Durgesh Singh of Magswitch: SMU NexGen Leadership Award Winner
Durgesh Singh of Magswitch: SMU NexGen Leadership Award Winner
Durgesh Singh, the chief operating officer of Magswitch Technologies, has been awarded the 2024 SMU NexGen Leadership Award. Since joining Magswitch in 2018, Singh has demonstrated exceptional leadership and problem-solving abilities.
Magswitch Technologies specializes in proprietary magnetic technology that provides material handling solutions across multiple industries, including industrial automation, automotive, and steel. The company's core products rely on rare earth magnets sourced from China, which are essential for their lifting equipment. This technological dependence became a significant challenge when Section 301 tariffs threatened to impose a 25% cost increase on these crucial materials. He secured a rare Section 301 tariff exclusion for the company's Chinese-sourced rare earth magnets—an achievement with a 5% success rate that saved the company millions of dollars.
The company operates with a global supply chain, maintaining primary distribution centers in the U.S. and Germany to fulfill orders worldwide. Singh led the modernization of Magswitch's operations by digitizing systems to enable seamless information flow from customer orders to factory production. This digital transformation proved particularly valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Magswitch remained one of the few small U.S. industrial companies with a global supply chain that maintained operations without severe disruptions.
NAVIGATING A NEW LAND
Singh's career trajectory at Magswitch has been remarkable. In just a few years, he progressed from global operations consultant to his current role as COO. Under his leadership, the company successfully navigated COVID-related disruptions while maintaining growth, earning a gold-standard rating for management, operations, supply chain, systems, and new product innovation. Originally from India, Singh came to the United States to pursue his education, earning an MBA from the University of Colorado Boulder's Leeds School of Business after working at Infosys Ltd for over four years.
AI INFLUENCE
The 34-year-old executive emphasizes the critical role of artificial intelligence in shaping business futures. He views AI as a revolutionary force comparable to the internet and mobile phones, stressing that businesses must adapt to remain competitive. Singh highlights how AI is already transforming business operations through tools like Microsoft Co-Pilot and Salesforce, making processes more efficient and data-driven.
GRATITUDE
Throughout his journey, Singh attributes his success to curiosity, discipline, and support from his extended family, particularly his wife, Tushita, and his father. He emphasizes the importance of being prepared for opportunities. While he wasn't always the most brilliant student, his drive to learn and collaborate has been crucial to his achievements. Singh's leadership style fosters a positive company culture, supports employees, and maintains strong customer relationships while staying ahead of industry challenges and technological advancements.
LOOKING FORWARD
Looking toward the future, Magswitch is embracing technological advancement, particularly in artificial intelligence. The company's approach to technology integration includes streamlining customer relationship management through tools like Salesforce, which helps monitor sales pipelines and predict close rates based on historical performance. This technological evolution extends to their engineering processes, where they focus on automating repetitive tasks and maintaining clean, organized data collection systems to enhance their material handling solutions and maintain their competitive edge in the industrial automation sector.