Yagya Ahuja, Founder, Global Energy Talent

“Finding Talent for Energy”

In a time where energy has become the lynchpin of modern society as we know it, Global Energy Talent has found a way to supplement the energy sectors with the personnel they need. From traditional energy to renewable energy sources Yagya Ahuja believes that the future lies in the professional behind it. From advising professionals and students on entering the energy sector to developing their skills and careers, the organization also engages academic institutions on specialist training programs.

What does your company have to do with the global energy industry?

Global Energy Talent manages the human capital development needs of public and private organizations, of candidates, and of institutions in the Energy sectors (Oil & Gas, Renewables & Power) worldwide.

GET is perceived as a “technical/strategic HR” partner for the global energy industry. Our deep industry and domain expertise backed by a cumulative 2000+ man years of direct industry experience in a variety of techno-commercial disciplines and operational HR, help us deliver consulting, training and recruitment services.

How large is your influence upon the energy sector? Where are you most active?

Including our network of industry experts more than 80 people contribute to GET’s success on a daily basis. We offer our services globally including key geographies like India, Kazakhstan, Abu Dhabi, Libya, Algeria, Iraq, Malaysia and Indonesia. Our customers include a mix of upstream, downstream and services companies ranging from startups to industry giants.

GET runs University Outreach events as our contribution in helping the industry deal with the “crew change” problem. Through these events we touch the lives of hundreds of engineering and geo-scientific students to inform them of opportunities in the industry and give them an opportunity to interact with our industry experts and learn more about various roles and career paths in the industry.

What changes have you brought to the HR scene in your sector?

The approach of delivering services based on our deep industry focus and vast domain expertise is our biggest differentiator. Over the last two years we have perfected our global service delivery model and processes. These tried and tested processes coupled with over two thousand man years of techno commercial and HR expertise, our India cost base and extensive industry networks put us in an advantaged position in this space.

Are you planning to extend or expand your energy HR services?

Having built out our service delivery model we are now forging ahead with major front end expansions in target geographies like Kazakhstan, Libya, Algeria and Abu Dhabi. As recognition of our capabilities and delivery strengths increases with every engagement we are aiming to embed ourselves in our customers operations by becoming the strategic HR partner of choice. This will help us create significant barriers to entry with corresponding effects on growth and profitability. Further, we plan to aggressively grow our training offerings in the year ahead. We are offering our blended learning solutions to the industry in target geographies. These are typically a blend of classroom learning, e-learning, e-tutoring and gaming and simulations. We also do open enrollment courses on specific subjects as requested by clients.Do you have any history with the energy sector?

Being an oil man myself – I have a deep attachment to the industry and its people. I saw the perfect opportunity to add value to the industry by helping to mitigate the crew change issue. Finding corporate life to be too routine I took the plunge into entrepreneurship.

A large part of the decision had to do with moving back to participate in India’s growth story and its tremendous talent landscape.

What realizations have you had since you went into entrepreneurship?

The fact that the buck stops here – I am responsible for the organization and its challenges. In the corporate world there is always someone above you – but now I am the last stop for any and all issues. It is still a work in progress.

How did you find your seed capital? Do you have any angel investors?

We were able to leverage our deep industry networks get funding from private sources. Most of these strategic investors are leaders in the industry. They are able to provide access to their networks and open doors of prospective partners and clients. Selling top down is a big part of our business and our strategic investors provide us access.

Has your growth been consistent so far?

Founded in Q1 2008 with 4 initial employees, we were in the midst of the credit crisis in wake of Lehman’s collapse. It was a hard time to be a young company. In FY 2009-10 we grew our revenues by a factor of 12x and we now have over 80 people contributing to our success on a daily basis.

What is the best feeling that entrepreneurship invokes?

The sheer exhilaration of the ups and downs of running a young company and the tremendous lessons learnt as an entrepreneur.

What entrepreneurial areas need a change in India for future progress?

The vast pool of young educated talent that India has can be an opportunity and brings its own challenges. Our talent base is very smart and fickle. The traditional mindsets of doing business in India where investors and partners expect top line quality at rock bottom prices needs to change.

Yourstory wishes Yagya Ahuja success in his venture and hopes that Global energy talent finds the right man for the right energy job.