Working in a culture of openness and creativity

Akshay Yeolekar plays the Tabla classical Indian drums in his spare time. He’s also striking the right notes as a Deputy Manager – Data Analytics based at Vanderlande’s Global Capability Centre in Pune, India. Akshay joined the company about a year ago, after hearing first-hand that it is a great place to work.

Author

Akshay Yeolekar

Deputy Manager – Data Analytics

The way I joined the Vanderlande makes an interesting story. When I was at university, the company made regular visits to campus for recruitment activities. After graduation, I ended up working somewhere else, but a few of my friends were recruited by Vanderlande. They told me all about the great working culture, so when I applied for the position, I had high hopes it would be a good move. Thankfully, it’s just how they described it and worth mentioning that, after seven years, my friends are still working here!

In November, I completed my first year with the company, working in the Global Strategy and Transformation team, which supports the Technology Unit. My main responsibility is to provide a holistic view on the company’s business performance for our technology leadership team.

My team gets involved in coordinating with internal stakeholders and preparing a monthly summary for our leadership. I must say that I’m proud that my role and responsibilities contribute to Vanderlande’s ambition of becoming a data-driven company. There is a strong focus on digitalisation, and as I learn and grow into the job, I feel I’m also helping the company on its journey.

At Vanderlande, there’s a commitment to teamwork that drives excellent performance, and I’m fortunate to work with some great colleagues. One highlight was visiting the company’s headquarters in Veghel, The Netherlands, where I met my colleagues face to face after so many Teams calls.

Our company also allows its people to take ownership of their work and responsibilities. This provides me with real job satisfaction, because I have the scope to suggest new ideas and approaches that I know will be heard and valued by my colleagues. That autonomy is also fully backed by our managers, who encourage a culture of openness and creativity.

I’ve had several jobs in my career, but I’m happy to say this is the best working environment I’ve experienced. For potential new recruits, I would also like to stress that Vanderlande has a great onboarding programme that helps you to get to know the company and its values.

Away from work, I enjoy Indian classical drums, which I’ve been playing since school and have completed a series of exams to reach a certain standard. I’ve performed at a few cultural activities and hope one day to play at Vanderlande.

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