increase productivity and reduce costs.”
At a panel discussion hosted by Goa Management Association on ‘Transforming Businesses for Continuity’ Swati spoke passionately about engaging with startups to bring in technological advances in the mining industry. “One of our core businesses, mining, is a traditional sector where there have been no paradigm shifts or disruption like you see in other legacy industries. Typically, mining companies are engaged in intricate and unwieldy day-to-day operations and depend on incremental improvements. The main challenge now is to leverage and build on our domain knowledge and expertise to look at future-oriented minerals especially those used in sectors like renewable energy and energy storage but also supporting startups that use technology to make the entire mining value chain more efficient and sustainable. We launched Prospect Mining Studio, an accelerator for startups in the sustainable mining space as a joint venture with Newlab in the US. We focus on startups that improve operational/processing efficiencies, improve worker safety and promote environmental sustainability. To cite an example, Cyanoguard, from our first cohort, is a Swiss startup that has developed single-use, non-hazardous cartridges that allow real-time monitoring to optimise the amount of cyanide needed for gold processing. This not only reduces costs but goes a long way in improving worker safety and mitigating environmental damage”
