H&K India MD Radhika Markan bags ‘Outstanding Woman Achiever in Leadership Role’ award

Signalling the strength and success of India’s generation next, the young and dynamic H&K India MD, Radhika Markan, has bagged the award for ‘Outstanding Woman Achiever in Leadership Role’ at the17th International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists (ICWES), organised by WISE on behalf of the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES).

Amongst a galaxy of women experts from the across the world, the award was presented by Dr. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Dr. Tessy Thomas, the first woman scientist to head a missile project in India, was also felicitated at the prestigious event. This made it an even prouder moment for young Radhika to be able to share the honour and platform with a stalwart as Dr. Thomas.

Delegations from USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany, the African continent, Korea, Japan, Nepal and Bhutan attended the event, bringing with them stories of excellence by women in engineering, science and technology.

Radhika is a non-engineer by profession who manages H&K Rolling Mill Engineers Pvt. Ltd. – the world’s largest supplier of Quenching and Self-tempering (QST) systems. She started her professional journey as a clerk in a research agency and with perseverance and honest, hard work she was handpicked many years later to oversee Emirates Airline’s corporate communications for the entire Australasia region. After almost 6-year tenure at the Dubai-based Emirates Group Headquarters, Radhika made her entry into India’s male-dominated steel industry.

Although Radhika joined H&K India with zero engineering knowledge, and that too at a time when the steel industry slump had begun, she took on every challenge with courage. From learning the basics at the workshop, to grasping the macro industry and policy issues, Radhika has travelled a long way.

During her short tenure, many new initiatives have been successfully introduced such as the launch of ‘Make-in-India’ high-speed Thermex slit quenching systems and the introduction of Version 3 Thermex systems. She is credited with introducing a new revenue stream for the company, building skill sets of the second generation engineers, introducing stronger checks and balances in project execution, and repricing the entire gamut of products and services. Each of these initiatives has had a direct, positive impact on the company’s bottom line.

Under her leadership, yet another process –Tegum Steel Technology – has taken off with project orders from across the globe.

In her heart-warming acceptance speech, Radhika dedicated the award to her father, Raj Kumar Markan – the anchor of her life, and to her mother Veena Markan – her life’s counsellor.

The international conference held at Aerocity, New Delhi, brought together hundreds of professional women for three full days of education, networking, innovation, knowledge sharing, interactive sessions, discussion and much more.

Radhika’s story was particularly inspiring not only for the strong Government of India delegation present at the function, but also for numerous young women engineers and scientists. During the lunch and tea breaks, Radhika was regularly requested by Indian and international delegations for photographs and to share her personal story in greater detail.

She was also requested to visit technical colleges and institutions in India to encourage girls to make a career in engineering, science and technology and not to give it up due to family or societal pressure.