My work energises me

(in conversation with Maritime Matrix - published in their April 2017 issue)

Krishnan Subramaniam — a trainer, consultant and career architect in the areas of supply chain, logistics and commercial shipping — is the president of the Middle-East branch of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) UK, and is a member of the Global Controlling Council of the ICS. He is also adjunct faculty at the SP Jain School of Global Management, and Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Dubai.

His career kicked off in 1987 with one of India’s leading oil companies, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, where he had nine years of rich experience in logistics and the shipping of petroleum products and LPG.

From 1996 to 2007, he had an eleven-year stint with Shell Petroleum Dubai, handling the portfolios of container shipping, road transport, chemicals supply chain, and tanker chartering. He moved on to Shell Singapore in 2007 to head the regional supply chain (APME region) for chemicals. From 2010 to 2015, he held the position of General Manager for Aurora Tankers (part of the IMC group, Singapore), heading the marketing of Bulk Chemical Ships for the Middle East.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (FICS) UK, and is a key contributor to the educational activities of the ICS, NAFL Dubai and the Dubai Shipping Agents Association (DSAA). Moreover, he was the Team Lead for Education (2005–07) and General Secretary (2014–17) of the ICS Middle East branch.

It’s been quite a ride for Krishnan Subramaniam, over the three decades that his career has spanned. Subramaniam recently spoke with Nishit Doshi and Nandita Mahajan, for his very first interview article in a magazine after his appointment as ICS (M.E. branch) President.

Tell us about the role you play in the ICS.

As President of the Middle East branch (since February 2017), I am responsible for the management and leading the branch committee to meet the institute objectives. I am also part of the Global Controlling Council, along with the heads of other ICS branches, where we discuss and shape long-term policies and strategies of the Institute. My personal goal continues to add value to the individuals through the institute programs, to help them stay relevant in the ever-changing world and provide avenues to enhance their careers. The ICS syllabus and methodology are continuously tuned to be relevant to the business and I feel that individuals (even members) and the businesses are not utilizing the potential to the full.

After passing the PQE, I was elected as a member of the institute in 2002. Since then, I have derived immense value from my association with the professional members as well as the wider industry. I have also been in a position to contribute through the education programs and administration of the branch (in Middle East and Singapore). In the Middle East branch, I was the team lead for Education in 2005-06, and General Secretary and Vice president for 2014–17. 

Has digitalization provided all the answers it promised, or are its benefits not yet palpable in our industry?

Digitalization at various levels is a reality and is here to stay and percolate all aspects of the supply chain industry. In certain areas, it is far more advanced than what the industry and the people are ready to accept and exploit. In my view, an adequate level of awareness and training is essential to reap the benefits of digitalization. There is lot more value being left on the table and unless people realize the benefits and implement appropriately, we will continue to sub-optimise the potential of the individual and the business.

You have trained numerous professionals. Which aspects do seafarers lack and what topics should their training focus on most?

In training, my focus areas have been on the commercial aspects of shipping and wider supply chain. In the past two years, I am also part of the academia for management programmes in operations and supply chain. In general, I feel that the curriculum has to evolve rapidly to be in tune with the realities and exponential change happening in the business. More involvement and contribution from experienced professionals into the academia is essential and urgent. With respect to seafarers, an increasing number of them are keen to get into commercial roles once they are ashore. However, the skill gap is wide and the time taken to bridge the gap is substantial. The solution for this is for seafarers to start planning early, at least three years before they decide to get ashore, so that their expectations are managed appropriately. As a career architect, I have developed self-assessment worksheets and do career counselling to individuals and groups to set goals and work towards the same systematically. My career portal www.industry.network is in testing phase which will facilitate these processes. 

What do you do when you want to relax and unwind?

In my experience, giving my 100 per cent to the task at hand itself is energizing and relaxing. We need to deliberately “relax” or “unwind” only if we see work as something separate from ourselves — something that we hate to do but do for something or someone else. This may sound philosophical but it is true — my work energizes me. However, I do turn to music, learning a new topic or skill and engaging with people, especially students, to recharge.

MMT 

(Reproduced with kind permission of Maritime Matrix Today)