This series of career stories is built on conversations, ideas and the Lindström community. With a mission to celebrate our colleagues and draw inspiration, it is dedicated to shedding light on the stories of Lindströmers around the world, in various positions, teams and countries, celebrating the diversity of our people. At Lindström, everyone is valued and supported in their aspiration to become the best they can be.
Today, we bring you our conversation with Gunjan Panchal, Senior Manager, Asia Product Offering.
To kick things off, could you tell us a little about yourself?
I live in Mumbai with my family and am an avid yoga and meditation practitioner. My day starts with an hour and a half session of ashtanga yoga followed by meditation. I am also trained in Kathak, one of the eight major Indian classical dance forms which fill up my spare time.
How would you describe your path to Lindström and the journey so far?
In October 2018, I became a part of Lindström. I started in a role that existed in the head office but was new to my region, so I had to tailor our global processes to suit the Asia market. It wasn’t easy, but the results were very rewarding now that I see how we have established a well-defined process to speed up product development in China, India, and South Korea. I am currently responsible for managing product offerings across the various services we offer in Asia.
While I was still warming up to my new role, the pandemic hit and turned everything on its head. We started to grow our team in Asia in response to the urgent market needs created by the pandemic. I would have a thousand words to describe my journey at Lindström, but to put it briefly, it has been challenging – and in the most positive way. The spirit is always along the lines of “challenges are opportunities to make something better.”
What is your favourite part of the job?
The feeling that I am constantly solving puzzles is undoubtedly my favourite part. Aligning the strict regulations in the industries we operate in, like pharma and electronic manufacturing, with the unique needs of our customers, presents an exciting challenge every single time a new product need is identified. The process involves a lot of research, interpreting new information and contextualising it, which makes for a source of constant learning.
Another aspect that I appreciate about being at Lindström is that we never compromise on ethics and standards of quality. My career has primarily been in product management in Asia, and I acknowledge that things work differently in the Asian market than, for instance, in the European market. The Asian market moves much faster, and since we always play by the rules, it becomes extremely difficult to keep the balance at times. I take immense pride in the fact that we unwaveringly take a stand to promote good practices and ethical and sustainable operations, even if it means sailing against the current.
Tell us about a recent challenging experience or a learning challenge.
Of course, no shortage of examples! Workwear as a service is not a very common offering in Asia, so we must test out new scenarios all the time as we cannot depend on previous ways that might have worked in other regions.
One of the most challenging experiences was launching Cleanroom services. Months of research and investigation went into the groundwork for forming the foundational understanding of the concept. It was followed by learning about technical details, elaborate testing and validation processes, and breaking a lot of new ground to meet high-level compliance.
Another very challenging yet tremendously rewarding project was steering the integration of product and service portfolio following a large acquisition in China. It was a long ride of problem-solving and strategizing to achieve synergies in business.
Launching the Reusable Face Mask service is also something to remember as we did it in a span of two months, really putting the principles of agility to practice. In retrospect, there are many learnings to take away from these action-packed projects.
What would be the one thing you would like to share about Lindström with people who may not know the company so well?
Lindström is a perfect story of organisational evolution, a soon to be ‘a 200-year-old company’ with deep roots in ethics, CSR and innovation. It is a place where you will find not just a career but a purpose. It gives you the flexibility to be who you are at work and beyond work.