As CEO and Whole Time Director of Hindustan Zinc Limited, Arun Misra has three broad targets – to reach 1.5 mt production, diversify into other base metals, and expand into international geographies. The company is considering adding copper to its portfolio, given its expertise in underground mining, and is interested in bidding for new zinc or copper mines. It has already forayed into the European market and is looking at selling 5,000-6,000 tonnes of zinc during December 2022. Hindustan Zinc Limited has made conscious efforts in the past few years to make sustainability central to every aspect of the business, Misra notes. “While there is a general perception that mining companies are not as environmentally conscious, Hindustan Zinc Limited is consistently investing in new technologies and increasing operating efficiency in order to lower emissions in a bid to achieve net-zero carbon levels by 2050.”
Before joining Hindustan Zinc Limited, Misra spent over 30 years at Tata Steel. He recalls taking over as general manager at the company as an important milestone in his professional journey. “The role helped me transform from a functional manager to a business leader. The journey since has been one of growth as I marched ahead to take on more leadership roles and engaged with several stakeholders. All the learnings prepared me for my current role as CEO at Hindustan Zinc Limited,” says Misra.
Misra believes that the Indian infrastructure sector has transformed significantly in the past few years. According to him, “high speed or gati” has become central to all infrastructure sub-sectors. From high speed rail to expressways, the focus is on moving man and material across the length and breadth of the country at the fastest speeds.
As for his leadership style, he believes in leading from the front in difficult situations but likes to put his team forward when success is assured. He also considers humility to be one of the most important attributes of a leader. “People will feel involved if they are being taken care of, appreciated and nurtured,” he believes. Misra is an engineer from IIT Kharagpur. His family comprises his wife, a homemaker, and two daughters – the elder one is a corporate communication professional and the younger one is studying computer science at IIT Roorkee. He also likes to read and watch movies. “I love listening to music too; all genres, from 70s, rock to current compositions across English, Hindi and Bengali. I have a big collection and my daughters help me expand my playlist all the time,” he adds. w