How Shveta Arya is amping up Cummins India’s ‘cool quotient’

Shveta Arya, Managing Director, Cummins India Ltd, feels a woman faces gender bias even if she has been in decision-making positions for years. Despite working at the power systems maker for nine years, there are still times when the customer won’t look her in the eye or finds it hard to believe that she understands the company’s products. “Having your voice heard in the room is among the biggest challenges,” says Arya, who stepped into this role last year. “Some of us may have changed, but society at large hasn’t,” she says.

Arya is quick to admit that she has been privileged to have the kind of upbringing she’s had, with her grandfather constantly questioning her about her ambitions and fostering a sense of independence by teaching her how to fix a flat tyre, among other things.

Arya’s journey from growing up in Agra to leading a $13-billion enterprise has been marked by chance and a desire to make an impact. She attributes her early career decisions, such as opting to study Information Technology and subsequently joining Infosys, to her habit of going with the flow. It was only when she walked into IIM-Ahmedabad for her Masters’ degree did she stop to take stock of what she really wanted. That translated into a stint in consulting at Kearney before the switch to Thomas Cook and then to Cummins. Here, she led strategy and the power systems business, among other roles, before taking over as Managing Director in 2024. Cummins has had a solid presence in India since 1962 and employs over 3,000 people. With revenues of over Rs 10,000 crore in FY25, it is among the top ten listed companies in India to be run by a woman.

That’s not a small achievement, but one that Arya wears lightly. Finding purpose is what defines success and leadership for her. “There’s no leadership without purpose. For me, it is about removing barriers for people so they can achieve their aspirations,” says Arya. “That is what drives me, why I wake up,” she says. While financial metrics are important and non-negotiable, she feels the better the business does financially, the better is its capability to help people fulfil their aspirations.

Arya’s career moves also have been shaped by a desire to create a greater impact in what she does. “Consulting taught me the importance of creating value for clients, but the impact I could make there was still limited. That’s what led me to join Thomas Cook, which was also my first experience of running a business,” she says. The desire to grow beyond being a manager into a leader and having a larger societal impact led her to Cummins. “Having a big bold vision and making a difference beyond the company, on the community at large, attracted me to Cummins and helped shape my leadership purpose,” she says.

Women empowerment is a cause that’s close to her heart. She has sponsored the Cummins Powers Women initiative in India ever since it launched globally in 2018. The aim is to drive large-scale, transformational change in the lives of women and girls through advocacy for people who are doing work that empowers women.

A sizeable number of employees at the shopfloor in Cummins are women. A major factor behind this has been redesigning of the equipment to improve the ergonomics and make it easier for women—and men—to operate. When it comes to managerial roles, Arya feels that manufacturing firms are losing out to the new wave of start-ups and need to be more vocal about what they do to improve their ‘cool quotient.’

A piece of advice she wishes she’d been given when she was younger is that it’s okay to try out a few things before deciding what you want to do.

“Find where your heart lies. Finding a job on Day Zero doesn’t matter after a few years,” she says. The second bit of advice for aspiring women leaders is the importance of finding the right kind of coaches and being open to change—something she has found extremely beneficial.

Arya rues the lack of role models for women, and while things are improving, feels that this shift has to be driven by both industry and the government. From questioning career development pipelines and succession plans to working with the government to make sure that existing pro-women policies are implemented, everyone has a role to play towards bringing about this change.

While societal change will be harder to come by, Arya remains focused on doing what she can within her own sphere of influence.