Sampath Gelam

Dynamic leader with ~12 years of experience in the Energy & Manufacturing sectors, specializing in Operations, Project Management, Supply Chain, and Sustainability. Skilled in leading cross-functional teams & driving Social Programs, Public Policy & ESG initiatives.

Work Experience

Dy. Manager(Project Management , Strategy and Sustainibility) | Coal India Limited | Chhattisgarh

  • Spearheaded end-to-end execution of projects with a total outlay of over ₹4,000 million. Led multiple teams comprising 30+ members to execute 500+ projects successfully, spread across ten districts. 
  • Coordinated 50+ Board-level Sub-Committee meetings, delivering strategic performance insights to C-suite stakeholders, Board members, and Independent Directors, driving informed decision-making and corporate accountability.
  • Evaluated project proposals & RFPs and developed a robust project monitoring and evaluation framework, incorporating milestone tracking that enhanced project service operations, impact analysis, and sustainability.
  • Initialized the development of digital transformation through a project dashboard with geo-tagging and real-time process automation monitoring features, enhancing end-to-end project delivery efficiency by 30%.
  • Administered implementation and training for the Material Management module of the SAP ERP system. Leveraged data analytics through SAP to optimize inventory operations and enhance workflow efficiency.
  • Pioneered procurement processes through E-Tendering, Government e-marketplace (GeM), and contract management, negotiating terms and margins with vendors & suppliers, conducting market intelligence & bid price analysis, and enhancing supply chain efficiency. 
  • Formulated and implemented CSR policy and guidelines for South Eastern Coalfields Limited (Coal India Limited subsidiary).
  • Fostered stakeholder management & strategic partnerships with state governments, district administrations, and public representatives to streamline mining operations
  • Successfully represented management in 10+ high-level parliamentary committee meetings, driving key discussions at the highest levels of government.
  • Prepared CSR Annual Reports for the past eight years and contributed to Business Sustainability reports.
  • Collaborated for company-level Just Transition Initiatives, associated with scouting new Business opportunities & ESG Initiatives. 
  • Guided operational assistance & liaised with government bodies for Land Acquisition & necessary permissions to open new mines.
  • Crafted media communications plan, enhancing visibility by showcasing best practices through PR and social media channels.
  • Initiated change management strategies to improve corporate employee engagement, yielding an increase of ~1,000 hours of additional workforce per annum.
  • Led COVID-19 Initiatives, wherein directly involved in COVID-related works with the outlay of more than ₹ 500 million, benefitting more than one lakh people.
  • Conceptualized and implemented vocational training projects, benefiting over 1,500 individuals with placement-linked employment opportunities.

 

Assistant Manager (Resource Development & Procurement) | Grasim Industries Limited, Aditya Birla Group | Karnataka

  • Streamlined the pulpwood procurement through suppliers and sourcing directly from farmers through farm and social forestry models to ensure cost-effective and sustainable resource acquisition.
  • Led Cost Optimization through market intelligence efforts across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, optimizing district-wise procurement, resulting in 12% cost savings compared to cost estimates.
  • Developed a comprehensive Annual Demand Plan and implemented Inventory Assessment through Data Analytics for phased raw materials procurement, resulting in a 25% reduction in stockouts & improving supply chain visibility.
  • Administered three Warehouses/Depots of wood and oversaw the seamless logistics of transporting materials to the plant by implementing standardized procedures that optimized delivery times and improved inventory turnover.
  • Accelerated the pre-sales planning, budgeting, business development, and support service operations through after-sales support for 100 Lakhs plants annually to various institutions and farmers, driving growth in the plantation sector.
  • Led the ‘Operation Green Project’ for contract farming, securing agreements with farmers to increase resources & Managed three satellite nurseries producing 10-15 lakh plants annually.

 

Emerging Leadership Programme Participant | Birla Lao Pulp & Plantation, Aditya Birla Group | Lao P.D.R

  • Streamlined global operations by conducting comprehensive Time & Motion study, identifying fundamental inefficiencies & optimizing operational expenditure, resulting in a 15% reduction in cost.
  • Leveraged analytics to enhance the output of Agro-Forestry and Farm Forestry models in Lao P.D.R.
  • Analysed Advanced Plantation Techniques at Birla Lao Pulp & Plantation to improve operational efficiency.
  • Conducted primary and secondary research on land management for Birla Lao Pulp & Plantations.

 

Accomplishments

Chairman's Individual Excellence Award

  • Recipient of the Chairman's Individual Excellence Award for outstanding performance in 2023, (1/25000)

Outstanding performer

  • Served as Designated Nodal Officer for Swachhta Initiatives, leading the organization to win the Ministry of Coal's Award three times in last five years.
  • Consistently ranked among top 5% performers company-wide during annual performance appraisals for nine consecutive years of working with Coal India Limited.

National Sustainability Quiz-2019 

  • 1st Runners up in 3rd National Sustainability Quiz 2019, organized by United Nations Global Compact Network India
Education

Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management (major - Development Management), Indian Institute of Forest Management

BE in Electronics & Telecommunication, Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University

Certificates
  • Bloomberg’s certified course of ESG
  • Certificate Program in' Training the Trainers, National Productivity Council
  • Certificate Program in High Impact Corporate Social Responsibility, Administrative Staff College of India
  • Just Transition Dialogues: Developing Pathways for the Indian Coal Industry -  IIT Kanpur 
Co/Extra-curricular
  • Elected member of the core team of the Alumni Committee, PGPX. – IIM Ahmedabad
  • Elected Student Placement Co-ordinator for the Batch of PFM2012 at Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, achieving 100% placement record.
  • 1st Runners up in 3rd National Sustainability Quiz 2019, organized by United Nations Global Compact Network India

Quick Look

  • Work Experience: 11.8 Years
  • Previous Roles

    Deputy Manager , Coal India Limited

    Assistant Manager , Grasim Industries Limited

    Emerging Leadership Programme Participant , Birla Lao Pulp & Plantation, Aditya Birla Group

  • Function : General Management
    Operations/Logistics/Supply Chain
    Project/Program Management
    Strategy
  • Industry/Sector: Energy & Utilities
    Government/PSUs
Work Experience

Dy. Manager(Project Management , Strategy and Sustainibility) | Coal India Limited | Chhattisgarh

  • Spearheaded end-to-end execution of projects with a total outlay of over ₹4,000 million. Led multiple teams comprising 30+ members to execute 500+ projects successfully, spread across ten districts. 
  • Coordinated 50+ Board-level Sub-Committee meetings, delivering strategic performance insights to C-suite stakeholders, Board members, and Independent Directors, driving informed decision-making and corporate accountability.
  • Evaluated project proposals & RFPs and developed a robust project monitoring and evaluation framework, incorporating milestone tracking that enhanced project service operations, impact analysis, and sustainability.
  • Initialized the development of digital transformation through a project dashboard with geo-tagging and real-time process automation monitoring features, enhancing end-to-end project delivery efficiency by 30%.
  • Administered implementation and training for the Material Management module of the SAP ERP system. Leveraged data analytics through SAP to optimize inventory operations and enhance workflow efficiency.
  • Pioneered procurement processes through E-Tendering, Government e-marketplace (GeM), and contract management, negotiating terms and margins with vendors & suppliers, conducting market intelligence & bid price analysis, and enhancing supply chain efficiency. 
  • Formulated and implemented CSR policy and guidelines for South Eastern Coalfields Limited (Coal India Limited subsidiary).
  • Fostered stakeholder management & strategic partnerships with state governments, district administrations, and public representatives to streamline mining operations
  • Successfully represented management in 10+ high-level parliamentary committee meetings, driving key discussions at the highest levels of government.
  • Prepared CSR Annual Reports for the past eight years and contributed to Business Sustainability reports.
  • Collaborated for company-level Just Transition Initiatives, associated with scouting new Business opportunities & ESG Initiatives. 
  • Guided operational assistance & liaised with government bodies for Land Acquisition & necessary permissions to open new mines.
  • Crafted media communications plan, enhancing visibility by showcasing best practices through PR and social media channels.
  • Initiated change management strategies to improve corporate employee engagement, yielding an increase of ~1,000 hours of additional workforce per annum.
  • Led COVID-19 Initiatives, wherein directly involved in COVID-related works with the outlay of more than ₹ 500 million, benefitting more than one lakh people.
  • Conceptualized and implemented vocational training projects, benefiting over 1,500 individuals with placement-linked employment opportunities.

 

Assistant Manager (Resource Development & Procurement) | Grasim Industries Limited, Aditya Birla Group | Karnataka

  • Streamlined the pulpwood procurement through suppliers and sourcing directly from farmers through farm and social forestry models to ensure cost-effective and sustainable resource acquisition.
  • Led Cost Optimization through market intelligence efforts across Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, optimizing district-wise procurement, resulting in 12% cost savings compared to cost estimates.
  • Developed a comprehensive Annual Demand Plan and implemented Inventory Assessment through Data Analytics for phased raw materials procurement, resulting in a 25% reduction in stockouts & improving supply chain visibility.
  • Administered three Warehouses/Depots of wood and oversaw the seamless logistics of transporting materials to the plant by implementing standardized procedures that optimized delivery times and improved inventory turnover.
  • Accelerated the pre-sales planning, budgeting, business development, and support service operations through after-sales support for 100 Lakhs plants annually to various institutions and farmers, driving growth in the plantation sector.
  • Led the ‘Operation Green Project’ for contract farming, securing agreements with farmers to increase resources & Managed three satellite nurseries producing 10-15 lakh plants annually.

 

Emerging Leadership Programme Participant | Birla Lao Pulp & Plantation, Aditya Birla Group | Lao P.D.R

  • Streamlined global operations by conducting comprehensive Time & Motion study, identifying fundamental inefficiencies & optimizing operational expenditure, resulting in a 15% reduction in cost.
  • Leveraged analytics to enhance the output of Agro-Forestry and Farm Forestry models in Lao P.D.R.
  • Analysed Advanced Plantation Techniques at Birla Lao Pulp & Plantation to improve operational efficiency.
  • Conducted primary and secondary research on land management for Birla Lao Pulp & Plantations.

 

Accomplishments

Chairman's Individual Excellence Award

  • Recipient of the Chairman's Individual Excellence Award for outstanding performance in 2023, (1/25000)

Outstanding performer

  • Served as Designated Nodal Officer for Swachhta Initiatives, leading the organization to win the Ministry of Coal's Award three times in last five years.
  • Consistently ranked among top 5% performers company-wide during annual performance appraisals for nine consecutive years of working with Coal India Limited.

National Sustainability Quiz-2019 

  • 1st Runners up in 3rd National Sustainability Quiz 2019, organized by United Nations Global Compact Network India
Education

Post Graduate Diploma in Forestry Management (major - Development Management), Indian Institute of Forest Management

BE in Electronics & Telecommunication, Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University

Certificates
  • Bloomberg’s certified course of ESG
  • Certificate Program in' Training the Trainers, National Productivity Council
  • Certificate Program in High Impact Corporate Social Responsibility, Administrative Staff College of India
  • Just Transition Dialogues: Developing Pathways for the Indian Coal Industry -  IIT Kanpur 
Co/Extra-curricular
  • Elected member of the core team of the Alumni Committee, PGPX. – IIM Ahmedabad
  • Elected Student Placement Co-ordinator for the Batch of PFM2012 at Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, achieving 100% placement record.
  • 1st Runners up in 3rd National Sustainability Quiz 2019, organized by United Nations Global Compact Network India