BS People: Kirti Vagadia

Kirti Vagadia's friendly nature could easily be a facade. Those who mistake this soft-spoken chartered accountant to be easy going are in for a surprise—people who know Vagadia for a long time have nick-named him 'Man of steel'.

Vagadia, who was recently appointed as the chief financial officer of Suzlon Energy, was part of the core group which set-up Suzlon. Earlier, he was the group head of corporate finance and is a close confidante of Tulsi Tanti, the chairman of Suzlon group. Those who know him personally call him a go-getter. In addition to his loyalty to the company, Vagadia's is known for one other thing throughout Suzlon—international mergers.

Vagadia ended up becoming the head of two mergers orchestrated by the Indian wind power equipment maker—to Belgium-based Hansen Transmissions, and Germany's RePower. Many of his own colleagues who had worked with him for years were surprised at these accomplishments because these were Vagadia's first trysts with international business. International regulations for mergers, especially those in Germany, are notoriously tough. These mergers put Suzlon on the global map as one of the leading equipment makers for wind power. Suzlon later sold off its stake in Hansen.

Hailing from Bariwala in Gujarat, Vagadia who has been an accountant for 23 years, is also being touted as a possible saviour amidst the tough times that the sector and the company are facing. In the past, Suzlon has been through many cycles of good and bad times, and during both, Vagdia is known to have maintained the same, stolid composure.

Even in personal life, Vagadia is far removed from the usual golf playing, high flying executive. He has simple personal tastes including travelling and listening to music. He was a rank-holder on the all-India merit list in his chartered accountancy course, which he did from ICAI.