Benedict Vezhoto · Chief Human Resources Officer · India

Ask whether the workforce promise can be delivered

My contribution to a board

I would help directors examine the human assumptions inside a commercial recommendation. A service plan may depend on technicians relocating, a recruitment proposal may rely on a credential that does not establish the required skill, and a pay arrangement may reward a different conversation from the one the company says it wants customers to receive. My executive experience has required me to make those assumptions explicit and accept the cost of an alternative. In oversight I would ask management how it established the commitment, what evidence supports the capability and which consequences remain unresolved. I would not interview applicants or direct repair work from the board. The contribution is a disciplined question about whether the people arrangements can support the approved business model. I would also acknowledge my own mistakes, including the degree condition and broad outside-work restriction I initially supported. That experience helps me recognise when a convenient process has acquired authority without a sufficient explanation of what it achieves.

Committee contribution

Chair and member readiness
Capacity	Committees
Ready to join	Nomination and remuneration committee after induction and assessment of eligibility · Risk committee where relevant to workforce and service dependencies

Capacity and preferences

Time available: 22 days per year
Current directorships: 0
Sectors: Specialty retail · Instrument repair and restoration services · Consumer businesses employing practical craft skills
Company type: A service-oriented consumer company seeking an employment perspective alongside experienced commercial and technical directors
Company stage: Reconsidering how skills, locations or incentives support its service model

The seat I am pursuing

I am considering one first non-executive appointment at a specialty retailer or practical-service company where workforce design is central to the customer promise. A nomination and remuneration committee could be relevant after induction and a proper assessment of eligibility; I claim no prior committee chairmanship. I would look for colleagues with complementary finance, legal, sector and technical experience, and a chair who expects people questions to support commercial judgement. My databank registration and applicable assessment preparation remain unfinished. The appointment process would need to address those obligations and the proposed company's requirements before treating my interest as readiness to serve. I would bring questions about the evidence for skills, the cost of travel commitments and the behaviour a reward arrangement encourages. I would not present employment expertise as a substitute for the wider duties of a director or for the technical judgement required to assess the company's products and services.

Governance learning and readiness

IICA Independent Directors’ Databank: Not yet registered

Benedict still needs to address IICA independent directors databank registration before pursuing an appointment. Registration and applicable assessment obligations remain to be addressed; no pass, exemption or appointment eligibility is claimed.

Executive presentations on employment implications of service and pay proposals since September 2021
Further study planned on collective director duties and committee practice
Databank registration and applicable assessment preparation remain unfinished

Judgement in practice

Treating mobility as a business-case assumption

The central service proposal expected frequent travel from all eighteen technicians and relocation from twelve, although only eight already travelled regularly. The approved regional alternative used four bases, with fourteen existing technicians accepting field roles, four moving into local workshop vacancies and two additional field recruits. First-year incremental expense was ₹1.36 crore against a ₹1.3 crore budget. I would use this experience to ask directors whether management has established the workforce commitments on which an operating proposal depends. The alternative took four months to implement rather than the two proposed for centralisation, and some customer appointments were still late. Those limitations belong beside the benefit of a clearer employment arrangement. A board should understand the actual tradeoff without assuming that consent, capability or location can be supplied after approval at no further cost. Management retains the detailed employment discussions and service execution, while directors assess the basis and consequences of the recommendation.

Changing the scope of a rule I had proposed

I first recommended a broad outside-work restriction before examining the forty-eight disclosed activities. After review with advisers and managers, thirty-six continued unchanged, eleven were modified and one conflicting booking arrangement stopped. The process cost ₹12 lakh and took time to resolve four initially open cases. In a board setting I would ask whether a broad employment rule addresses a defined concern and whether management has considered the different circumstances it covers. I would not assume that a more permissive outcome is always correct; the stopped arrangement shows that a real conflict can still require action. The useful discipline is to state the reason, collect only what the review needs and reach a clear conclusion. I would also want management to acknowledge when its initial recommendation changed. A board receives a better account when the desire to appear consistent does not prevent a leader from correcting an overly simple proposal.

My first year on a board

My induction would begin with the company's service model and the skills it depends on. I would ask the chair to help me understand where workforce questions belong in the board and committee agendas, then meet operating, finance, technical and people leaders through the agreed process. I would examine how a proposal describes staffing, location, pay and supervision, and which assumptions are tested before approval. I would also spend time learning the collective duties of directors and the discipline of committee work, because executive presentations have not given me that experience. Early contributions should be specific and proportionate rather than an attempt to reproduce Dorqani's practices elsewhere. I would seek feedback on whether my questions helped directors understand a material dependency. At the end of the first year, I would want to show that I had added a useful employment perspective while respecting management's authority over individual cases and the expertise of other directors.

Conflicts and their management

My current employment and links through Dorqani, its parent, instrument suppliers, repair partners and professional-service relationships need disclosure before a prospective appointment is considered. A business can encounter those interests without selling the same products. I would review the proposed company's circumstances with appropriate advisers and the employer, including whether repeated exclusion from discussions would make the role impractical. I would not use private employee details, unpublished pay arrangements or confidential supplier discussions to advise another company. Time also needs a concrete assessment. Retail seasons, employment issues and unexpected service disruption can compete with an outside board calendar. Twenty-two days is a provisional allowance, not a claim that any appointment will fit. Preparation, travel and contingency work must be included. If the role required independence, access or availability my circumstances could not support, I would decline rather than rely on a general disclosure to make the problem disappear.

My independence statement

My employment with Dorqani and its overseas-parent relationship require review against the proposed company's circumstances. Applicable Companies Act independence conditions, SEBI LODR requirements where relevant, committee eligibility and directorship limits must be assessed with appropriate advice. Presenting employment proposals to my current board does not establish statutory experience or independence for another appointment.

Board and committee exposure

Presented to the Board or a committee

Dorqani Music Rooms

Full-board employment and service-model reviews; executive presenter without a vote

September 2021–Present

Presents practical recruitment, field-service employment arrangements and pay proposals through the CEO; no statutory directorship or committee chair experience.