News by Raam Shanker

‘5 questions answered’ – A Q+A with Equitus CEO Raam Shankar

Equitus has announced a new business model which includes four separate yet integrated companies.

What was Equitus Engineering is now Equitus World, and the parent of Equitus Engineering, Equitus Design and Equitus Innovations.

The company was founded by leader, thinker, innovator and TEDx speaker Raam Shankar six years ago and has worked with clients including Babcock, European Space Agency, PallCorporation, Sellafield, STFC, Centrax Gas Turbines, AMOT Corporation, and Kawasaki.

Its transition to a group structure follows a period of growth for London-headquartered Equitus, which also has bases in Manchester, UK, and Bangalore, India.

We speak to Raam to find out what is driving the changes.

So Raam, why the shift to a new business model?

Although we started off as an engineering company, over the years we realised that we’re more than that. We’re offering engineering solutions, we’re doing design and we’re supporting companies in their innovation journey. We’re also putting sustainability, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) at the heart of everything. We’ve also seen that we’re getting more work from companies around London, in Europe and the rest of the world compared to Greater Manchester. So, we decided to shift the company address to London, to reflect the nature of where we are.

You’ve not long since become a father. Has your experience so far changed the way you think, learn, maybe even work?

The first emotion that comes to mind is gratitude. Gratitude to the world, and to my daughter for choosing us to be her parents, and gratitude to my parents, for all that they did for me when I was little. Fatherhood has made me a bit more mellow as a person, and a bit more protective of my family, and their security. It has also given me a fresh sense of purpose and priorities.

How bright is the future in your sector / sectors?

There is always a future, there will always be a future. How bright (or dark) that future turns out will be a result of what we do today, how we align ourselves with agility and clarity of purpose, and how we continue to provide value to our people, our suppliers, and ultimately our customers. The ongoing pandemic has opened our eyes no doubt, and we’re still learning.

You talk about value a fair amount, both publicly and privately. What does this word mean to you in relation to how Equitus delivers work?

Value is at the core of everything we do. We exist to provide value first and foremost. We are not here to offer engineering solutions, to design or to help innovation. We are here to provide value. If a company or an entity does not provide value, there is no purpose in its existence. The main reason we’re able to provide value consistently is because we focus on people, and making life easy for people. Providing assurance in products and processes, offering insights and enabling better, safer, and faster decision making, and enabling excellence in people. By focusing on this, we are naturally seen as providing value.

What excites you most about the future of innovation, of design and of engineering?

Innovation:
Innovation is a result of the human trait called resilience. The fact that humans have survived the millennia is a result of our inherent innovative mindset. I define innovation as any human effort that enables us to survive, grow, prosper and be sustainable. Today what excites me about innovation is, we cannot talk about innovation without talking about sustainability, and the fact that everything we do is around sustainability, aligned with UN SDGs.

Design:
Nothing exists on this planet without design. Design is the recipe. What excites me about design is that there is a growing awareness amongst people in general to look for well-designed products and solutions, which improve the quality of their lives and/or offer solutions. It excites me because we have always been people focused, and therefore the way we do things is starting to resonate with people.

Engineering:
Engineering driven application of technology is what results in products and solutions. Being in engineering means we have an opportunity to convert the results of scientific pursuit into technologies, and apply these technologies to develop products and solutions for the benefit and betterment of humankind and our world.