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It started with a small fishing trip to Danaher creek in Montana by brothers Steven and Mitchell Rales in the early 1980s. That’s where they decided to start a manufacturing

company that would not compromise on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. The aptly named Danaher Corporation is today a global science and technology giant which

owns a portfolio of companies that design, manufacture and market innovative products and services to professional, medical, industrial and commercial customers. Over the years,

Danaher has grown both organically and inorganically. Organically, by investing heavily in research and development and strengthening systems and processes, and inorganically, by acquiring strong performers in attractive markets. Since 1984 Danaher has acquired over

400 companies globally — this makes it one of the world’s largest conglomerates. Some key acquisitions include industry leaders such as Fluke, Tektronix, Leica Microsystems,

Pantone, X-Rite, Beckman Coulter, Navman Wireless, Genetix, Gendex, Trojan Technologies and so on. Today, Danaher has presence in 126 countries and over 63,000 associates. In 2012, it clocked a turnover of $18.3 billion from five reporting segments —

test and measurement, environmental, dental, life sciences and diagnostics, and industrial technologies. Danaher India has 28 operating companies in India with over 1,700 associates and revenues of more than $2 billion and an annual growth of 30 per cent over the past five

years. The company’s global R&D centre in Bengaluru has filed more than 36 global patents in the past year. “Where opportunities are concerned, India is a big and attractive market.

We need to expand our existing customer reach to adequately cover tier 3 and tier 4 cities,” says Danaher India President and CEO Jai Shankar Krishnan. The company is also looking at social inclusion by providing infrastructure for socially-relevant projects (healthcare and

water), a viable business/financial model that provides access to mass market, and by contributing to education and research. In an interview to Prerna Raturi, Krishnan talks

about the challenges and opportunities for a science and technology company in India, as well as how the Indian market is a significant one for the brand.

Our cash flows have exceeded our net income

for the past 21 years

Globally, we have done about 90 acquisitions in the past five years, of which six are in India

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How big a market is India for the Danaher Group when it comes to turnover, market share and company growth? How does the group see the Indian market?Danaher is a leading science and technology company and has been investing in India for the past 10 years. We have diversified into five business segments, with 28 of our companies operating in India. As a science and technology innovator, the Indian market is an exciting place to be. Our total addressable market is about $2 billion and we have been growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 per cent in the past five years in India.

What’s your business strategy for India and how does it align with the group’s global business plans?Given the diversity of our products, we touch the lives of our customers across several sectors. We want to be viewed as partners with our customers, helping them advance scientific research and technology. We have many examples of this partnership. Prof Shinya Yamanaka of Japan, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2012, relied on AB SCIEX Mass Spectrometers for carrying out his research. In India, too, our technology is being used for water testing (Hach), forensics and dope testing (AB SCIEX), and cataract operations (Leica Microsystems).

Where our business strategy is concerned, we are No. 1 or 2 in most of our businesses globally, and that is our desired market position in India as well.

Tell us a little about Danaher’s India journey so far — the surprises that the Indian market threw at you, the challenges and the opportunities?Our foray into India was about 15 years ago, when we set up a manufacturing facility for Portescap, one of Danaher’s operating companies, to make miniature motors in Seepz in Mumbai. It is an export-oriented facility and has

and diagnostics, and industrial technologies — which is the most significant for you in the Indian market and why?For us each of these segments is significant and presents an opportunity. Life science and diagnostics, currently our largest segment, offers significant opportunity for us to grow with the increasing penetration of high-end diagnostics labs and hospitals in smaller towns and cities in India. Things have become better with the increase in research in areas such as pharma and biotechnology. Test and measurement offers a great potential with the growing technology industry in India.

We expect our water quality group to grow with the increase in demand for clean water. GVR, our petroleum dispensing business, is witnessing growth with the rising energy needs of the country. Our industrial technologies segment, which covers industrial coding and motion, is growing with the increasing levels of sophistication and automation in Indian industries. Lastly, our dental platform offers enormous potential as we offer end-to-end solutions from equipment to imaging to consumables for dentists.

Danaher is one of the best examples when it comes to inorganic growth. While it has to be a business strategy, what are some of the challenges that come in the way when it comes to acquiring companies?Danaher has a well-defined process for doing deals. Globally, we have done about 90 acquisitions in the past five years, of which six are in India. One key learning for us has been the need to get cultural alignment. Thus, cultivation is extremely important in India. Also due to India’s complex legal, regulatory and financial framework, the timeline for getting deals done can be lengthy.

Talking about mergers and acquisitions, what kind of companies have you been looking to acquire in India? Do you have a target?Acquisition, by itself, is not a strategy. For us, what is most important is to get

our products to the end customer. So what we look for is collaboration, so that we reach the right market with the right products. Whether that happens through joint product development, channel partnership or through acquisitions depends on the business context.

How is the Indian merger and acquisition sector, in your experience?India has seen quite a few cross-border deals, both inbound and outbound. Talking of outbound deals, Indian companies are getting bolder and they are looking to add new markets for their products and resources to meet the needs of their growing businesses. Also, India remains an attractive destination for global companies, given the rising disposable income and quick adoption of technology. However, the tough tax and regulatory climate pose a challenge.

What is the funding pattern for your company when it comes to acquiring other companies? Free cash flow is an extremely critical factor that drives our acquisition

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in market entry and establishing our presence as a multinational company in the country. Incubating and starting our entity in India was demanding and time-consuming. Procuring multiple statutory and regulatory licences affected the time to market. The other challenges have been getting quality partners and the right technical alliances.

Where opportunities are concerned, India is a big and attractive market. We need to expand our existing customer reach to adequately cover tier III and tier IV cities. There is a tremendous need to improve access to safe water and quality healthcare. We feel that with our products in life science and diagnostics and water technology, Danaher has an important role to play in India.

Of your five reporting segments — tests and measurement, environmental, dental, life sciences

been the largest export earner from Seepz for the past four years.

Our commercial build-up in India has picked up speed during the past decade. We ramped up our India operations and started incubating many of our companies into India. We have been driving our growth organically by putting in place strong systems and processes using the Danaher Business System (DBS). We have also accelerated growth through local strategic acquisitions.

Danaher recognises the abundant talent availability in India and we source talent from India for our India and global operations. We have a strong R&D presence in the country; we employ more than 1,000 people in India, both direct and indirect, who drive our global R&D operations. One of our global R&D centres in Bengaluru has filed over 36 global patents in the past year.

The biggest challenge for us has been

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strategy. For Danaher, the cash flows have exceeded the net income for the past 21 years. Thus we have sufficient cash on hand, which we typically use to fund acquisitions.

For a company that is growing fast in the science and technology sector, do you feel the need to reach out with your brand to the end-consumer? What are some the steps you have taken with regards to marketing and advertising?There is a significant opportunity for us to reach out to the end-customer. However, being a B2B company, we need to focus on more targeted campaigns rather than generic ones. Also there is a need to ensure that we localise our campaigns and engage with our end-customers. Through our best-in-class six centres of excellence, we invite students, researchers and academicians to experience our world-class technology and equipment. We have set up a KOL (Key Opinion Leader) network which comprises of top-notch scientists and researchers who are our advocates in scientific forums and communities. Also we regularly take part in trade shows

We are constantly looking at resource conservation and energy efficiency, as they are deeply linked with our culture of continuous improvement

and are part of various industrial bodies.

There is a huge demand for the benefits of science and technology reaching the remote parts of India. What is Danaher doing in this regard? Can you share some examples?In India, we are looking at social inclusion on three fronts. The first is by providing infrastructure for socially-relevant projects (healthcare and water); second, by providing a viable business/financial model that gives access to mass market; and third, by contributing to education and research. Talking of examples, our equipment has been used for conducting more than a million diagnostic tests in public and private hospitals, many of which have been in the smaller cities and villages across India. We have also been involved in various academic and scientific projects targeted at bringing technology to remote areas.

Danaher India also has a number of partnerships with government and private companies. What kind of synergies are at work here?We have partnered on multiple fronts with both the government and the private sector. We are working on setting up guidelines and regulatory framework on various technical initiatives with the government. We are also providing technology for mission critical projects to both the government and private sector. Many of our instruments are also being used in government-related health schemes by providing high-quality diagnostics to people.

Danaher Group also spells out concepts such as Kaizen and lean manufacturing as crucial to growth. How has the Indian division imbibed it?Lean manufacturing and Kaizen were pioneered by Toyota to improve productivity on the shop floor. At Danaher we have imbibed some of the best concepts and have developed some tools and best practices that we are now using to drive growth and leadership, in addition to factory productivity. We call these tools the Danaher Business System (DBS).

The operating companies in India

have taken to DBS very well and we are using DBS tools quite extensively to drive growth. Having said that, we have a culture of continuous learning at Danaher and we strongly feel the need to have a constant evolving process of teaching, training and disseminating our DBS best practices.

What are some of the challenges in having the executives understand, appreciate and encourage such concepts? How has it been in India?India has a robust learning culture. Many people have joined us with a desire to learn more about the way we do business, our systems and our processes. Thus we ensure that there is a culture of constant learning at Danaher. We regularly expose all our associates to DBS tools and best practices through Kaizen and training sessions throughout the year.

What kind of a policy does the Danaher Group have when it comes to sustainable development and minimising your own carbon footprint?Kaizen and lean concepts are about eliminating waste and sustainability. We are constantly looking at resource

conservation and energy efficiency, as they are deeply linked with our culture of continuous improvement. Also, our cutting-edge technologies are focussed towards improving efficiencies, eliminating wastages, as well as removing bottlenecks and improving systems. Our products support cutting-edge research in food testing, detecting contaminants, drug discovery, water conservation and chip development, which will invariably lead to improved quality and a more sustainable world.

Are you getting adequate quality talent? What is your view on talent in India?Indians excel when it comes to technology-oriented jobs. We thus consider India to be a strong source of talent for us, both locally and globally. We have hired aggressively from India and will continue to do so for both our commercial operations and R&D.

Once at Danaher, we ensure continuous growth for our associates through on-the-job training, Kaizen sessions and a strong mentorship programmes across all levels. Our track record of attrition, which has been in the lower single digit range for the past five years, speaks for itself.We are No.

1 or 2 in most of our businesses globally, and that is our desired market position in India as well

A day in your life...A typical morning starts very early with planning for the day and the week. Outdoor team sports with loads of fresh air and fresh coffee (not necessarily in the same sequence) every morning is a given. Day is usually intense and is interspersed with numerous meetings, business reviews and discussions. I try my best to ensure a good blend of internal meetings and external touch points. Meeting with customers and understanding their needs is a critical part of my daily/weekly routine. Most days run into late evenings with conference calls/meetings across the globe.

How do you prepare for an important business meeting?Planning is paramount for any important business meeting. For me it is structured around two aspects — deeper understanding of the ‘business context’ so that I get prepared with relevant content; and the other is getting to know more about the leaders and stakeholders I am going to meet.

The best way to hand out pink slips...I try to be objective when I have to handout pink slips. Being straightforward and honest about it helps.

How do you motivate your staff? I try to motivate my team by ‘leading by example’, be it at

the marketplace, doing business deals and transactions, or in setting goals and expectations for the organisation. I strongly believe in not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk. While monetary incentives certainly motivate good performers, it is the learning experience that builds team cohesiveness and improves productivity. Given our strong culture of continuous improvement, we have numerous programmes that inculcate the spirit of inclusion, especially in high impact projects. This, I believe, gives our associates the opportunity to unleash their creative and entrepreneurial spirit and transition from being a good to a great performer.

Five interesting things in your office...My office is the least interesting place and I am rarely in my office. It has nothing beyond a lot of papers and reference books.

How do you like to unwind?I have allocated time for outdoor sports early morning during my workdays — at least thrice a week. I play outdoor sports with my kids during the weekend. I also like to unwind by listening to music.

Your ultimate holiday destination...I recently went to the Masai Mara in Kenya and saw the great migration. It was awe-inspiring. I learnt so much

from Nature.

What is your greatest indulgence?Nothing in particular.

Are you fond of collecting anything?Fond memories.

Your kind of books... The books that I like these days are mostly on physics and astrophysics. The latest book I am reading is called Physics of the Future by Mitchio Kako. It’s fabulous and talks about how science will shape our lives until 2100.The other book that had me really engrossed is Gödel, Escher, Bach: An eternal Golden Braid written by Pulitzer Prize winner Douglas R Hofstadter.

Music...All kinds of music. No favourites. Any music that can elevate my mood works.

Cinema...Hardly watch much cinema.

Cars...My kind of car is anything that takes me from Point A to Point B —preferably with a driver — especially in a place like Mumbai.

Watches... For me time is most precious. My ultimate watch is “to watch out for the moment” and I wear my heart on my sleeve and wrist.

Cuisine...I am grateful to be able to indulge in the diversity of cuisine available in India. And given my international travel, I get to try different international cuisine, too. I love them all.

Any CMD or CEO you admire and why?The CEOs I like (and there are many) are mostly for their clear vision and ruthless execution, for their drive and passion that makes dreams happen, and their ability to be grounded and humble. Also I admire many of them for giving back to the society. I am a great fan of Danaher’s CEO, H Lawrence Culp, Jr., who exhibits many qualities that I admire.

Personal Memo

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: Man

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Pat

il