He has the rare distinction of serving the country’s public sector as a CMD for over 12 years in a row since he was first selected to lead another undertaking, NBCC Limited, in 2001. Running a public sector undertaking such as NTPC, which has lit the life of almost seven out of every 10 Indians, is probably one of the most daunting tasks before any business leader. With peak-hour national power shortage estimated at 12,000-15,000 MW, NTPC is under pressure to constantly add capacity, improve capacity utilization and distribution, and arrange more money, men and materials – from feedstock to capital goods such as turbines, boilers, high tension transformers, pollution control equipment, etc.

Few in the corporate world can match Roy Choudhury’s leadership quality when it comes to managing operational challenges, internal and external, or a threat to business continuity – be it from suppliers of raw materials such as coal in terms of both quantity and quality, acquisition of land for new projects, suppliers of capital goods and rising procurement costs. NTPC’s head honcho’s leadership quality seems to be under constant test with regard to the management of these perpetual challenges, very often bordering on crisis proportions.

NTPC, under Roy Choudhury, has bucked the core sector slow growth syndrome in the last two years that he has been at the helm. Wrote Roy Choudhury to NTPC’s shareholders on August 4, 2011: “your company has delivered the strongest results in project execution by adding 2,490 MW capacity, including 500 MW through a joint venture, making it the best year in NTPC’s history in terms of capacity addition.” In 2011-12, NTPC broke its own previous record and commissioned the highest ever additional annual capacity of 2,820 MW, taking the company’s total installed capacity to 39,000 MW and being adjudged as the world’s No.1 Independent Power Producer (IPP) by the US-based Platt, part of the prestigious McGraw Hill Group, in its list of top 250 global energy companies. Roy Choudhury firmly believes what his spiritual mentor had once told him: “If the intention is good, good result is guaranteed.”

In his earlier task as CMD of NBCC Limited, a sick government enterprise with negative net worth failing to pay salaries to its employees at the time of his assuming the top job, Roy Choudhury not only turned round the company, but made it one of the best performing public enterprises. By the time he left NBCC, its turnover was up 1000 per cent and net worth was over 500 times, earning the company a place among the top 10 central public sector enterprises. When he was selected for the NBCC top job in 2001, he was only 44, the youngest person ever to be chief executive (CMD) in any central public sector undertaking.

Thanks to Roy Choudhury’s leadership, vision and grit, NBCC is now a ‘Schedule A’ dividend paying ‘Mini Ratna’ company so much so that it has become part of a select group of PSUs having the honor to pay back its promoter, the government of India, through the latter’s share disinvestment programme. In 2011, Roy Choudhury received from the Prime minister the ‘Scope Award for Excellence and Outstanding Contribution in the Public Sector Management (2008-09) – Individual Category.’ In September 2010, he was appointed Chairman & Managing Director of NTPC Limited, where Roy Choudhury has to make his mark fast as an outstanding leader, team builder and a visionary, taking the brand NTPC beyond the borders of the country – to Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka – and focusing on environment-friendly renewable and non-conventional energy as one of the future key result areas (KRAs) of performance.

The Team NTPC is now into business development with a large number of projects in hand to steer the company through the 12th plan and even the beginning of the 13th plan through power purchase agreements (PPAs) of about 40,000 MW. On completion of these projects, the company’s total generation capacity will top the 1,00,000-MW mark. Roy Choudhury and his team, supported by a 25,000-strong highly motivated workforce, are now working towards promotion of efficient electricity generation that emits much less CO2 than those from conventional plants. Adoption of super critical technology for almost all NTPC’s 12th Plan power plants and those beyond is driven by twin concerns of efficiency and long term sustainability. The NTPC management is determined to play a dominant role to empower India to emerge as a strong and among the world’s fastest growing economies in the next two decades.

Roy Choudhury has imparted an innovative communication approach in the NTPC. He keeps communication open at all times, whether it is video-conferencing with NTPC staff or visiting sites where he holds meetings in the auditorium or even in a make-shift shamiana. His ‘Directors At Your Door’ (DAD) programme in which senior most managers go to project sites to talk to officers and workers under one single platform and the Providing Urban Facilities at Projects (PUPS) programme which aims to provide the urban facilities that young people are used to – cafes, libraries Wi-Fi, social media etc – when they are posted to rural areas, is a way of boosting the morale of the staff.

There is the monthly ‘Meet the CMD’ programme which allows anyone to apply for a time slot with him. “I try to be like a father figure. As team leader I am not only their leader but their father as head of the NTPC family. If my people feel they are part of a family, then they can come to me as they would to their father. I think 80 per cent of problems are solved just by listening to people,” he says.

He has a fundamental belief that every individual is good at something. He also considers that it’s his job to find out what that talent is and to synergise the organizations’ requirements with that individual’s ability. “I may have someone who is not an outstanding plant engineer and isn’t physically strong enough to go and stand near a heated boiler but is passionate about the environment and can play a role in developing a forest on my ash mound or working with tribals”, he says.

Bennis agreed with management guru John Scully that 'Leadership revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to do with inspiring people as to direction and goals than with day-to-day implementation. He must be capable of inspiring other people to do things without actually sitting on top of them with a checklist.” Roy Choudhury has been doing exactly that for the last 12 years, improvising and inspiring the people around him, the ultimate stakeholders, selling a dream of empowering India to emerge as the fastest growing economy of the world during the next decade. (IPA Service)