Big Interview
Exhibition deus ex machina
V. Anbu, Director General & CEO of Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association
(IMTMA) & Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) and the incoming
UFI President for 2020-21, tells Paul Colston about his career
ell us about your
early career and what
brought you into the
events industry?
I always wanted to be an engineer
and graduated in metallurgical
engineering from the Indian Institute
of Science (IISc). My interest was in
manufacturing when IT and smart
manufacturing were making inroads.
I began my career in steelmaking
and quickly moved on to industry
association activities. A major part of
my early career was centred around
industry promotion, technology
and IPR and enhancing industry
competitiveness. This work drew me
into events and exhibitions.
Who was an early mentor?
I had the good fortune to work with
several industry stalwarts. Senior
colleagues in the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII), the Indian
Machine Tool Manufacturers’
Association (IMTMA), and industry
leaders from manufacturing, machine
tool and science and technology all
played huge roles in boosting my
confidence and helped me learn all
about organising exhibitions and
leading an association.
What was your first business
success?
The first major success for me in
IMTMA was when IMTEX moved
from Delhi and Bombay, to Bangalore
for the first time in 2007. It was a new
chapter for IMTMA and all of us in the
industry.
There were many challenges for
hosting such a mega show in a new
city. We were building a brand new
international quality venue, BIEC and
IMTEX 2007 was its first show.
Bangalore wasn’t prepared to
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Issue 2 2020
host a show like IMTEX and we had
to undertake a variety of initiatives
including finding the right staff, new
service providers and preparing
all exhibitors, visitors and other
stakeholders for this new chapter of a
long journey in Bangalore. However,
we made the right decision and it
marked a beginning for Bangalore
as a major city in India for hosting
international quality shows.
In 2020, IMTEX has evolved into a
great ecosystem benefitting Indian
and international exhibitors, visitors,
R&D and academic institutions and
government agencies. The exhibition
is setting a benchmark and becoming
an example for all the stakeholders in
the sub-continent. It also convinced
me that if one has courage, conviction
and confidence then one can
accomplish one’s vision.
A piece of early advice that has
always stuck with you?
One of the cardinal sins that people
often make is to rush at the last
moment. It dawned upon me early
that one needs to spend adequate
time and resources at the drawing
board stage to avoid costly mistakes
later. Those who start early have a
brighter chance of seeing success.
Can you name an early career
challenge?
When I joined IMTMA in 2003, we
were expanding our portfolio by
adding new events (such as Machine
Tool Industry Summit, National
Productivity Summit, the first
training programmes). Constructing
a venue with world-class facilities
for organising our flagship IMTEX
& Tooltech exhibition was also a
big challenge. The main challenge
for IMTMA was to find people with
What are
some of the
proudest
moments of
your career?
I am happy
to have been
part of some
of some
significant
milestones,
such as:
• Heading
IMTMA at the
age of 39
• Inaugurating
BIEC in 2007
with the first
IMTEX show
in Bangalore
• Celebrating
50 years of
IMTEX in
2019
• Construction
of two new
halls recently
(Hall 4 and
Hall 5) in BIEC
• Enabling
setting up of
the machine
tool park near
Bangalore
• Becoming
UFI President
for the year
2020-2021
• Being a part
of IMTMA’s
75 years
Diamond
Jubilee which
is scheduled
for 2021.
the right attitude and skill-set to
take up these tasks. There were no
shortcuts, we identified fresh talent
to strengthen the existing team and
groomed them primarily through
internal training. In parallel, we
developed an efficient process-
based delivery mechanism and
strengthened the organisation. The
other important aspect was to make
the staff understand the vision and
mission and purpose of IMTMA and
aligning their aspirations with the
vision of the organisation.
Today many of those staff members
who started their journey have
evolved to take higher responsibilities.
What have been your career
guiding principles?
a. For both individuals as well as
companies, values play a very
important role as guiding principles
in their journey towards reaching the
goal. The journey is more important
than reaching the destination itself.
b. People and processes are the
building blocks for an organisation’s
success. In a dynamic organisation
these would be constantly evolving to
reach greater heights.
c. Customer focus is the only way
companies can stay relevant and
sustain success.
How important have exhibitions
been for the machine-tool sector?
In the year 2007, we launched BIEC
and in 13 years it has evolved as one
of the most important destinations for
exhibitions and events in India and
hosts more than 40 events a year.
Our flagship event IMTEX was
launched in 1969 at Godrej & Boyce
industrial premises, Mumbai, and we
celebrated 50 years of this grand show
in 2019 at BIEC.
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk