Sonali Kulkarni, Fanuc India: Leading From The Front
Sonali Kulkarni was appointed president and CEO of Fanuc India—subsidiary of the Japanese industrial robots manufacturer Fanuc Corp, in 2006. Regarded as one of the most powerful CEOs in the country, the company’s revenue under her leadership has jumped manifold. Under Kulkarni, an animal lover, Fanuc went on to grab 80% the marketshare in the industrial robots sphere, despite competition from several other multinationals. She individually meets her clients and in case of any problem, she leads her team from the front. Meeting customers’ needs is of paramount importance to the company that she has been nurturing.
Under her Fanuc has even designed products specifically for the Indian market. Needless to say that these new innovations have led the company in garnering a larger marketshare.
Her role, today, is even more critical now as Indian companies have started adopting advanced manufacturing technologies.
Kulkarni, great grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi, who has worked in countries like Japan and the US besides India has said earlier that she faced no discrimination in the work field for being a woman.
Warm, soft-spoken and understated, Kulkarni joined the work-field at a time when few women opted to work. Kulkarni has a true friend in her husband Ravi Venkatesan, former Microsoft boss.
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