Pawan Maini, managing director, Ramboll India, takes pride in being a part of a company that has a long history. A leading global engineering consultancy firm, Ramboll was established in 1945 after World War II to tap the emerging demand for infrastructure. Today, its Indian operations focus on four key segments: telecom towers, buildings, oil and gas, and transport. About two-thirds of its revenues in India come from its tower business. Ramboll India is involved in tower design and partners with manufacturers to sell its designs. It also has expertise in tower load validation. With the increasing trend of infrastructure sharing, Ramboll is reaching out to tower companies and providing them consultancy services, including capacity assessment on existing towers and steps to enhance capacity and manage higher tenancies.

Maini brings to Ramboll India more than two decades of consultancy experience in segments such as roads, water, bridges, transport, shipping and airlines. Over the years, he has worked with organisations such as CH2M HILL, the International Finance Corporation and Halcrow.

Maini is a graduate in engineering from IIT, Mumbai. He also has a master’s in construction management from North Carolina State University, USA and a doctorate in transportation engineering from University of Colorado, Denver. Five years ago, he went to the London School of Business to pursue an executive MBA, which, he says, has given him an all-round perspective of the world.

During the course of his career, Maini has had the opportunity to work on a large number of consultancy projects in different countries and has spent 12 years outside India. When asked to pick his most exciting and challenging assignment so far, he says, “Excitement is inherent in every place; it just differs in form as one moves from country to country or from one project to another. For example, while working in the US, excitement stemmed from the detailing associated with each job. In India, the excitement stems from overcoming challenges in a highly uncertain and unorganised business environment.”

Maini likes to begin work early, by 8.30 a.m., and end by 5.30 p.m. Life outside work is about travelling with family, going for long drives, playing table tennis and watching sports. Post-retirement, he dreams of living in the hills. But before that, he would like to make a difference in the country’s infrastructure sector, where he believes a lot of money is being misspent without making a real distinction between good and bad projects.