Devika Qelrnashi · Chief Product Officer · India
Presented to the Board or a committee
Invited product-portfolio and development-investment reviews
April 2021–present
Presents product propositions and development commitments as CPO; no statutory appointment or committee membership.
| Capacity | Committees |
|---|---|
| Ready to join | Product strategy and development investment · Industrial portfolio and customer applications |
I would consider one first non-executive appointment in an industrial product business where directors want to examine portfolio choices and the evidence behind customer promises. Complementary financial, operating and legal expertise should be available, and an experienced chair should define the contribution. I would initially participate as a member after completing further preparation, without claiming readiness to chair a statutory committee immediately. Invited presentations at Nalqevri are executive exposure rather than director service. I would ask how the company obtains qualified technical advice and how management reports a programme that has not met its intended scope. The suitable seat would let me question a broad product commitment while preserving management's responsibility for development and the specialists' authority over release. It should reward a clear account of limitations as well as the enthusiasm needed to develop a useful range.
I would help directors examine what the company commits to when it approves a product proposition or a development programme. A capacity headline can omit the limiting component, a clear demonstration can conceal a handover difficulty and a prospective request can absorb people before the demand is established. My experience includes correcting a promise I had approved and choosing a smaller stage when the broader opportunity was attractive. The board should understand the task, the evidence and the resources placed at risk. I would ask which decisions remain with engineering, commercial leadership and the customer, rather than treat sponsorship as authority over all of them. My contribution would concern the coherence of the commitment and the quality of management's account. It would not replace the receiving company's specialists or turn an outside seat into an informal product-approval role.
The tray held enough clips for six defined jobs but enough spacers for only three. I would ask a board whether an important product promise has been examined as a complete task rather than through its most favourable component. The revised arrangement supported six nominal kits by giving up space for optional items. Directors should understand that tradeoff and the limits of the result:nominal material capacity did not establish production throughput. I had approved the earlier claim, so the oversight question also concerns how management corrects its own sponsorship. A board should hear the consequence and the decision needed without becoming the team that redesigns the compartment or approves the customer's assembly process.
Fourteen requested variants carried a ₹3.6 crore prospective forecast but no confirmed order programme. Committing nine of sixteen product colleagues for six months would affect the existing range. I would ask directors to see that opportunity cost alongside the forecast and to understand what evidence a smaller stage could provide. Our four-variant feasibility programme produced two prototypes meeting its criteria and two still requiring work. That did not establish orders or technical release. My board contribution would be to examine whether the next commitment follows the result actually obtained, rather than the ambition that began the programme. Management should remain responsible for the customer conversation, the engineering assessment and the allocation of people after the review.
I would begin by understanding how the receiving company chooses its range and how a customer request becomes a funded development commitment. With the chair and executives, I would follow one proposition from the intended task through evidence, technical review and commercial presentation. I would ask where an unresolved limitation is recorded and whether existing portfolio obligations are visible when a new programme is approved. Twenty-four annual days are an initial allowance that needs to be tested against induction, preparation, travel and unexpected work. I would seek feedback on whether my questions help directors assess the commitment or draw them into design detail. A useful first year might improve the account of product capacity and opportunity cost before it produces a measurable commercial result. It should also make it easier for management to revise a promise when evidence changes its meaning. I would ask how the board revisits a staged programme when its prototypes remain unresolved, including whether the original customer need still justifies further work and what other range commitments would be delayed.
My executive role exposes product concepts, customer applications, development priorities and supplier arrangements. A prospective outside appointment must be reviewed for connections involving our owners, investor, customers, design partners, manufacturers and competitors before restricted material is exchanged. I would not bring our drawings into another company's deliberations or use board access to learn about applications that could benefit my employer. Absence of equity does not remove these conflicts. The chair and appropriate advisers should assess eligibility, independence and committee contribution for the actual role. If exclusions repeatedly prevent discussion of the central product matters for which I was appointed, the seat may not offer a useful contribution. Employer consent and realistic capacity also matter when a development issue requires unexpected attention. I would decline a role that depends on sharing information I cannot properly disclose or accepting technical responsibility beyond my authority.
I am an employed product leader with no equity or statutory seat. Any outside appointment requires assessment of its actual relationships, eligibility and independence conditions.
IICA Independent Directors’ Databank: Not yet registered
Preparation and registration relevant to a prospective first outside appointment remain unfinished. Executive product presentations do not establish statutory director experience.