K.D. Saha, general manager (BIS), GAIL (India) Limi­ted, brings to the table rich experience in managing in­for­­­mation technology (IT) systems and processes. He started his career as an engineer at Hindustan Aeronau­­tics Limi­ted and subsequently worked with organisations such as Nagarjuna Finance Li­mited, IBP Co. Limited, Dunlop India Limi­ted as well as Electrosteel Castings Li­mi­­ted before moving to GAIL (India). In his current role, he is responsible for managing GAIL’s SAP platform and IT infrastructure along with its enterprise-wide applications. He also oversees the functioning of the company’s cybersecurity operations centre.

According to Saha, innovation in digital technologies like cloud, internet of things, integration of IT/operational technology (OT) and development of cybersecurity mitigation solutions are the major trends in the IT space. “Kee­­p­ing in view the growing instances of data breach and cyberattacks globally and in India, the most important challenge before me is ensuring the prevention of cyberattacks and data breaches for my organisation. At the same time, it is essential to ensure that the organisation’s growth is not affected due to the in­creased threat of cyberattacks,” he says.

Saha recalls the establishment of a wide area data network for GAIL in the mid-1990s as his most memorable assignment. The network was established to meet the data connectivity needs of the organisation. “At the time, getting sufficient bandwidth and ensuring high quality services used to be a huge challenge. In spite of having several external challenges, I was able to lead the team to achieve this milestone,” he says.

Saha believes in following a participative style of management and feels that his in-depth knowledge of his subject, project management skills, and ability to manage and motivate a team of professionals to achieve targets are some of his strengths.

A graduate in electronics and telecommunication engineering from the University of Calcutta, Saha also has an M.Tech. in control and auto­­mation engineering from IIT Kharagpur. In addition, he is a certified project manager (IPMA Level C) from Project Management Associates.

Saha enjoys travelling, reading and writing. He also likes to spend quality time with his family, which comprises his wife, who is a teacher, their daughter, a master’s student in Canada, and a son, who is a B.Tech. student at IIT.