Hema Hattangady

Hema Hattangady is an Indian businesswoman. She was the Vice Chairman & CEO of Conzerv Systems Pvt Ltd until it was sold to Schneider Electric in June 2009. Coming from a non-technical background, she took charge of the family-run business in the energy domain ; By the time Conzerv became a Schneider body, it had evolved from less than US$200,000 p.a. to $25 million with a wide international client base. It has been in the business of consulting, training and products for energy efficiency catering to industrial and commercial users of power. Hema is a Member of the Board of Governors of Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, and of the Board of Directors of Efficiency Valuation Organization, USA, the only non-profit organization in the world solely dedicated to creating measurement and verification tools for efficiency. She was selected by the US Government to be a part of the South Asia Energy Management Mission to explore the development of the American energy sector and share their Indian experiences. Powerline Magazine selected Hema when they put up a list of 10 women who have contributed meaningfully to the power sector.

Early life

Hema did her school partly in Delhi and later in Dharwad in Karnataka. After graduating in commerce at 21, she was married. When her husband headed to the University of Texas for his MS, Hema Hattangady was denied a visa to join him. She instead, decided to pursue an MBA at The INDIAN Institute of Management in Kolkata. After a brief stint at the advertising agency, Adwit India as General Manager, she joined the family business Enercon Systems, a business in digital meters started by her father-in-law.

At Conzerv

Enercon later became Conzerv Systems Pvt Ltd ; while her husband Ashok was the technical person, Hema handled the customers and looked into almost every aspect of the business, from the building of the factory, to procuring materials, to sales and marketing. So much is her contribution that there is a Harvard Business Case study on her, The case describes a set of decisions Hema makes to build the firm.

After Conzerv

Hema and her husband Ashok have promoted a new venture called Conssul Energy Private Limited again in the energy domain. She is associated with Conserve My Campus which helps campuses save energy and the environment by involving young minds.She is also an angel investor in few social enterprises.

Hobbies and interests

Hema provides mentoring and coaching to young entrepreneurs, she also plays golf. She is on the Non-Executive board of Swasth India working towards health issues in India.