CEO Insights India

The automotive industry is one of the largest and most important sectors in the global economy since it includes the designing, development, production, marketing, and sale of vehicles. Therefore, competent leaders in the industry play a critical role in the success of the automotive industry since they ensure that companies are able to help up with the latest developments, earn profitability and stay ahead of the competition. Chandresh Gupta is the Group CFO at Prem Motors which is a leading player in automobiles dealership. He brings to the table almost two decades of experience working in various industry verticals including manufacturing, BPO, services, and logistics. He has rich experience in formulating and implementing strategies, policies, and activities to facilitate cost benefits.

In an in-depth conversation with CEO Insights magazine, Chandresh shares with us his professional journey and the various lessons he has gathered on the way. Let’s hear it from him.

With two decades of industry experience, what has been your success mantra?
I am an ardent believer in the saying, ‘There is no shortcut to success because there indeed isn’t'. In order to climb the ladder of success, one needs to work hard every day.My success mantra is my dedication to the organization that I have worked for. I have always practiced discipline, integrity, and honesty towards my work along with continuous hard work. In our industry, in order to succeed one needs to put in a required number of hours, and even today, I dedicate at least 12-15 hours per day towards my profession. I joined Prem Motors in 2015 as General Manager and climbed my way up to the position of Group CFO. Our organization was awarded the Bhamashah Award in 2022 by the Commercial Tax Department, Madhya Pradesh.

How would you define Prem Motors and what is its current position in the market?

Prem Motors was incorporated in the year 1990. company and took the Maruti Suzuki dealership in the year 2001. It is a closely held organization and is the only entity in the entire dealer fraternity to have a strong presence in 6 different states of India. The organization is a professionally managed organization with each department being taken care of by individual professionals viz Sales, Service, HR & Admin, IT, and Finance. We have been Ranked 4th amongst the top MSIL Dealerships in PAN India during FY 2022-23. We have also been Ranked 7th by ET Auto in its survey of the Top 100 Power Dealers List for the year 2021-22 amongst 15000 automobile dealers PAN India. We are the only Automobile Dealership in the country to have been placed at the 486th ranking in 'FT Ranking: Asia-Pacific High- Growth Companies 2021'. During the year 2021-22, the company entered into a joint venture with DD Motors(A Division of DD Industries) and formed a new company viz DD Prem which is a subsidiary of Prem Motors.

As the Group CFO, how do you determine the profitability of the organization?
Well, automobile dealership has extremely thin margins, and one works on the defined margins determined by OEMs. So, it is not possible to decide the selling price therefore we try to control the expenditure to gain profitability against investments.

If we compare the industry benchmark, which is rather low, in the past 4-5 years we have been operating at a much better profitability compared to our competitors.

My responsibility is to ensure that we get the desired profits and to attain the same, we have numerous measures in place to keep expenses under control. We also have robust budgeting processes at Prem Motors, which enables us to monitor our profits center separately for our 46 showrooms. My profile includes ensuring that each profit center adds value to the organization.

What is your leadership approach to

addressing the challenges in the automobile industry?
Prem Motors is a huge organization and that means that we do have challenges every day. My approach includes effective communication and interaction with as many employees as possible to extend my support to them. I believe in leading by example. I have a team of 225 people working in various capacities on the finance team and every individual has a unique skill set, knowledge, and traits and I try to understand everyone to decide the future plan so that their strengths can be harnessed to their potential.

What would be your advice to young and budding leaders in the automotive industry?
Transparency, honesty, and integrity are the three pillars one needs to swear by in the automotive industry. I believe our industry has gray areas and we cannot compromise on the expectations of the stakeholders. Another piece of advice is to stay up to date with the accurate facts and figures of the industry to facilitate the growth of the organization. Also, taking calculated risks is something that helps one climb the ladder of success so, don’t be afraid to take chances.

Chandresh Gupta,Group CFO, Prem Motors
Chandresh Gupta, having graduated from Delhi, was enrolled as an associate member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in the year 1996 and has been acknowledged as Chief Financial Controller with rich experience in all facets of Finance & Accounts including Indian GAAP, Banking & Treasury functions, Fund Raising, Costing and Budgeting, Profit Enhancements & Business Turnaround, Regulatory Compliances, Mergers & Acquisitions including Private Equity Investment. He is an enterprising leader with a solid record of contributions leading to higher margins, lowered risk & enhanced internal controls. Currently working with Prem Motors Group of companies, he is responsible for managing the end-to-end requirements relating to Finance and Accounts of the Automobile Dealership business of Maruti Suzuki, Piaggio, and Tata Motors Commercial along with a Transportation vertical since the company has a fleet of more than 150 car trailers.

Favorite hobbies-Playing online Ludo
Favorite cuisine-North Indian
Favorite book-Novels by Jeffrey Archer
Favorite travel destination- Las Vegas