Our People
"Abhi nahin toh kabhi nahin." That was what Snehal Parmar told her family when she got an opportunity to move to Silvassa to join Hindalco’s new aluminium extrusions plant. Looking back, she says, “I was desperate to break out of my comfort zone. I had put in 14 years at the Birla Copper plant in Dahej, Gujarat. Life was good; my two kids were going to a good school. We lived in a big, friendly township with every facility. I had been successful at work and changed the perception of women managers at my workplace. But I wanted more.”
Snehal’s aspirations have led her to become the Head of Procurement at Hindalco’s new 34,000 tonne Silvassa plant. “There was so much to worry about. My husband had misgivings about my ambition. He could not move because of his job. We had no idea what kind of a town Silvassa was, and he was worried because I’d have to travel 20 km each way to work. My elder son, who was nine, didn’t want to leave his friends and move to an unknown place. I had to pacify him saying new friends come into our life at every stage—even when you change classes or go to college.”
In all this turmoil, Snehal’s mother-in-law was her strongest ally, as was her mother, a teacher who had single-handedly brought up three kids. In May 2021, amidst the pandemic, she moved with her children to Silvassa, a mofussil industrial town in Dadra & Nagar Haveli. After Dahej, it was a completely new environment for the family. “Thankfully, my mother-in-law moved with us, and I am grateful for her immense contribution,” says Snehal. The seven-hour commute from Ahmedabad can be very tiring, but Snehal’s ever-supportive husband regularly makes this journey.
At work, she now has a far bigger role than she could have ever imagined. Earlier, she could often leave the decision-making to her manager. But today, she is responsible for decisions worth hundreds of crores — not just relating to procurement, but also to operations. “I have to deal with overseas suppliers in different time zones which often means taking calls late at night, which is my time for managing the home and kids. My current role stretches me more than I imagined. But I am growing as a manager and as a person. And my children are learning from watching their mother take on multiple roles. I like to think of life as travelling on a rush-hour Mumbai local. The first sight of the trains and crowd can be scary. It takes a lot to find your foothold. Gradually you get used to it, and then you master it. And when you reach your destination, there’s a sense of joy.”
