Nomita Kothari—22
Years
And Still Counting
A veteran in the air cargo
business, Nomita Kothari has seen it all, loading and unloading cargo
in the blistering heat and pouring rain of Mumbai. Today, with more than
20-odd years of experience in the industry, she wants to continue having
fun in the air cargo business.
Nomita joined the industry when she was
barely out of college. She was fascinated by planes and loved travelling.
What could be better than working for an airline? she asked herself.
She did not have to wait long. “I
had just finished my education,” she said, “when I saw an
advertisement that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was looking to hire someone.”
Her uncle, Sanjeev Talwar, then Cargo Manager for Air India, convinced
the young lady to apply for the job. “Not knowing anything about
cargo, I went ahead . . . and secured the job.”
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It was then that she faced
reality. The first few days must have been terrible. She recalled: “Little
did I know then that cargo was not glamorous, nor was it swanky like the
passenger division.” But the gutsy lady stuck with it. “It
meant understanding kilos v/s pounds, pallets v/s containers, general
cargo v/s perishables, and much more.” Perhaps she did not look
forward to “going to the warehouse wearing high heels, perspiring
while supervising the loading and unloading of cargo.” The part
of her job that she liked was meeting Customs officials and customers.
That was the beginning—almost 22 years
ago—which she refers to as “a motivating journey,” where
she learned “a great deal about business strategies, marketing activities,
product specifications, complex rating structure, and the impact of economic
development on the trade, plus much, much more.” Above all, she
says she has learned about relationship management, business ethics, and
trust.
In January 1996, KLM promoted her as Manager,
Customer Service – India, and after the merger with Air France,
in May 2006, she was assigned to head the joint AF/KL Cargo, Customer
Service organization. It was a challenging assignment and Nomita handled
it deftly, integrating the people, processes, and procedures between the
two organizations with offices spread across the country in Mumbai, Delhi,
Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hyderabad.
All along, the lady adapted herself to her
colleagues—and almost all of them were males—to be in the
industry that she has come to love. “I have never faced any adversity
because I am a woman,” she said.
“On the contrary, I have received
support, guidance, and feedback. The people I have worked with, and continue
working with, have been a positive influence in my life. The rich experience
I have gained over the years has helped me develop my ‘people management
skills’,” which she uses to coach, motivate, and develop the
team she now leads as Business Development Manager at Sharaf Cargo. She
joined the UAE-based company this January and hopes to give full flow
to what she calls, “my forte: Customer Services.”
The most exciting thing about the cargo
industry is the rapid progress it is witnessing. “We are heading
towards an e-platform... There is more happening: networks are expanding,
joint ventures and alliances are coming in, there are new specialized
products… it sure is a inspiring world out there,” she said.
Today, she pointed out, customers are aware of what they want. “We
must maintain a flexible attitude towards our customers’ requests
and always focus on what our customers want and not what we think they
need.”
Was she still passionate about planes after
looking at how to fill empty bellies for more than 20 years? Certainly,
said the lady with a twinkle in her eyes. “Airplanes drew me to
cargo” and she has no regrets. “There isn’t a day that
goes by when I am not thankful for having found a place for myself in
this evolving industry!”
Tirthankar Ghosh |
