Kusum Sharma: Pioneering Operations Leader Award Winner

Kusum Sharma, the Head of Supply Chain and Digital Transformation at Mercedes Benz R&D India, has secured the Operations Leader of the Year award at the prestigious ETPrime Women Leadership Awards 2023. Her remarkable achievement underscores her pioneering role as a woman in the traditionally male-dominated realm of manufacturing and operations.

The ETPrime Women Leadership Awards 2023 ceremony, held in Mumbai on August 4, marked the culmination of a six-month-long program. Kusum Sharma’s accolade recognizes her outstanding leadership in transforming supply chain and digital practices at Mercedes Benz. She led her team of 300 professionals, generating substantial multi-million-dollar savings for the company.

Sharma’s accomplishments are a testament to her boldness, curiosity, and hard work. She has effectively tackled supply chain uncertainties and semiconductor shortages, while also championing internal growth through reskilling initiatives. Her supply chain academy for talent reskilling and implementation of innovation use cases highlight her innovative approach.

Furthermore, Sharma’s expertise in data analytics, IoT, and AI and ML projects has yielded impressive results, including a significant reduction in manual data entry errors and capital expenditure, as well as improvements in supplier delivery performance.

Kusum Sharma’s journey as a woman thriving in the manufacturing and operations sector serves as an inspiration to others. Her boldness, resilience, and strategic prowess have set new standards and paved the way for future women leaders in similar fields.

Re-reported from the article originally published in The Economic Times