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Himanshu Chhaunker

Leading enterprise wide operations transformation through AI

About Me

Operations Leader with AI Expertise | Bridging Business and Technology

20 years leading operations across manufacturing and supply chain with P&L responsibility up to ₹650 Cr and teams of 1,250+. Delivered ₹34 Cr direct savings, ₹150+ Cr total impact and created ₹1,000+ Cr market ecosystem through strategic partnerships and policy advocacy.

What distinguishes my approach: I plan and execute transformation end to end. I developed Industry 4.0 roadmap (strategic work typically requiring consultants) and led AI implementation from architecture to production deployment. Over 24 months, I have overseen live systems including predictive maintenance, LLM based decision support and computer vision quality automation. This combination of operational leadership and technical oversight delivers business outcomes that drive competitive advantage.

Key results: ₹34 Cr in supply chain savings, 78% YoY output growth, 21% equipment failure reduction, 40% quality cycle improvement. Led Ministry level negotiations with Tata, Mahindra, and Bharat Forge. Implemented policy reforms affecting 500+ officers based on data driven analysis.
 

Core Expertise
Typing

Operations Transformation

Scaling and optimizing global processes

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Supply Chain Transformation

Driving efficiency and resilience

Technological Products

Technology Integration

 

AI, data, ERP, and digital transformation

Electric Charging Station

Sustainability & Stakeholder Value

Ensuring long-term impact

Leadership Philosophy

“Leaders eat last. ”

My leadership is rooted in service, values, and a mission-first mindset, consistently shaping cohesive teams that thrive under pressure and deliver lasting results.

Skills

Operations & Business Leadership:

P&L Management (₹650+ Cr) · Manufacturing Operations · Operational Excellence · Supply Chain Optimization· Cost Reduction & Margin Improvement· Quality Systems · Asset Lifecycle Management

Education and Credentials

MBA – Business Analytics & International Business Management

Deep expertise in tech-enabled operations & strategic leadership

Experience

Work History

General Manager – Operations

Base MRO Facility Armoured Vehicles, MoD (₹650 Cr turnover, 1,250 staff) | Pune | Aug 2024 – Present

•Led enterprise-wide operational transformation of ₹650 Cr facility (1,250 staff) developing Industry 4.0 roadmap and executing AI embedded production planning redesign that delivered 78% YoY output improvement, clearing multi-year backlogs. •Digitized end to end supply chain operations using Gen AI, LLM/RAG & computer vision tracking, delivering ₹34 Cr savings on ₹385 Cr procurement through analytics, 40% inventory optimization & 33% reduction in process delays, completing procurements three months earlier. •Developed & deployed AI driven predictive maintenance system for heavy vehicle engines (₹1.4 Cr pilot), integrating IoT sensors and deep learning models to forecast failures; field trials demonstrated 21% reduction in failure rates & drove policy changes on lubrication standards. •Built pan Army rubber track manufacturing ecosystem from zero qualified vendors to ₹1,000+ Cr recurring market: scaled internal capability 2.5x, created IRMRI validated standards, qualified 6 vendors & designed procurement framework with quality gates adopted organisation wide. •Built digital QA infrastructure using computer vision, standardizing 800+ inspection criteria; negotiated regulatory relief eliminating redundant tests & accelerating quality cycles by 40%. •Resolved 61 of 108 critical assembly quality issues through multi stakeholder negotiations with manufacturers, certification agencies & depots eliminating decadal supply chain bottlenecks.

Commanding Officer (Enterprise scale unit leadership)

Military Equipment Repair Establishment (₹85 Cr turnover, 770 staff) | Ladakh | Aug 2022 – Aug 2024

•Led enterprise-wide reliability transformation across 18 locations spanning 550 km, increasing asset availability from 42% to 73% through service delivery redesign. •Established first regional overhaul facility, building digital lifecycle systems for multi-OEM platforms and delivered 147 engines, 292 generator sets, and 18 ambulances in 17 months. •Unified operations for 100+ multi OEM platforms and led Ministry level negotiations with Tata, Mahindra, Polaris & Bharat Forge, to establish support infrastructure, thereby improving availability from 45% to 72%. •Designed and deployed an agentic LLM/RAG based decision support system for leadership use, enabling real-time retrieval of institutional knowledge for strategic planning and negotiations.

Chief Operations Officer (Officer Commanding)

Military Equipment Repair Establishment (₹12 Cr turnover, 140 staff| J&K | Aug 2021 – Aug 2022

•Led operational modernization program, achieving 40% cost savings on ₹3.1 Cr capital investment through data-driven asset recapitalization and end-to-end workshop digitization. •Designed analytics based decision support framework by consolidating multi-year operational data into unified models; approach was subsequently adopted and scaled across higher organizational levels.

Joint Director, Talent & Policy

Military Secretary Branch, Ministry of Defence | New Delhi | Apr 2018 – Aug 2021

•Directed enterprise wide promotion and selection governance for 4,800+ senior officers, leading evaluation framework design, decision integrity oversight, and digitized record workflows. •Digitized personnel systems, migrating 500,000+ records to secure digital workflows and improving data access, compliance, and operational continuity. •Designed data driven policy reforms to eliminate structural bias in leadership evaluations through correlation analysis across roles and reporting patterns; reforms were adopted organization-wide. •Authored leadership diversity policy enabling advancement of women officers to senior leadership roles, institutionalizing inclusive pathways across the organization.

Operations Officer 

Military Repair Establishment (₹12 Cr turnover, 140 staff)   Ranchi  | Apr 2016 – Apr 2018

Led multi-site operations & supply chain transformation across diverse geographies, integrating automation, vendor process optimization & digital workflows to drive efficiency and cost reductions.

Led multi-site operations and supply-chain programs integrating automation, digitisation and vendor-process transformation to improve efficiency and cost performance across diverse geographies.

Operations Head                                                    Various Locations | 2004–2016­­

Education

Academic Background

MBA - Business Analytics, IMT Ghaziabad, 2022

Management 

International Business Management, IIFT New Delhi, 2025-26

Project Management Professional - PMI, 2025

Lean Six Sigma, 2025

Senior Management & Leadership, AWC - 2022

MSc - Defence & Strategic Studies - Madras University, 2016

CBRN Risk Management - Czech Republic, 2012

Strategic Studies

B Tech, Mechanical Engineering - JNU,  2005

IBM AI Engineering Professional Certificate, 2025

Advanced Python, Data Science & Machine Learning, 2025

Deep Learning & Gen AI Specialisation - 2025

Technology

COAS Unit Appreciation  - 2025

Recognitions

COAS Commendation Card - 2021

Lentaigne Medal by President of India - 2016

GOC in C Commendation Card - 2010

My Contributions

Sustainability driven projects

  • Leading a project of conversion of existing powerpack of an Armoured Vehicle with an electric powertrain

  • Led study on efficacy and deployment of various types of Fuel Cells at 18000 feet altitude

  • Leading a project for upgradation of inline FIP of Armoured Vehicle for increased fuel efficiency

Strategic & Operational Transformations

  • Conceptualised and executed a blueprint on utilisation & sustainment of new generation latest technology military equipment at High Altitude Areas 

  • ​Transformed philosophy of repair and maintenance support in High Altitude by tkaing it to user doorstep, thereby increasing asset availability from 42 to 73%

  • Established Engine and Generator overhaul facility - highest ever for any military equipment across the world

AI & Digital Tech Integration

  • Conceptualised a project on predictive maintenance of engine of Armoured Vehicle

  • ​Designed an AR based project on Quality control in an MRO facility

  • Executed data analytics engineered ERP for an MRO facility

  • Digitised 5 million vintage documents at South Block, Army HQ

Supply Chain Optimisation

  • Caused savings of Rs 34.3 Crores on Rs 385 Crores procurement budget for the year.

  • Automated and decentralised inventory management across 3,500 SKUs and 126,000 items, reducing delays by 34%.

  • Achieved 78% YoY production increase, surpassing prior two years combined output.

Connect

Fill out the form below to get in touch with me. I look forward to hearing from you!

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