Oxford educated, he has a degree in engineering and is a graduate of the Wharton Advanced Management Programme and speaks several European languages, but he’s no ordinary graduate.

Born in Battersea in south west London, to an Indian father and Italian mother, his early years were far from easy.

“You could describe it as a poor background, yes, but my parents instilled a ‘can-do’ spirit and a level of confidence in me that helped develop an ‘anything is possible’ approach to life that has stayed with me ever since.” His parents were very family focused and it was their influence that proved a key driver and support for Mukerjee.

“My parents never pushed me, but without their support it would have been twice as hard to get out of Battersea and into Oxford, an opportunity which ultimately opened up a whole new world to me. Remember in a world where confidence is seen to be the key Oxford gives you the ability to feel comfortable in any situation.”

Following graduation he decided to move into management consultancy, “for no other reason than they were willing to pay me more and coming from the background I came from this was important.”

He worked as a consultant for several years, specialising in electronics. He then moved to Hitachi’s semiconductor division in 1984 where he was appointed to the position of Market Research Manager Europe.

“To all intents and purposes that was the beginning of my career.”

Over the next nine years he progressed through the organisation becoming the company’s youngest deputy general manager, but by then “I was looking for something else, for new challenges.”

He was approached by a headhunter for a pre-IPO start-up called VideoLogic. “I was offered share options in a company that looked like it could really challenge the established order in Silicon Valley.”

Taken on he ran the company’s European region and was promoted to the position of group commercial sales director.

“My experience at VideoLogic taught me hot to deal with fear and how to cope with things when they go wrong. But most importantly I learned that it was vital for technology companies to understand that without a viable consumer value proposition, technology by itself was pointless. Consumers need to want to put their hands in their pockets because at the end of the day, they are the only ones to put money into this sector. This rest of us take it out. If you’re not wanted or needed by your customer, you wont get anywhere.

“I also learned that it’s hard work to sell anything and that an order for £1000 is just as hard to close as one for £100m.”

While Mukerjee admits he experienced some great highs and some deep lows at VideoLogic he’s sanguine about the whole experience. “If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger!”

Philips approach
That confidence was to prove crucial in the next step Mukerjee took. He was approached by Philips Semiconductor, who were interviewing for the position of General Manager for the European region.

“I was in my mid-30s and this was by far the biggest job I’d ever considered – way bigger than what I’d been doing at Hitachi.”

So why did you get the job?

“I was just hungrier, faster, more energetic, cockier perhaps, certainly more open and honest,” he says with a smile.

He spend eight years at the company rising through the organisation from General Manager to leading the Consumer Market Group and then progressing to a number of executive management positions: Executive Vice President – Global Marketing & Sales, Chief Marketing Officer and then the overall general management responsibility for the strategic Automotive and Identification Business Unit.

When he first joined though he didn’t realise how big a job it was going to be.
“At Philips there was a clash between those with responsibility for national markets and those who managed individual market segments. As in most large organisation there were ‘turf’ wars to contend with. I suppose, as an outsider, I had an advantage in being able to take a more balanced, considered view of the situation.

“I worked for the first four to five months to come up with a new structure which essentially ended this clash of responsibilities. Our focus moved away from the national markets to vertical market segments. That was the easy part.”
Over the next few months Mukerjee had to explain to and persuade senior managers of the benefits of this approach. National heads were given pan-European responsibilities and Mukerjee found himself travelling “like a lunatic” criss-crossing Europe to explain his plans.

“I’d brought together a really strong team of individuals and we were on a permanent road show explaining to people what was intended.”

Mukerjee’s approach to management is a surprisingly refreshing one. Perhaps because of his up-bringing he tries to bring a different perspective to any discussion and he cares about his staff.

“The way you deal with people is vital. At the end of a deal you can bend a piece of paper or card, but not a person. I think it’s offensive if a manager doesn’t take all his, or her, people seriously. Treat people fairly and try to understand them. At the end of the day you are there to care about your staff. You need to have some ‘emotional intelligence’ when you manage people.”

His work at Philips was recognised and as he freely admits, “I reached a level I never expected.”

A ‘big’ decision
In 2005 he made the decision to leave Philips and join C-MAC Technology and I have to ask, why?

“Well, I was approached by C-MAC’s investors to come on board as the company’s CEO, but to be honest I hadn’t been looking to leave Philips. Perhaps it was just the right thing to do at that particular time. I’ve certainly never regretted it.”

It was certainly a big decision for a man who’d risen so far at Philips. I ask him what he saw as being his biggest achievement while at Philips. His answer is immediate.

“I think I brought a much stronger focus on the customer. You need to have a clear bond with your customer at multiple levels and that relationship needs to be focused and systematic. We started listening to them more. I hope I left behind a far more embedded customer oriented culture. And, perhaps, I helped create the company’s next generation of senior managers.”

His biggest failure? He takes longer to answer this. “In the end it was too big for one person and, perhaps, I wasn’t able to make all the changes I’d wanted too.”

On joining C-MAC Mukerjee instigated a swift strategic review of the company identifying a new markets for future opportunities for a company which up until then had been chiefly identified with aerospace and defence. “Now we were to focus on, among other sectors: medical electronics, specialised communications, high reliability industrial electronics and transportation.

“The company had been a little bit neglected by its previous owners. I saw my role as unlocking its potential and giving it greater focus and definition.”
He certainly shook up the company when he arrived.

“I worked to protect the ‘soul’ of the company which simply means keeping the core of the business intact. It was a jewel, but a jewel that needed cleaning.

“I hate management talk. It means nothing, but people do look for ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions. I always try and lead by example and that’s what I’ve tried to do at C-MAC. You have to adapt your style to fit with different circumstances, something I’ve learned over my career.

“You can’t take a tool-kit with you. With every different role or job you have to step back and use different experiences and tools. When I joined C-MAC I didn’t bring in people I’d worked with before. Instead, I appointed staff from inside the company to positions they hadn’t expected to get. If you bring in people from outside what message does that convey? All those already in there have failed? Move people around, put them in positions they’re better suited to. Make the best of the resources you have and don’t put people in the wrong positions. You know, our people are our best asset.”

As part of the review undertaken by the company the decision was taken to gain more accreditations as part if the company’s strategy to focus on more specialised markets.

“Our model is based on electronics craftsmanship.”

C-MAC have worked to obtain a host of accreditations that include Class K certification, which will will open up certain aerospace and defence projects as well as the aerospace standard AS9100.

“We need to become part of our customer’s eco-system. We needed to refocus the business and our decision to target high skill markets required us to build levels of trust with our customers, who will be looking for and demanding exacting standards.”

C-MAC under Mukerjee has decided to focus and “be excellent. To that end we’ve also re-introduced an apprenticeship scheme. If we are all about electronic craftsmanship we need to have a skilled workforce in place.”

Mukerjee is heavily involved in the work of the Electronics Leadership Council and Semta and believes that much more needs to be done to encourage and develop the electronics sector in the UK.

“We need a strong value-adding manufacturing sector in the UK. Manufacturing is alive and well!

“But we are at a cross-roads. Companies need to start making decisions, to re-focus - we did three years ago. Companies need to be passionate about what they do. What a shame if we were to lose our manufacturing capability in the UK. We need to be affronted at the thought of it.”

From a very early age Mukerjee was taught by his parents and by his circumstances never to accept anything and to look to make a difference.
“I don’t ever leave a room regretting not having said something.”

And I believe him.

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